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Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® review: An unsecured card for credit builders, but at what cost?

 /  7 min
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Snapshot

2.3

Bankrate rating
Info
Rating: 2.3 stars out of 5

Bottom line

For people with fair credit, the key selling point of the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa is that it provides access to credit without requiring a security deposit. However, this card’s convoluted terms and unimpressive rewards rate make it an easy pass.
  • Cost of membership
    Rating: 1 stars out of 5
    1 / 5
    Ease of building credit
    Rating: 3 stars out of 5
    3 / 5
    APR
    Rating: 1 stars out of 5
    1 / 5
    Features
    Rating: 3.8 stars out of 5
    3.8 / 5
Fair to Good (580 – 740)
Info
Recommended Credit

N/A

Intro offer

Info

1%

Rewards Rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® Overview

Credit One cards like the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa are notoriously confusing when it comes to the card terms — especially since you won’t know your actual rates and fees till you prequalify.

Even if it’s one of the few unsecured cards for average credit available to you at the moment, don’t be afraid to cut your losses before you apply. There are plenty of other more reliable and rewarding cards to help you build credit.

What are the pros and cons?

Pros

  • Checkmark

    This card may be one of the few unsecured cards available for those with average credit.

  • Checkmark

    Since this card is a Visa credit card, you’ll have access to a few decent Visa benefits.

  • Checkmark

    The card does offer modest rewards on a few key spending categories.

Cons

  • The card terms are ridiculously confusing and many aren’t defined until you prequalify.

  • Compared to most student cards and some secured credit cards, the cash back you could earn is fairly limited.

  • The annual fee, which can change depending on what Credit One card you prequalify for, immediately reduces your initial credit limit.

A deeper look into the current card offer

Quick highlights

  • Rewards rate: 1 percent cash back on eligible gas, grocery, mobile phone service, internet service and cable and satellite TV service purchases
  • Welcome offer: N/A
  • Annual fee: $39
  • Purchase intro APR: N/A
  • Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
  • Regular APR: 29.24 percent variable

Rewards rate

If you carefully read the terms and conditions for any Credit One Bank Visa card, you’ll notice it says “for informational purposes only” at the top. This statement is there because you may not know if you’ll qualify for the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa and its annual fee, APR or cash back rate until Credit One Bank reviews your application and selects them according to your creditworthiness.

We’ve described the cash back rate for the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa below, but Credit One’s “informational” terms note that you may be eligible for one of four different reward plans, depending on whether you qualify for the Platinum Visa, the Visa Cash Back Rewards, the Platinum Rewards Visa with No Annual Fee or the Platinum Rewards Visa for Building Credit.

How you earn

The Credit One Bank Platinum Visa earns unlimited 1 percent cash back on eligible gas, grocery, mobile phone service, internet service and cable and satellite TV service purchases.

Determining which purchases are eligible for rewards muddies the water even more. Credit One Visa cards earn cash back based on the merchant’s Standard Industrial Classification Code instead of Visa’s normal merchant category codes (MCCs). This makes it harder to understand whether you’ll earn cash back at each store you shop with.

However, it’s easy to see that these codes are at least as restrictive as MCCs. For instance, wholesale clubs and superstores such as Walmart and Target don’t earn grocery rewards.

How to redeem

This card doesn’t provide multiple redemption options. Your cash back will automatically return to your account as a statement credit.

How much are cash rewards worth?

The cash back you earn is equivalent to 1 percent of each purchase, so you earn 1 cent per dollar.

Other cardholder perks

Credit One Visa cards don’t provide much in the way of benefits outside two card-linked rewards programs and its Credit Protection Program, but the standard Visa vehicle perks might come in handy if you’re in a pinch.

Credit One More Rewards and Visa Offers + Perks

Your Credit One Bank Platinum Visa gives you access to two programs that earn you extra cash back, discounts or other rewards by linking your card and shopping with select merchants — similar to Amex Offers or Chase Offers.

Credit One’s More Rewards program allows you to activate limited-time offers for up to 10 percent cash back on top of your purchase’s original earnings. Meanwhile, the Visa Offers + Perks program caters to online shoppers looking for discounts on apparel, dining and other retailers.

Visa vehicle perks

All traditional Visa credit cards receive 24/7 pay-per-use Roadside Dispatch service and auto rental collision damage insurance, which is a waiver that covers your rental vehicle for damage and theft by paying with your card and declining the rental agency’s protection.

Credit Protection Program

Credit One offers a pricey credit protection benefit that waives your minimum payment for six months if you become involuntarily unemployed or disabled. This feature costs 96 cents per $100 of your balance each month after you enroll, whether you activate it or not. You must also wait 30 days to activate if you need to use it. After that, your account is closed, but you’ll still owe interest.

Considering all of the other possible rates and fees this card might pose, this program might get expensive compared to other debt management opportunities.

Rates and fees

If you want a low-fee card, the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa is certainly not one. You can end up paying a lot in fees after you apply if you haven’t read the fine print.

The annual fee is $39, and the card terms also state that your annual fee diminishes your credit limit, which can hamper your credit building. For instance, if you qualify for the minimum $300 credit line, your card will max out at $261 until you qualify for a higher credit line.

With the ongoing APR already being an expensive 29.24 percent variable with no intro APR offers to give some breathing room on interest charges, it’s critical to note that interest rate could lead to a slippery compound interest slope if you tack on the $39 late fee and 3 percent (or $1, whichever is greater) foreign transaction fee.

And these may not be the sum of fees you could run into. Credit One is known for making their card agreement terms confusing, so make sure you read them very carefully to avoid any hidden fees and charges.

How the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa compares to other cards for fair credit

Compared to many other starter cards, the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa and other Credit One cards are distinctly complex and potentially costly for the limited rewards. If you’re going to college, plenty of student credit cards can provide better cash back and features. Even choosing a secured credit card over the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa might be less expensive in the long run, despite the upfront deposit. 

Image of Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa®
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Credit One Bank's secure site

Annual fee

$39

Intro offer

N/A

Rewards rate

1%
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Fair to Good (580 – 740)
Info
Image of Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Discover's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Cashback Match™
Info

Rewards rate

1% - 2%
Info

Recommended Credit Score

No Credit History
Info
Image of Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card

Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card

Annual fee

$0 - $59

Intro offer

N/A

Rewards rate

N/A

Recommended Credit Score

Bad to Fair (300 – 670)
Info

Credit One Bank Platinum Visa vs. Discover it® Secured Credit Card

Discover’s Cashback Match™ policy and the rewards structure for the Discover it® Student Chrome extend to the Discover it® Secured Credit Card. You’ll earn 2 percent cash back (up to $1,000 in combined purchases per quarter, then 1 percent) on gas station and restaurant purchases each quarter, along with 1 percent back on all other purchases. This rewards rate is one of, if not the best on the market for a secured credit card. 

We also can’t forget that Discover matches your first year’s cash back at the end of the first year, so any cash back you earn with the Discover it® Secured Credit Card will essentially double at the end of your first year. Welcome offers are a rarity for credit-building cards, so this one from Discover is especially noteworthy. Your initial security deposit also acts as your credit line, so it’s best to lean as close as you comfortably can toward the maximum $2,500 deposit. The higher your security deposit, the more wiggle room you’ll have between your balance and spending limit. That could help you establish a fantastic credit utilization ratio and improve your chances of graduating to an unsecured line of credit at Discover’s seven-month review.

If you're dead set on getting your hands on an unsecured credit building card or the upfront cost of a security deposit is too much, then you might consider the Credit One Platinum Visa over the Discover it® Secured Credit Card. However, if you can stomach the cost of a security deposit, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is much more rewarding on almost every front. 

Credit One Bank Platinum Visa vs. Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card

The Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card levels the playing field a bit more with the Credit One Bank Platinum. Both of these credit cards for fair credit pose an annual fee, and the Credit One Bank Platinum actually wins out slightly by offering rewards. Both cards are also accessible for people with fair credit and provide the opportunity to build up your score over time. 

Where the Mission Lane Visa starts to pull ahead comes in how clear the card’s terms are compared to the Credit One Bank Platinum. With the Mission Lane Visa, depending on your credit score, you could have anywhere from no annual fee at all to one up to $59. The low end of the Mission Lane Visa’s ongoing APR is also a bit more forgiving, though high APRs are common among most credit-building cards. The Mission Lane Visa is also unsecured, so you won’t have to front the cost of a security deposit like you would with the Discover it® Secured Credit Card. The other main draw for the Mission Lane Visa is that the card’s terms clearly outline an incentive for building responsible credit habits. Once you make card payments on time for seven months, your Mission Lane card could be eligible for a credit line increase at no additional cost. 

If you want a more straightforward credit-building card that’s still unsecured, the Mission Lane Visa is the more obvious choice here. However, if you still want a shot at earning some modest rewards, you may take a closer look at the Credit One Bank Platinum. 

Bankrate’s Take — Is the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa worth it?

It might be appealing to go after an unsecured card if you’re building credit, but the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa card offers bare-minimum rewards at the cost of confusing terms that could siphon your wallet with fees and interest.

If you’re looking for a starter card, a secured or student credit card is probably an all-around better option.

Written by
Garrett Yarbrough
Writer, Credit Cards

Bankrate expert Garrett Yarbrough strives to make navigating credit cards and credit building smooth sailing for his readers. After regularly featuring his credit card, credit monitoring and identity theft analysis on NextAdvisor.com, he joined the CreditCards.com and Bankrate teams as a staff writer to develop product reviews and comprehensive credit card guides focused on cash back, credit scores and card offers.

Edited by Editor, Credit Cards
Reviewed by Former Senior Director of Content

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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.