PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® Review
Although the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® allows you access to an unsecured credit line even if you have a low credit score, the few benefits it offers don’t come close to outweighing its drawbacks.
Here’s why we don’t recommend the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard®:
- Nothing comes free: The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® comes with a fee for just about everything. In addition to steep annual and monthly fees, you’ll need to pay a program fee just to get started—not to mention charges for getting an additional card or a credit limit increase. The fees hardly seem worth it considering the few benefits you’ll get in return.
- You’ll be stuck with a small credit line: As if the initial credit limit of $200–$700 wasn’t already low enough, your PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® fees will be deducted from your available credit, leaving you very little to start off with before paying off your initial balance. Although you can increase your credit limit after a year if you pay your bills on time, you’ll need to pay a fee for the privilege.
- Lowest scorers won’t qualify: Even though the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® is geared towards people with poor credit, you still need at least a 500 credit score to get approval. Sadly, the card has all the drawbacks of a bad-credit unsecured card while still remaining inaccessible to the lowest scorers.
Although it has the essentials for improving your credit by strengthening your payment history, the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® leaves a lot to be desired. The bottom line is that there are much better offers on the market, even for people with damaged credit.
Pros & Cons
Who Is the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® Best For?
You shouldn’t get the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® unless you have no other options and you need an unsecured credit card right now. Even if you have disastrous credit, you can get better cards for a lower cost.
With that said, the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® card is designed for the following groups of people:
- Credit rebuilders: The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® is suitable for people with poor or fair credit scores who want to get their credit back on track. If you’re a bad credit holder or you’ve had rejections for other credit cards, you may still be eligible for the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® credit card.
- People who don’t want to pay a security deposit: The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® is an unsecured credit card, meaning it doesn’t require a security deposit. However, you’ll still need to pay $105–$220 in fees to open the account, which would be enough to cover a deposit on some secured cards. Getting a secured card is ultimately a much better option since you’d be able to get your deposit back later.
Before applying for the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard®, make sure you’ve explored all your other options. Check out the credit card lists below to explore the top offers available to you:
- Best credit cards for bad credit
- Best unsecured credit cards for bad credit
- Best secured credit cards
- Best credit cards for a credit score around 580
Rates & Fees
Fees
- Annual fee: $50–$125 in the first year; $45–$49 after that (based on your creditworthiness)
- Monthly fee: $0–$10.40 (based on your creditworthiness)
- Program fee: $55–$95 (based on your creditworthiness)
- Cash advance fee: $8 or 5% (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: 3%
- Late payment fee: $28–$39
- Returned payment fee: $28–$39
- Additional card fee: $29 per year
- Credit limit increase fee: 25% of the credit increase amount
The program fee is a one-time fee that you pay when you open your account. You can pay the program fee in full or with partial payments using one of the following methods:
- Checking account
- Debit card
- Credit card
Aside from the program fee, the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® will charge your annual and monthly fees before you even begin using your credit card. The fees will be deducted from the amount of credit you initially receive. If you add another cardholder to your account, they’ll deduct yet another $29 from your credit line, so your initial available credit will go down even more.
Here’s the lowdown about what fees you’ll pay for the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® (assuming you have just one cardholder):
| If your credit limit is... | Program fee will be... | Annual fees will be... | Monthly fee will be... | Initial available credit will be... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $95 (one-time fee) | $50 first year $45 annually | None for first year $75 annually ($6.25 per month) | $150 |
| $300 | $95 (one-time fee) | $75 first year $45 annually | None for first year $75 annually ($6.25 per month) | $225 |
| $400 | $95 (one-time fee) | $100 first year $45 annually | None for first year $75 annually ($6.25 per month) | $300 |
| $500 | $95 (one-time fee) | $125 first year $49 annually | None for first year $124.80 annually ($10.40 per month) | $375 |
| $600 | $75 (one-time fee) | $79 first year $49 annually | $70.20 first year ($5.85 per month) $99 annually ($8.25 per month) | $515.15 |
| $700 | $55 (one-time fee) | $79 first year $49 annually | $96 first year (introductory) ($8.00 per month) $124.80 annually ($10.40 per month) | $613 |
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 36.00% (fixed)
- Cash advance APR: 36.00% (fixed)
- Minimum interest charge: $1
The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® has one of the highest APRs out there. Unlike many credit cards, which have an APR range depending on your credit score, the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® has a fixed APR of 36.00% (fixed) that applies to all cardholders and never changes.
Needless to say, this is a dangerous APR. If you don’t pay your full balance each month, you’ll start accumulating interest, which will cause your balance to grow and make it harder and harder to stay out of credit card debt.
Rewards
The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® doesn’t offer any rewards. This isn’t really a surprise considering that many rewards cards are only available to applicants with a good credit score.
However, there are credit cards with cashback rewards that you can access with poor credit or no credit score at all, especially secured cards. If rewards are important to you, do some research to find a decent rewards card that suits your needs.
Credit Limit
Initially, you’ll get a credit limit of $200–$700 on your PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard®. However, First Premier will deduct some of your fees from your available credit before you begin using your card, so you’ll have a balance to pay off in your first month of card ownership.
Here’s how much credit you’ll have left to play with, depending on your initial credit limit:
| Your initial credit limit | $200 | $300 | $400 | $500 | $600 | $700 |
| Your initial available credit after fees | $150 | $225 | $300 | $375 | $515 | $613 |
As you can see, all the fees will make a big dent in your initial available credit, so don’t be surprised if you can’t charge a lot to your new card before you’ve paid your first credit card bill.
Credit Limit Increases
You may be able to get a credit limit increase after 12 months have passed since you first opened your account. You’ll only be eligible if you’ve used your card responsibly and paid your bills on time.
You will have to pay a fee equivalent to 25% of your credit limit increase. For example, if you get a credit limit increase of $100, you’ll be charged a $25 fee.
Benefits
You get a few basic benefits with the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® credit card.
| Benefit | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Free FICO credit score | Free FICO score with each monthly billing statement, updated quarterly. |
| Fraud alerts | First Premier monitors your credit card account activity in case of fraudulent activity. If they see abnormal spending patterns or anything else unusual, they’ll alert you either by SMS or by telephone. |
| Mastercard® ID Theft Protection | Fraud and ID theft protection, TransUnion credit report monitoring, and emergency assistance for lost or stolen cards. |
| PREMIER Credit Protection program | Optional program (costing $0.89 for every $100 you have in debt) that provides full or partial debt forgiveness or minimum payment coverage if you lose your job, become disabled, have to take unpaid family leave, require hospitalization, or pass away. |
How to get the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard®
Credit Score Required
According to the card issuer, the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® is suitable for people with credit scores of 500 or higher. It’s safe to assume that this is the minimum credit score required for approval.
To avoid rejection, only apply for the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® if you meet this threshold. Even then, bear in mind that First Premier Bank will also take other factors into consideration when assessing your credit card application, and you’re not guaranteed an offer even if your credit score meets their criteria.
How to Apply
You can apply for a PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® credit card on the PREMIER Bankcard website. As mentioned, the process will probably include a credit check.
Once you’ve applied, you may have to wait 7–10 business days for a decision. If you want to check the status of your application, call (800) 947-1444 and choose option 1.
Building Credit with the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard®
Credit Reporting
Credit reporting is an important part of building credit, as your credit report is based on the information your lenders send to the credit bureaus.
Lenders aren’t legally required to report your credit history; some lenders report to only one or two of the major credit bureaus, if any. First Premier reports to credit bureaus monthly, which will help your credit report stay up to date.
Tips for Building Credit
Because First Premier reports to all of the major credit bureaus, it’s suitable for credit building. However, whether the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® will hurt or help your credit depends on how you manage your account.
Take these steps to build or rebuild your credit with the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard®:
- Pay all your bills on time: The most important thing to focus on is paying all your credit card bills on time. Late payments can seriously hurt your credit score, whereas timely payment will gradually increase your score.
- Make more than the minimum payment: Paying your credit card bill in full rather than just making the minimum payment is especially important with the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® since any unpaid balance will begin accumulating interest at an APR of 36.00% (fixed), which will hurt your credit by rapidly increasing your amount of debt.
- Ask for a credit limit increase: Increasing your amount of available credit is important for credit building because it automatically reduces your credit utilization rate (the amount of credit you’re using) and gives you the chance to show lenders you can resist overspending. Ask for a credit limit increase on your PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® as soon as you’re eligible.
For more guidance, read up on other ways to use a credit card to build credit. This’ll help you make the most of whatever credit card you get and help you establish and maintain healthy credit.
Comparable Cards
To decide whether the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® credit card is right for you, take a look at how it measures up against similar credit cards on the market.
PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® FAQs
Does the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® allow cash advances?
The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® does allow cash advances (meaning you can use your credit card to withdraw money from an ATM). However, you’ll need to pay a cash advance fee of either $8 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance (whichever is greater).
There’s also a limit on how much money you can take out. When you first open your account, you’ll have a cash advance limit equivalent to 10% of your credit limit.
After 90 days, your card issuer may increase your cash advance limit to 50% of your credit limit if you meet the following conditions:
- Your account has 2 consecutive months of payment activity.
- You’re up to date with your payments and haven’t had any payments returned or declined in the last 60 days.
For example, if you start with a credit limit of $500, you’ll be able to take out up to $50 in cash advances (as long as you have $50 worth of unused credit). After 90 days, you’ll then have the chance to get a higher cash advance limit of $250.
What’s the grace period on the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard®?
The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® gives you a grace period of 27 days (beginning on the first day of the new billing cycle). The grace period allows you time to pay your bills in full without racking up any interest charges.
If you pay off your balance in full by the due date, your purchases during the grace period won’t accumulate interest. However, if you carry a balance from previous billing cycles, you’ll have to pay interest on any charges you make to your card during the grace period.
Does the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® allow balance transfers?
The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® credit card doesn’t offer balance transfers. This means you can’t move debt from another credit card onto the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® credit card.
Balance transfers are a form of debt consolidation, and most of the cards that allow these types of transfers are only available to prime borrowers.
Does the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® allow foreign transactions?
Not all credit cards permit foreign transactions, but the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® does. You’ll have to pay a foreign transaction fee to cover the cost though.
The PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® has a 3% foreign transaction fee, which you’ll be charged any time you use your card abroad. These charges will appear as a surcharge on your credit card bill.
How do you contact PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® customer service?
If you have further questions about the PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® credit card or you need help with your application, you can call First Premier Bank’s customer service number: (800) 987-5521.
