Pros
- Qualify with bad credit
- Does not require security deposit
Cons
- High membership fees
- High regular APR
- Foreign fee
Verve Credit Card
Additional Info
- Monthly reporting to the three major credit bureaus.
- Fast and easy application process.
- Free online account access - 24/7.
- Based on your credit limit of $300, your initial available credit will be $225 (or $195 if you choose to have an additional card).
- More Details & Reviews About Verve Credit Card
Verve Credit Card Verdict
The Verve Credit Card is an expensive unsecured credit card for people with bad credit who need to borrow a small amount of money. It has an annual fee of $49 - $175 plus a monthly fee from second year on.
Although Verve’s issuer grants you access to an unsecured credit line for financing emergency expenses, you will have very limited spending power to work with. What’s more, any balance that you carry from month to month will accrue interest at a lofty 29.99% - 35.9% (V) rate. A $225 balance repaid over a year’s time under such conditions would generate at least $67 in interest charges.
As a result, we recommend looking elsewhere regardless of whether you need an unsecured emergency loan or merely a means of rebuilding credit at the lowest possible cost. Below you can learn more about why that’s the case as well as which alternatives are best for each purpose.
Verve Credit Card Highlights
- Up to a $1,000 in Initial Spending Power: In the best-case scenario, the Verve Credit Card would give you up to a $1,000 short-term loan to start with. That the account starting credit limit, which is effectively reduced by its $49 - $175 annual fee. This could conceivably help you afford modest emergency expenses but won’t do too much good in relation to more significant obligations.
Verve Credit Card Lowlights
- $49 - $175 Annual Fee: The Verve Card does not charge an application processing fee, as do some of its fellow unattractive offers, but a hefty membership fee does come due immediately upon account opening. Not only does this serve to diminish your initial spending power, but it also figures to exacerbate your current financial difficulties. For context, the average credit card’s annual fee is just $22.29.
- Up to $325 In Subsequent-Year Fees: Things only get worse the longer you keep the Verve Card open. Its annual fee is $49 - $175, but a $0 intro 1st yr, up to $12.5 after monthly fee also takes effect at that time. As a result, you will have to pay $199 - $325 in cumulative fees from the second year on.
- 29.99% - 35.9% (V) Regular APR: Credit cards in general are known for charging high interest rates relative to mortgages, auto loans and other borrowing vehicles. But the rates charged by cards such as Verve are stratospheric even by credit-card standards. The Verve Credit Card’s 29.99% - 35.9% (V) APR is well above the market average for secured cards 22.83% and credit cards for people with fair credit 26.41% according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report.You can use our Credit Card Payoff Calculator to see just how much the Verve Credit Card would cost you relative to other offers you may be considering.
Verve Credit Card Other Considerations
- 3% (min $10) Cash-Advance Fee: Some emergency expenses can be paid for only in cash, so it figures that some people in search of an unsecured offer wish to turn their credit line into hard currency. Doing so will really cost you, though. The Verve Card charges a fee of 3% of the amount withdrawn or $10, whichever is higher, and the high 29.99% - 35.90% (V) cash-advance APR immediately begins to accrue on any withdrawal. That’s well above the 24.89% cash-advance rate levied by the average credit card, which is saying a lot in an environment where cash-advance costs have been consistently rising. Those are the card’s normal cash-advance terms.
- 3% Foreign Transaction Fee: You will get hit with a 3% surcharge on any purchase processed outside the U.S.
- No Smart Chip: The credit-card industry is in the process of replacing old magnetic-stripe cards with new chip-based versions, which are better equipped to prevent fraud. But the Verve Card doesn’t seem to be participating — not yet at least. This shouldn’t end up costing you anything beyond time and hassle as all credit cards provide $0 liability guarantees for unauthorized transactions. But time is a valuable commodity, and no one needs added stress.
Verve Credit Card Review Methodology
This Verve Credit Card review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Verve Credit Card and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.
The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Verve Credit Card out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.
Ratings for each category reflect how close Verve Credit Card is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Verve Credit Card to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.
To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.
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