Surge Mastercard® Credit Card

• All credit types welcome to apply!
• Monthly reporting to the three major credit bureaus
• Initial Credit Limit of $500.00!* (subject to available credit)
• Fast and easy application process; results in seconds
• Use your card at locations everywhere that Mastercard® is accepted
• Free online account access 24/7
• Checking Account Required

The Surge Mastercard credit cards is a credit-builder credit card issued by Celtic Bank and serviced by Continental Finance Company. Being a credit-builder card, the Surge Mastercard is a card that can help people with less than a good credit score or no payment history at all repair, re-establish, or build a credit score from scratch.

The Surge Mastercard is either 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 of the Surge Mastercard, you will have to pay a deposit, which can be as much as $500.

The application procedure for the Surge Mastercard is very easy, and it takes a very short time to complete. You can do it online on the issuer's secure 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 the Surge Mastercard on all Mastercard payment terminals. During the first 12 months following the credit card activation, you don't have to worry about foreign transaction and monthly maintenance fees. There is an annual fee of $125 for the first year and $96 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 score. The application, approval, and response time is quite short, which means that you can get to repairing your credit score really fast.

The Surge Mastercard reports your payment history to all three major consumer credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (See cards reporting credit). 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 score in six months.

Related: Cards Reporting Credit Explained

There are several things that you should take into consideration if you are credit card shopping, though. The annual fee is quite significant, and it will be subtracted from your monthly limit of $500 after you activate the card. Also, the variable APR is significantly higher than the industry average - 29.99%.

After the first year of using the Surge Mastercard, the annual fee drops to $96, but a monthly maintenance fee of 10% 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 pay $96 to cover the cost of the annual fee and $120 in 12 payments of $10 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. (See No Annual Fee Cards)

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

Given that the credit-builder credit card niche is quite competitive, the Surge Mastercard could do a lot better.