Is the Credit One Visa Worth It? Editor’s Review for 2024 (2024)

Pros

• 1% cash back on eligible purchases
• Available to people with bad credit
• Automatic credit-line increase reviews

Cons

• Annual fee of $75 intro 1st yr, $99 after
• High APR
• Low credit limit

Is the Credit One Visa Worth It?

The Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit is worth it for people with bad credit who need to borrow money in addition to building credit. It offers a $300+ credit limit and up to 1% cash back on purchases but charges an annual fee of $75 for the first year and $99 after.

What You Need to Do to Make the Credit One Visa Worthwhile

For the Credit One Visa to be worthwhile, you need to spend at least $7,500 on eligible purchases the first year and $9,900 any subsequent years to earn enough rewards to offset the annual fee. Eligible purchases include gas, groceries, and mobile phone, internet, cable and satellite TV services.

If you carry a balance from month to month, you will need to earn even more rewards to offset the cost of the card. That’s why it’s ideal to pay your balance in full every month, if you’re able to. The card’s APR is very high, at 29.74% (V), which can quickly wipe out all the value you get from rewards.

Ultimately, if you need to borrow a bit of money, the Credit One Visa will be one of your top options. But if you don’t need extra spending power, then you’d be better off placing a refundable deposit on a no-annual-fee secured card.

Credit One Visa Credit Card Highlights

1% Cash Back on Eligible Purchases

You will earn 1% cash back on eligible purchases made with the Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit. You’ll get your earnings in the form of a monthly statement credit. Although that’s just themarket-average earning ratefor a cash back credit card, it’s actually great as far as credit cards for bad creditare concerned. Most don’t offer rewards at all.

There are a couple of factors that figure to limit how much you earn, though. The first is your spending limit. Assuming you’re approved for a $300 credit line and you pay your bill in full on a monthly basis, you’d only be able to earn a maximum of $36 in cash back over the course of a year. Second, you’ll earn rewards only in some spending categories: gas, groceries and mobile phone, internet, cable, and satellite TV services.

Automatic Credit Line-Increase Reviews

Credit One Bank promises to regularly consider you for a higher credit limit if you get approved for the Platinum Visa as well as to automatically apply the higher limit if you’re deemed worthy of it. That is an obvious incentive when spending power is in high demand, as tends to be the case with unsecured credit cards for bad credit. However, it’s neither something unique to this Credit One Visa nor a guarantee.

Most credit-card companies make it a practice to consider customers for higher credit limits; they just don’t always advertise it. What’s more, Credit One does not disclose either the frequency with which cardholders will be evaluated for an increase or the criteria used to make the final determination. This shouldn’t stop you from using your card as responsibly as possible (i.e., always paying your bill on time and maintaining reasonablecredit utilization) in hopes of earning an addition to your credit line. But you shouldn’t count on it, either.

Credit One Visa Credit Card Lowlights

Annual Fee of up to $99

Not only does this card’s pricey annual fee promise to consume a healthy portion of your starting credit line, but you’ll also be paying $99 from the second year on. The Credit One Visa’s annual fee is $75 the first year. After that, annual fees can total up to $99, though they might be charged in monthly installments.

High Interest Rate

It figures that you will carry a balance with this card at some point, considering that its unsecured credit line is among its main draws. Unfortunately, financing with this type of plastic also stands to be quite expensive. Balances will accrue interest at a rate of 29.74% (V).

For context, the average APR among new credit card offers is 23.1%, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report, while the average secured credit card charges 22.87%. Oh, and the Credit One Card’s terms and conditions note that although its rate is variable, it cannot exceed 29.90%. It’s not clear whether that should be reassuring or not.

Other Things to Consider About the Credit One Platinum Visa for Rebuilding Credit

$300 Minimum Credit Line

Credit One doesn’t disclose what the highest possible spending limit is for its Platinum Visa, but you’re assured of getting an initial credit line of at least $300 (and as much as $500) should you get approved. That should give you a sense of whether this card is capable of covering the emergency expenses that perhaps serve as your impetus for contemplating an application.

Free Monthly Credit Score

Credit-score access is extremely beneficial to people with damaged credit, providing a barometer with which to measure improvement. It should not, however, be the reason that you apply for this Credit One card. Many other credit-card companies offer free credit scores, after all, and the one you’ll get from Credit One updates only once per month. In contrast, WalletHub offers free credit scores that are updated on a daily basis. So you could always just use that and make your credit-card choice based on account terms only.

Credit One Visa Credit Card vs. The Competition

Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit Review Methodology

This Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.

The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.

Ratings for each category reflect how close Credit One Visa is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Credit One Visa to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.

To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.

Expert Thoughts on Credit One Credit Card

To help people learn more about Credit One Credit Card, WalletHub's editors posed the following questions to a panel of experts. You can meet our panelists and read their responses below.

1. Do you think the confusion between Credit One and Capital One hurts consumers, particularly newcomers and people with below-average credit?
2. Why do you think a credit card would offer rewards on some types of purchases but not all purchases?