Surge Mastercard®

The Surge Mastercard credit card is a credit-builder credit card issued by Celtic Bank and serviced by Continental Finance Company.

It’s either an unsecured or secured credit card. The credit card issuer decides which type you will get based on your previous payment history, credit score, and average gross monthly income.

If you get approved for the secured version, you will have to pay a deposit, which can between $300 and $750.

Who is Surge Credit Card For?

Being a credit-builder card, it can help people with less than a good credit score or no payment history at all repair, re-establish, or build credit from scratch.

People who don’t stand a chance of getting a credit card they want, due to bad credit ratings or limited credit history, can use this card to start building and improving their credit.

If you want an easy-to-get Mastercard that still reports your transaction history to all major credit bureaus, this is a viable option.

What are Surge Mastercard Benefits?

The application procedure is very easy, and it takes a very short time to complete. You can do it online on the issuer’s official website. If the system can verify your data on its own, you will get a response via mail within minutes. Some applications take longer (7-10 business days) because human agents have to review and approve them.

You can use it on all Mastercard payment terminals. During the first 12 months following the credit card activation, you don’t have to worry about monthly maintenance and foreign transactions fees. There is an annual fee for the first year and a reduced one for each consecutive year.

There are few things that make this credit card a viable option for people who are planning to build or repair their credit. The application, and pre-qualify response time is quite short, which means that you can get to repair your credit ratings really fast.

The bank reports your payment history to all 3 major consumer credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you use the card to make small purchases, manage to make payments on time every month, and never carry a balance to the next billing period, you’ll be able to see the positive impact on your credit in 6 months.

RELATED: Credit Reporting Cards Explained

Are There Any Drawbacks?

There are several things that you should take into consideration if you are credit card shopping, though. The annual fee is significant, and it will be subtracted from your monthly limit of $500 after you activate the card. Also, the variable APR is higher than the industry average.

After the 1st year of using the Surge Mastercard, the annual fee drops, but a monthly maintenance fee becomes a thing that you have to take into account. This is quite a significant sum of money on a yearly level.

You will need to cover the cost of the annual fee and you’ll still have another 12 payments to cover the cost of the monthly maintenance fee. Don’t forget the foreign transaction fee, which also becomes applicable, starting with the second year.

Should You Use Surge Credit Card?

Other than offering people with bad or no credit score an opportunity to get hands-on unsecured credit and start building or improving their credit, the Surge card doesn’t provide anything else. There is no introductory APR, bonuses, cashback, or any other type of incentive to use it.

Given that the starter credit card niche is quite competitive, Surge could do better. However, if your credit ratings are bad, or if you have no credit history whatsoever, it will be hard for you to shop for better credit card deals. Due to the low requirements and fast pre-quality, this may be the only option you have to start building and improving your credit.