First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card Review

The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card can be good if you want a card with no credit check and a low APR. It doesn’t require a credit check, which is helpful if you’ve struggled to qualify for secured credit cards in the past. Plus, it has a low APR, which is beneficial if you tend to carry a balance.

Its $200 security deposit is common for secured cards, but it does charge a $49 annual fee, where most secured cards have no annual fee. You can earn cash back rewards on all purchases, and your account activity is reported to all three credit bureaus. Other than that, this card doesn’t have many unique benefits.

If your goal is to build or rebuild your credit, then this card could provide a good temporary solution. After improving your credit score, you can apply for an unsecured card with no annual fee.

• Annual fee: $49
• Sign-up bonus: No bonus
• Rewards: 1% Cash Back
• Regular purchase APR: 14.24% (V)
• Other benefits: No credit history required, monthly reporting to credit bureaus, credit line security deposit up to $2,000
• Recommended credit: Limited / Poor

• No credit check

  There is no credit check to apply for the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card. There is no minimum credit history required, which is helpful if you have a damaged or no credit history. This feature can help you if you’ve struggled to get approved for other cards for bad credit, or if you don’t want your score to be further dinged from a hard inquiry.

  Note that a soft credit pull may be done, but that doesn’t impact your credit score.

  Get your credit score for free with LendingTree Spring.

• Low APR

  The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card has a 14.24% (V) APR. It’s rare to find a secured card with a low regular APR. The Discover it^® Secured Credit Card, for example, has a 27.24% Variable APR.

  If you have to carry a balance, the interest charges will be lower than that of most other credit cards. However, you should aim to pay your statement balance in full each month as you work to build credit with a credit card.

• Reports to all three credit bureaus

  Some secured cards only report your account and payment activity to one or two credit bureaus. This can be a problem later if you apply for credit with a lender who uses a credit bureau that doesn’t list your card. Fortunately, the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card reports monthly to all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

• No credit history required for approval

  Unsecured credit cards — cards that don’t require a security deposit — usually require a good or excellent credit score. Since the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card is a secured card, you can qualify with no credit history or even a bad one.

  Find unsecured credit cards for limited credit histories.

• Earns cash back

  The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card lets you earn 1% Cash Back on every purchase. Earning rewards shouldn’t be a priority as you work to raise your credit score, however they are a nice perk.

• Annual fee

  The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card comes with a high $49 annual fee. The annual fee will be subtracted from your initial deposit. For example, if you opt for a $200 security deposit, your available credit will be $151 until you pay the $49 charge to restore your credit limit. And it’s a fee you’ll pay every year for as long as you have the card.

  Many secured cards, including the Discover it^® Secured Credit Card and Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card (see rates & fees), don’t have annual fees. If you don’t mind undergoing a credit check, you’re better off with one of these cards.

  See more secured credit cards.

• Security deposit must come from a checking account

  When you apply for the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card, you need to provide checking account information. Your security deposit will be withdrawn from your account once you’re approved for the card. When you close the account, it can take several months to get your deposit back minus any unpaid balances or fees.

• No opportunity to graduate to an unsecured card

  Some secured credit cards, like the Discover it^® Secured Credit Card, offer the chance to upgrade to an unsecured card after you’ve used the card responsibly.

  The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card doesn’t have an upgrade path, as the issuer only offers secured credit cards. This means that you’ll likely have to apply for a new card once your credit score improves and close your account to avoid paying an ongoing annual fee.

• No automatic reviews for credit limit increases

  Some secured cards, like the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card, will automatically review your credit limit for an increase after timely payments for six months. The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card does not have a set timeline for a credit limit increase.

  The terms and conditions of the card state that you can request an increase, subject to their approval. If approved, you mail in the additional funds to be added to your security deposit. It could take up to 10 days for the payment to be added and reflected on your account.

• Long time to process payments

  Users report that it can take up to 10 days for payments to be processed, while a majority of credit cards process payments in two to three business days. While your payment is being processed, your available credit will be limited.

First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card vs. Discover it^® Secured Credit Card

The Discover it^® Secured Credit Card is a secured card that offers better rewards and perks than the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card. You don’t need a credit score to apply. Also, unlike the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card, it has a $0 annual fee as well as one late fee waiver — helpful for those who want to minimize fees.

Starting at seven months of card ownership, Discover begins monthly reviews to see if you’re eligible to receive your deposit back. Plus, after building your credit, you may be able to upgrade to an unsecured Discover credit card. In addition, it has a welcome offer and a better cash back rewards program with bonus categories.

One drawback of the Discover it^® Secured Credit Card is that it has a much higher 27.24% Variable APR. If you plan on carrying a balance, the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card may be a better choice, though you should avoid carrying a balance if at all possible.

First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card vs. OpenSky^® Secured Visa^® Credit Card

The OpenSky^® Secured Visa^® Credit Card is similar to the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card in that it doesn’t require a credit check. It has a lower annual fee of $35 but a higher APR of 24.64% (variable).

It doesn’t come with a sign-up bonus, but it does offer a limited rewards program. However, it also offers credit line increase reviews and the opportunity to graduate to an unsecured credit card. This might make it the better option if you’re looking for a card with no credit check, since it also reports to all three credit bureaus.

First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card vs. Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card is a $0-annual-fee card (see rates & fees) that can help you build credit, and it comes with a few key benefits that the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card lacks.

You can potentially qualify for a deposit of just $49 for a $200 initial credit line. Since most secured cards require a deposit of at least $200, this is a unique feature. And after just six months, you’ll automatically be considered for a credit limit increase.

It doesn’t offer cash back rewards like the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card. However, the $0 annual fee makes the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card better in most cases (see rates & fees).

With a modest annual fee and a low APR, the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard^® Secured Credit Card is an OK choice among credit cards that don’t require a credit check. It may be right for you if you don’t currently have a credit score, or if your credit score is so low you’re unable to qualify for a better card.

However, it’s below average when stacked up against other secured credit cards like the Discover it^® Secured Credit Card or Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. While both require deposits, their long-term value is worth tying up some money as a security deposit while you build your credit.

We devote a large part of the score for credit-building cards to features that help build credit — we want to help you locate cards that don’t cost a lot to own and get help you upgrade to better card offers.

• Annual savings (50% of rating): We calculate how much the average cardholder can save with the card on a yearly basis. If it is a rewards card, we use U.S. Bureau of Labor data and $300 in monthly spend (the typical starting credit limit for an introductory card) to calculate how much the average cardholder can earn in rewards. We then subtract fees — including annual fees and maintenance fees — from this amount.
• Credit building features (50% of rating): We give points for features that help build credit, including reports to all three credit bureaus, regular account reviews for card upgrades and free credit score access. We detract points for features that can be costly to cardholders trying to build credit, such as security deposits, penalty APRs and late payment fees.

Note, that our ratings are a starting point for comparing and choosing the best credit card for building credit. However, your needs may be different from the average cardholder. You should consider the amount you’re likely to spend in a card’s bonus categories and which benefits you value to choose the best card for you.