Table of Contents
Is the Verve Mastercard® Worth It?
No, the Verve Mastercard® is not worth it. Borrowers with bad credit may think this is their only option, but there are better cards on the market that even no-credit and low-credit applicants can get. Here’s why the Verve Mastercard® isn’t worth it:
- It’s more expensive than you think: The Verve Mastercard® charges an annual fee of $99.99 and monthly fees of $10. That means you’ll pay $219.99 every year just for owning this card. If you’re new to borrowing, you want to keep your credit cards open for a long time because it will improve your credit score. But leaving this account open year after year will cost you thousands of dollars—with no returns through rewards.
- Your initial credit limit may not be very high: While the Verve website suggests initial credit limits go up to $1,000, the Continental Finance customer service team told us that new borrowers are offered credit limits of $300, $500, or $750. So getting a $1,000 credit limit is nowhere near guaranteed on this card. While the card does offer credit limit increases after 6 months, a credit limit that’s this low doesn’t justify the exorbitant annual and monthly fees.
- Interest rates are outrageous: The Verve Mastercard® charges APR between 24.99%–29.99% (variable). These rates, especially if you get an offer near the high end, could quickly translate to massive interest charges if you don’t pay your full balance every month.
- There are better unsecured cards for bad credit: Many borrowers turn to the Verve Mastercard® because it doesn’t require a security deposit, as many credit cards for bad credit do. However, there are still unsecured credit cards for poor credit out there that don’t charge any annual fee, or charge a lower annual fee than the Verve Mastercard®.
If you want to see alternatives to the Verve Mastercard®, skip ahead to see comparable cards.
Verve Mastercard® Pros & Cons
Verve Mastercard® Important Details
- Annual fee: $99.99
- Monthly fees: $10
- Regular APR: 24.99%–29.99% (variable)
- Rewards: N/A
- Security deposit: N/A
- Credit limit: $300–$1,000
Verve Mastercard® Rates & Fees
Fees
- Annual fee: $99.99
- Monthly fee: $10
- Cash advance fee: $5 or 5% (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: 3%
- Late fee: Up to $40
- Returned payment fee: Up to $40
- Additional card fee: $30 (one-time fee for adding an authorized user to your account)
The biggest disadvantage of the Verve Mastercard® is the cost. When you account for both the annual and monthly fees, you’ll have to pay nearly $220 every year just to keep this card in your wallet. Additionally, the cost isn’t offset by rewards, so you’ll only lose money.
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 24.99%–29.99% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 24.99%–29.99% (variable)
- Minimum interest charge: None
If you don’t pay your credit card balance in full each month, you’ll be charged interest. The interest you’ll pay each year depends on your APR (“annual percentage rate”). This APR is very high, especially if you’re offered an interest rate near the top of this range. That means leaving a balance on your card would incur expensive interest charges.
Verve Mastercard® Benefits
Benefits
In terms of benefits, the Verve Mastercard® credit card gives:
- Free credit scores: You’ll get free access to your VantageScore 3.0 credit score from Experian when you sign up for e-statements.
- Zero fraud liability protection: This means that you won’t have to pay for any purchases on your card that you haven’t authorized (e.g., if your card gets lost or stolen).
- Mastercard® ID Theft Protection: This includes fraud and ID theft protection, TransUnion credit report monitoring, and emergency assistance if your card is lost or stolen.
- 24-hour assistance for lost or stolen cards: This gives you an emergency phone number to report your card lost or stolen and get emergency card replacements. You can also get emergency cash advances.
- Discounted Mastercard® airport concierge services: This means you’ll enjoy a 15% saving on Mastercard® airport meet-and-greet services.
- Continental Credit Protection Program: You can opt into this by paying $0.99 for every $100 you have in debt. The program allows you to cancel some of your debt if you lose your job or become disabled (in which case it will cover up to 12 consecutive minimum monthly payments for you). It will also repay in full any outstanding balance you have on your card if you pass away.
Credit Limit
Initially, the Verve Mastercard® will theoretically give you a credit limit of $300–$1,000 based on your creditworthiness. We’ve gotten conflicting information about how high the credit limits actually go, as customer service told us limits only go up to $750, while the website advertises limits as high as $1,000.
Note that your available credit will be lower initially, until you’ve paid off your inaugural fees.
Credit Limit Increases
The Verve Mastercard® website says that you can increase your credit limit after 6 months by making the first 6 monthly minimum payments on time. Increases can as much as double your limit.
Credit Reporting
Credit reporting is an important part of building credit, as your credit score is updated based on the information your lenders send to the credit bureaus.
The Verve Mastercard® issuer reports to all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), which can help you improve your credit score more efficiently.
Credit Building
Because the Verve Mastercard® reports to all three credit bureaus, you can use it for credit building. However, you must keep up with your monthly payments to benefit your credit score; your credit will suffer if you miss payments or pay late.
Keeping up with your payments may not be as easy as you think when you consider the cost of the card. Annual and monthly fees will be taken out of your available balance, so you’ll need to pay off a debt every single month. If you forget to pay on time, you’ll end up hurting your credit score, not helping it.
The upshot is that this isn’t the best card for credit building, even though it reports to all 3 bureaus. If you’re using a card without fees, at least you can control your monthly balance by only making purchases you can afford—a much safer way to build credit.
Verve Mastercard® FAQs
Does the Verve Mastercard® have rewards?
The Verve Mastercard® credit card doesn’t offer any rewards.
This isn’t particularly surprising, as applicants with poor credit or limited credit histories generally have a hard time qualifying for rewards cards.
However, cards with cash back and rewards points for holders of lower credit scores do exist—they’re just harder to come by. If rewards are important to you, keep searching to see if you can find more suitable cards.
What credit score do I need for the Verve Mastercard®?
The Verve Mastercard® servicer, Continental Finance, describes itself as “a servicer of credit cards for consumers with less-than-perfect credit.”
Continental Finance recommends many of its cards for holders of “bad” credit. FICO scores between 300–580 are considered to be “bad” or “poor,” so even if your score is in this range, you may still be eligible for the Verve Mastercard®. 1
Does the Verve Mastercard® have a grace period?
The Verve Mastercard® credit card gives you a 25-day grace period (beginning on the first day of the new billing cycle). The grace period gives 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 on your card during the grace period.
Can I use the Verve Mastercard® for a cash advance?
You can use a Verve Mastercard® for a cash advance, which is when you use your credit card to withdraw money from an ATM. Cash advances are allowed on the Verve Mastercard® credit card only after your account has been open for 95 days.
The cash advance fee is either $5 or 5% of the amount of each advance—whichever is greater. The cash advance APR is the same as the purchase APR but will not benefit from the grace period, meaning your cash advance balance will start accruing interest right away.
Can I use the Verve Mastercard® for a balance transfer?
The Verve Mastercard® does not allow balance transfers.
Who issues the Verve Mastercard®?
Verve Mastercard® is issued by Bank of Missouri and serviced by Continental Finance.
What’s the customer service number for the Verve Mastercard®?
If you have questions about the Verve Mastercard®, you can contact customer service at: (866) 449-4514
You can also write to them at:
Continental Finance
P.O. Box 3220
Buffalo, NY 14240-3220
How do I apply for the Verve Mastercard®?
You can apply for a Verve Mastercard® credit card:
- By phone: Call (866) 513-4598
- By accepting a mail offer online: Go to the Verve Mastercard® website and enter the reservation number included with your mail offer.
- By mail: If you’ve received a preselected offer by mail, it should include an acceptance certificate. To accept the offer, simply complete the certificate and mail it to Continental Finance.
When you apply for the Verve Mastercard®, you’ll have to give the following information:
- Your full name
- Your Social Security number
- Your date of birth
- Your address (no P.O. boxes)
The credit card issuer needs this data to check your credit. They’ll then use the information from your check along with other details (e.g., your monthly income) to decide whether they’ll approve your application and, if so, which borrowing terms they’ll offer you.
In most cases, according to Continental Finance, you should get an instant decision about your application. However, the exact amount of time it’ll take to get your credit card could reach up to 30 days if you need to provide additional information to help with the decision.
Once Verve Mastercard® approves your application, your new card should be in the mail within 3 business days.
Should You Get the Verve Mastercard® Credit Card?
Given its high annual fee, monthly fees, and minimal benefits, we recommend against the Verve Mastercard®.
You’ll be likely to find cheaper, better cards, even if your credit is far from ideal. As such, the Verve Mastercard® is probably only a good idea if you’ve run out of other options. Before you consider it, check out some other credit cards available for your credit score range, including:
Be aware that secured cards require a security deposit, and this will often determine your initial credit limit. While secured cards can sometimes be more expensive than the Verve Mastercard® in the short term, if you can find secured cards without annual fees, they’ll probably cost you less in the long term.
Comparable Cards
Take a look at some alternatives to the Verve Mastercard®, so you can see what better options are on the market. Keep in mind that these are only a few choices, and there are plenty of cards you can qualify for, even with a damaged credit score.
