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The Credit One Bank American Express® Card is a solid choice for consumers with average credit who want to take advantage of American Express benefits and build up credit. However, you’d find better options elsewhere if you want a credit card to make big purchases or get targeted rewards for a specific purchase category.
Quick Review
The Credit One Bank American Express® Card is a simple cashback rewards card that operates on the American Express network. This is an unsecured credit card, meaning you don’t need to pay a credit card security deposit. However, it charges an annual fee of $39.
The cashback rewards for the Credit One Bank American Express® Card are pretty simple and straightforward—you get 1% cash back on all purchases. You also get access to all the perks and benefits only available to American Express cardholders.
The interest rate on the Credit One Bank American Express® Card sits slightly high at 26.99% (variable), and you’ll need to pay foreign transaction, cash advance, and late payment fees. For these reasons, you won’t want to use this card to carry a balance, withdraw money from an ATM, or make many purchases abroad.
One feature that makes the Credit One Bank American Express® Card stand out from similar cards is its extensive protection for primary cardholders. In addition to automatically getting retail protection and insurance on eligible purchases, you can choose to enroll in Credit One Bank’s Credit Protection Program, which covers your minimum payments for up to 6 months if you encounter financial difficulty due to loss of employment or disability.
You can also qualify for this credit card with less-than-perfect credit, which makes it a solid choice if you want to build up credit or rebuild your credit. On the other hand, if you have good or excellent credit, you can easily find better credit cards with more attractive rewards and lower costs.
Credit One Bank American Express® Card Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Credit card issuer: Credit One Bank
- Network: American Express
- Annual fee: $39
- APR: 26.99% (variable)
- Minimum credit limit: $300
- Grace period: 24 days
Additional Information
- 1% cashback rewards on all purchases
- Travel insurance and retail protection
- Free access to Experian credit score
- Contactless payment
- Zero fraud liability
- Account activity reported to all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion)
- Customizable notifications and payment due date
Credit One Bank American Express® Card Feature Breakdown
Fees
- Annual fee: $39
- Foreign transaction fee: Either $1 or 3% of each purchase (whichever is greater)
- Cash advance fee: Either $5 or 8% of the amount of each cash advance (whichever is greater)
- Late fee: Up to $39
Interest Rates
- Purchase APR: 26.99% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 26.99% (variable)
- Minimum interest charge: $1.00
As is the case with other credit cards, you only have to pay interest on the balance that carries over from one billing cycle to the next. This means you can avoid paying high interest charges by paying off your balance in full each month.
Rewards
All purchases made on your Credit One Bank American Express® Card automatically earn you 1% cash back, which is applied to your statement balance. This rewards system is very simple, even if the rewards rate is lower than what you’d get on other cards.
Since the annual fee is $39, you would need to spend $3,900 per year on your Credit One Bank American Express® Card to get enough 1% cashback rewards to make your $39 back and break even. That’s the equivalent of $325 per month.
If you’re spending more than that, then you can save even more from your purchases. Just don’t let your balance carry over from one billing period to the next, otherwise the interest you’re paying might cancel out your savings.
Travel Perks
Any travel purchases you make with your Credit One Bank American Express credit card will qualify for the following insurance and protection:
- Travel accident insurance: Coverage up to $150,000 on flights
- Car rental loss and damage insurance: Coverage up to $50,000 per car rental
It’s worth noting that many credit cards come with these protections, although that doesn’t stop them from being valuable features that’ll give you some peace of mind on your next trip.
This card also has several travel benefits for purchases and bookings made on the Credit One Bank travel platform. These perks include complimentary benefits at more than 3,000 hotels worldwide, an average discount of 15% on stays at 3–5 star hotels, and up to 25% off car rental bookings.
Retail Protection
One of the most notable benefits of the Credit One Bank American Express® Card is its retail purchase protection. As long as you purchase an item entirely with your credit card, you can expect to get the following types of coverage:
- Damage and theft: Up to $1,000 per purchase for items that are damaged or stolen within 90 days of purchase
- Returns: Covered product returns up to $300 per item
- Extended warranty: Warranty extensions of up to one additional year on qualifying purchases
As you might expect, the extent of damage and theft protection is limited to the actual cost of the item, and you can only receive up to $50,000 in any 12-month period. For return protection, this limit is set at $1,000 per year.
Credit Protection Program
Not many credit cards offer you the peace of mind that comes with the Credit Protection Program available to Credit One Bank American Express® Cardholders. For just $0.96 of every $100 of the balance on your monthly billing statement, Credit One Bank will cover your minimum payments for up to 6 months if you become involuntarily unemployed or disabled.
This program is completely optional, and you have the option to cancel at any time for any reason. The fact that the enrollment fee is based on your statement balance is a huge benefit—if you pay off your balance completely before the billing date each month, then you can get this credit protection completely free of charge.
It’s worth noting that you can only activate the benefits offered under the Credit Protection Program after your first 30 days of having the card, and any unemployment or disability you have at the time you enroll won’t be covered. You also won’t be able to use your card during the benefit period.
American Express Benefits
Every Credit One Bank American Express® Cardholder gets access to exclusive American Express perks and benefits. Here are just a few examples:
- Travel discounts
- Accident insurance
- First dibs on tickets to concerts, Broadway shows, and sporting events
- Discounts and money back on select purchases
These are simple but respectable perks that you might not usually be able to get elsewhere with a mediocre credit score.
Authorized Users
The Credit One Bank American Express credit card allows authorized users who are at least 15 years old. This means you can add a child, spouse, other family member, or friend as an authorized user on your credit card account, and they’ll be able to use the card for their own purchases.
However, if you want to add an authorized user for the purpose of credit building, note that Credit One Bank only provides credit reporting for spouses. This means you won’t be able to help a child or friend piggyback off your good credit.
Credit Reporting
Credit One Bank reports to all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). This is good news if you’re looking to build credit or improve your credit score since your on-time payments will appear on all three of your credit reports and help you establish a strong payment history that all future lenders will be able to see.
Just bear in mind that credit reporting also has the power to damage your credit score and credit history. Take care not to make any late payments or allow your account to become delinquent or get charged off.
Customer Service
Credit One Bank has a customer service contact page that lists all their telephone numbers and addresses for different types of inquiries. For general inquiries, you can use the following contact details for Credit One Bank:
Telephone numbers:
(877) 825-3242 (toll-free, TTY/TDD)
(702) 405-2042 (outside the US)
Address:
Credit One Bank
P.O. Box 98873
Las Vegas, NV 89193-8873
Should You Get the Credit One Bank American Express® Card?
FinanceJar Verdict
You should consider the Credit One Bank American Express Card if you’re looking for an unsecured credit card with simple rewards that you can use to build or improve your credit. If you already have a good or excellent credit score, then you’ll easily be able to find other credit cards with lower fees and more attractive rewards.
Who is this card for?
- People who want to build credit: If you have fair credit and are looking for an easy-to-use credit card to build your credit into the good range, this card is a good choice. Just remember to use the card responsibly by not borrowing too much of your limit and always paying your balance on time.
- People with fair credit who want an American Express credit card: Most American Express credit cards are considered prime borrowing options, meaning they’re only available to borrowers with good-to-excellent credit. This card gives fair-credit borrowers a chance at adding an Amex card to their wallets and enjoying some American Express benefits.
- People who want simple cashback rewards: While the rewards for this card are low, they’re easy and unlimited. If you don’t want to manage cashback categories and just want some extra cash, this card provides straightforward rewards.
Comparable Cards
The Credit One Bank American Express® Card isn’t necessarily for everyone. If you have any doubts or you just want to explore your other options, see how this credit card compares to similar cards currently on the market.
