Credit One Bank® Visa® for Rebuilding Credit review

Credit One Bank® Visa® for Rebuilding Credit: Details and benefits

The Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card is a great place to start for those who have little to no credit history but also want to earn rewards. 

For starters, there’s no security deposit required to use a Credit One Bank Visa card, and the initial credit line starts at a modest $300. Credit One Bank will review your credit performance and offer you a higher credit line. 

You can qualify for a potentially low annual fee that ranges from $0 to $99 ($0-$95 for the first year). Depending on your account, you could receive an annual fee bill split into 12 equal, monthly portions, or one bill for the full amount. Note, though, that your annual fee will cut into your line of credit. For example, if you are assigned the minimum credit line of $300 and an annual fee of $95, Credit One Bank says your “initial available credit will only be about $205.”

Credit cards designed for those with lower credit tend to offer fewer rewards-earning opportunities. You don’t necessarily have to sacrifice with the Credit One Bank card, as it offers 1% cash back on all eligible purchases (including gas, groceries, mobile phone, internet, cable TV and satellite TV services).

Credit One also offers security measures, like zero fraud liability protection. This means you won’t be held liable should your card information be compromised. You’ll also receive proactive responses on your account from Credit One Fraud Alerts, or messages that notify you if suspicious or fraudulent activity is detected.

Is the Credit One Bank® Visa® for Rebuilding Credit worth it for you?

If you have a poor or low credit history, the Credit One Bank Visa Credit Card offers a ladder to a better score. That is, as long as you make payments on time and in full. Although your initial line of credit might fall at a low $300, Credit One automatically reviews your account activity to see if you qualify for a higher limit. 

Whether you prefer setting your own payment due date, or if you know you’ll remember to pay on a certain day, Credit One Bank offers you the flexibility to change your due date.

If you have a child age 15 or older, you can add an authorized user to your account to help them build their own credit history as well. The fee to add each individual authorized user is $19.

Get the most value from the Credit One Bank® Visa® for Rebuilding Credit

The way to get the most value out of this card is to simply use it responsibly. Meaning, if you pay your statements on time and in full, Credit One will eventually reward you with offers of higher credit limits. In turn, you’ll be able to spend a tad more and still maintain a low credit utilization ratio — which makes up 30 percent of your FICO Score.

From an earnings perspective, there are three possible Platinum card cash back programs, one of which Credit One Bank will assign you. You’ll be notified of the program you qualify for after you submit a pre-qualification request and you qualify for the credit card offer.

The Credit One Platinum card versions’ reward structures are:

• 1 percent cash back on eligible gas, groceries, mobile phone service, internet service and cable and satellite TV service
• 2 percent cash back on eligible gas, groceries, dining purchases, mobile phone service, internet service, and cable and satellite TV services
• 5 percent cash back on eligible gas, groceries, dining purchases, mobile phone service, internet service, and cable and satellite TV services (on up to $5,000 per year, then 1 percent); 1 percent back on all other purchases

How to redeem rewards

Cash back rewards are redeemable in the form of statement credits, and you will receive an automatic rewards credit on each statement that has at least one eligible net purchase. According to Credit One Bank: “Rewards credits will reduce the balance on your Account but will not count as payments.”