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The Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured credit card is a fairly standard secured card designed to “help establish or re-establish new credit history.” It has none of the usual fees that you might expect from some credit cards for bad credit, but it also has high APR and nothing in the way of rewards, welcome bonuses, or standout benefits.
Quick Review
Because the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured credit card is a secured card, it requires an upfront payment as a security deposit. And as with many secured cards, the amount you pay (which must be $200–$2,000) determines your credit limit.
The Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured card is suitable for borrowers with no credit history or, potentially, for holders of lower credit scores: the card issuer’s website says that “no minimum credit score or prior history required for approval,” so you don’t need to be over a certain score or hold established credit to be eligible. One caveat is that you can’t have a pending bankruptcy (although a previous bankruptcy won’t necessarily rule you out).
The major selling point of this card is its low fees. But the flip side is the high APR of 27.74% (variable). So if you need to carry a balance or use your card to withdraw money from an ATM—both of which will incur interest—it’s going to get expensive.
The Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured card is fine for building credit with your everyday spending as long as you pay off your balance in full each month, but it’s not the best deal out there. Before you pull the trigger on an application, check out some of the other no-fee credit cards on the market to see if you could qualify for something better.
Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured Credit Card Important Details
Basic card details
- Credit card issuer: Synovus Bank
- Annual fees: $0
- Regular APR: 27.74% (variable)
- Security deposit: $200–$2,000
- Credit limit: $200–$2,000
- Grace period: 25 days
Additional information
- No minimum credit score or prior credit history required.
- Credit limit determined by your security deposit.
- 3% foreign transaction fees.
- 24/7 online account access.
- Mastercard® benefits (e.g., ID theft protection and zero liability for unauthorized purchases).
- Bank account required in order to make monthly payments on your card (to avoid extra costs imposed by outside payment vendors).
Fees
- Annual Fee: $0
- Cash advance fees: $10 or 3% (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fees: 3%
- Late payment fee: Up to $41
- Returned payment fee: Up to $30
Overall, the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured charges fairly low fees. Notably, it doesn’t charge annual fees, monthly fees, or application fees.
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 27.74% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 27.74% (variable)
- Minimum interest charge: $1.50
The APR is high for both purchases and cash advances. But note that different rules apply for interest charges on purchases versus cash advances (where you use your credit card to withdraw cash from an ATM).
With cash advances, your card issuer begins charging interest on the date you take out cash rather than giving you a grace period, which you can use to avoid paying interest on credit card purchases.
Grace Period
A grace period is a window of time between your statement closing date and your statement due date. If you pay your bill in full before the due date, any purchases you make during the grace period won’t have any interest added. But if you still have a balance on your card from the previous billing cycle, you’ll accumulate interest on your purchases even during the grace period.
The Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured credit card gives you a 25-day grace period, beginning on the first day of each new billing cycle. So if you pay your outstanding bill in full during the first 25 days of the billing cycle, your purchases will escape potential interest charges.
Security Deposit
When you open a secured credit card account, you must pay a credit card security deposit as collateral. If you don’t keep up with your monthly bills, you’ll potentially lose your deposit money.
To get an Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured credit card, you must pay a security deposit of at least $200. However, if you want to deposit more than $200, you must pay $350–$2,000.
When you hand over your security deposit, it’ll go into a special type of account with insurance that protects you from losing your money if Synovus Bank fails. With some secured credit cards, your deposit money stays in an account and earns interest. Unfortunately, your Assent card security deposit won’t earn any interest.
Credit Limit
As mentioned, your credit limit on the Assent Platinum MasterCard® Secured Credit Card will be equivalent to whatever you’ve paid as a security deposit. This means your initial credit limit will be $200 or $350–$2,000.
Credit Limit Increases
You can ask for credit limit increases on the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured credit card, although the issuer may deny your request. In some cases, they may even let you increase your credit limit without requiring you to pay additional money into the deposit account. But in other cases, they may ask you to increase your deposit.
The maximum credit limit you can obtain over time is $5,000.
Rewards
One drawback of the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured credit card is that it has no cashback rewards. If you’re looking for a card with cash back, you’ll have to look elsewhere. A good place to start is with Petal credit cards, which offer rewards for bad credit or no credit.
Other Benefits
All Mastercard® credit cards come with certain core benefits. The Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured credit card gives you:
- Fraud and ID theft protection
- TransUnion credit report monitoring
- Emergency assistance for lost or stolen cards
- Other basic Mastercard® benefits
Cash Advances
Not all credit cards allow you to do cash advances (where you use your credit card to take out money at an ATM), but the ones that do usually charge fairly high fees for this service. The Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured card is no exception, with fees of $10 or 3% of the transaction amount—whichever is greater.
It’s also important to remember that you’ll start paying interest immediately when you take out a cash advance, as there’s no grace period like you get with purchases.
Cash advances are normally expensive, so it’s best to avoid using them. However, it’s good to know that you have this option in an emergency.
Balance Transfers
A credit card balance transfer is where you transfer debt from one card to another—usually to take advantage of a lower interest rate or a 0% intro APR.
The Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured credit card doesn’t advertise balance transfers. In any event, it’s not an ideal card for this purpose, since it limits your credit line to the amount you’ve paid as a security deposit and charges a high APR.
Foreign Transactions
Credit cards frequently charge a small foreign transaction fee when you buy something abroad or from non-US websites. This fee is often about 1%–3% of the amount you spend.
The Assent Platinum MasterCard® Secured credit card has a foreign transaction fee of 3%, which is within the standard range. So if you need a card to use abroad or for shopping on non-US websites, this one will work, but it could start to become expensive if a lot of small 3% fees get added onto your transactions.
If you’re likely to use your card abroad, check out no-foreign-transaction-fee credit cards.
Credit Score Requirements
According to the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured website, this card is designed to help consumers establish credit and is suitable for borrowers with no credit history. So if you have limited credit or no credit, you may be able to get approved. The website also states that there’s no minimum credit score requirement, suggesting that you may qualify even if you have a low credit score.
Credit Reporting and Credit Building
Credit reporting is important because your credit history consists of the information that your creditors tell the credit bureaus about the activity on your credit card and loan accounts—including whether your payments are on time.
Synovus Bank, the issuer of the Assent Platinum MasterCard® Secured credit card, reports to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, which are the three major credit bureaus. This means it’s a good card for building or rebuilding credit.
Application and Approval
It’s quick and easy to apply for the Assent Platinum MasterCard® Secured credit card. You can apply online by simply filling out a few details on the website, including your full name, address, and email.
Customer Service
If you need help with your Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured card, call the number on the back of your credit card or the Synovus Bank customer service number, which is: (888) 796-6887
You can also write to them at:
Assent Card
P.O. Box 9053
Johnson City, TN 37615-9053
And you can also email Synovus Bank at [email protected].
Should You Get the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured Credit Card?
FinanceJar verdict
If you have a low credit score or a limited or nonexistent credit history, the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured card isn’t a bad way to establish credit. The fees aren’t high, and it gives you reporting to the three most important credit bureaus.
However, it’s not a good option for carrying a balance, thanks to the high purchase APR. It may be worth looking for other secured cards with lower APR, cashback rewards, or other benefits.
Who is this card for?
- Credit newbies: The Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured card is suitable for establishing credit. Students and immigrants who haven’t lived in the US for long might be among those who need help in this respect. However, many students will be eligible for student credit cards with rewards, and there are also more rewarding options available for holders of limited or no credit. As such, many borrowers with limited credit will be able to do better than the Assent card.
- Borrowers with past delinquencies on their credit report: According to the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured website, if you have a bankruptcy pending, you won’t be eligible for the card. However, if you have other black marks on your credit report from past delinquencies, you might still be eligible—possibly even with previous bankruptcies on your record.
Comparable Cards
To see whether the Assent Platinum Mastercard® Secured card is worth applying for, take a look at how it measures up against other cards for holders of less-than-ideal credit.
