Verve Credit Card [An Honest Review]

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The Verve credit card is a card offered by Continental Finance that aims to serve users who have bad credit and would like to repair their credit by establishing a good payment history. The card has proved to be quite popular with over three million users currently. In this review, we’ll be going over the good and the bad of the Verve credit card, and we’ll be comparing it to some other cards as well to see how it fares from a consumer standpoint. Hopefully by the end of this post, you’ll know if it’s right for you or not. Let’s get to it.

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Verve unsecured credit card: What does it mean?

The Verve credit card is an unsecured card. An unsecured credit card is one that doesn’t require the user to place a deposit in order to obtain the card. These types of cards are usually offered to customers with average or above-average credit scores, so the fact that the Verve credit card is unsecured and caters to users with poor credit is certainly a unique selling point.

It has proven itself to be a good strategy to make the card much more appealing to potential new customers, but it also exposes Verve to a bit more risk. With added risk, companies usually have to resort to charging a bit more elsewhere in order to counterbalance that risk. We’ll talk about that soon enough in this post.

For more credit cards that can help you build credit, check out Revvi, Prosper and First Phase.

How does the Verve credit card work?

The Verve credit card is available to apply to even for those with poor credit score. We’re talking a credit score as low as 300. Once you get approved, an account will be opened, and you’ll receive the Verve Mastercard. Initially, you’ll start with a credit limit between $300 to $1,000, depending on your application information. After 6 months of on-time payments, you’ll be able to double that credit limit.

How much is the Verve credit card?

For the annual fee, you’ll be paying $99. The average fee for all credit cards with a fee in the U.S. is $135, so it is lower than average. Still, over half of all credit cards have $0 in annual fees, so overall, the $99 fee is quite expensive all things considered. This is likely even more true for those with poor credit.

Furthermore, after the 1-year mark with them, you’ll be charged a $10 monthly maintenance fee on top of the $99 annual fee. That’s a total of $219 in charges once you hit the 366^th day with this card.

What is the Verve credit card APR?

The Verve credit card APR clocks in at a range of 24.99% to 29.99% APR, depending on your creditworthiness upon account opening. For reference, the average credit card APR in the U.S. is 16.27%. We expected this card’s interest rate to be higher than the average due to the low barrier to entry, but 29.9% is quite on the high end. If you have an extremely low credit score, some might considered it fair, but it’s still a pretty penny to pay. If you plan to carry any sort of balance month over month, this credit card will not be your friend.

Verve credit card cash advance fee

Your cash advance fee is the same percentage as the APR you qualify for.

Does the Verve credit card have late or returned payment fees?

Yes, it does. You may be charged a late payment fee ranging from a minimum of $27 up to a max of $40.

Does the Verve credit card have a foreign transaction fee?

Yes, it does. You will be charged a variable rate up to a max of 3% in foreign transaction fees.

Does the Verve credit card have a rewards program?

The Verve Mastercard does not include a rewards program at this time.

Pros and cons of the Verve credit card: The pros

Pros

Easy application process
Applicants with poor credit have a good chance of getting approved
It is unsecured, so no deposit is required
Reports to the three major credit bureaus: Transunion, Equifax, and Experian
Free monthly credit score available to you
Mastercard Zero liability protection included
May double credit limit after six months of timely payments

Pros and cons of the Verve credit card: The cons

Cons

On the low end, your starting credit limit may be $300
24.99% to 29.99% APR depending on credit worthiness
$99 annual fee
$10 monthly fee to maintain account after one year
Mastercard not accepted everywhere
Some information is hard to find on their website

Where is the Verve credit card available?

The card is available nationwide to all qualifying customers.

Verve credit card customer service contact information

You can contact Verve via:

Phone: (888) 547-6541
Email: info@bankofmissouri.com

Unfortunately, no live chat is available.

Charges are charges, and the only absolute must for us is that companies be transparent with their pricing upfront. Whether a consumer chooses to go with them after knowing all the information is entirely their responsibility, provided that they were given all the appropriate information needed to make a decision.

What doesn’t sit well with us with the Verve Mastercard is that it’s extremely hard to find this information for a customer visiting their official website for the first time. There’s a lot of talk about credit limits, liability protection, monthly reporting to credit bureaus, etc., but you’d be hard-pressed to find out about the $99 annual fee, the $10 maintenance fee, or the 24.9% APR in any straightforward manner. You won’t find it in the About page nor the Features page.

Overall, if you’re simply looking to build credit because you’re just starting out on your journey or trying to recover from a bad financial situation, there are better options out there. However, sometimes the options are limited for poor credit customers, and you just have to take what you can get and try to be as financially responsible as you can.

This can be a great card for you if you can afford its costs and not carry over a monthly balance. And if you want to build credit for a year and then close the card to avoid the potential $219 or more in fees for the second year, you can do so as well.

All in all, the card will do what it is intended to do, but at what cost? That’s for you to decide.