The Verve Credit Card is a card designed to help build your credit score. However, it’s not necessarily your best option when it comes to credit building credit cards, and we’ll get into the reasons why further below.
The Verve card is offered by Continental Finance, described on their website as “America’s leading marketers and servicers of credit cards for consumers with less-than perfect credit.”
Continental Finance also offers the Reflex Card and Fit Credit Card, as well as a few other cards designed for people with poor to fair credit. Most of their cards are very similar, and most have the same problem – they charge high annual fees.
Below is a full Verve Credit Card review, as well as some alternative options to consider if you are looking to build your credit score.
Verve Credit Card Overview:
The Verve Card comes up short in a lot of key categories – it has high fees, a high APR, and does not offer any rewards.
As I mentioned, I think there are better cards out there that can help you build your credit score, which is a good thing since the application process for the Verve Credit Card is not straightforward.
On their website, it states they are only accepting direct mail applications. This means you need to receive a prequalification letter in the mail in order to apply. I called customer service to learn more about how to apply, but didn’t get very far, and it seems like the direct mail offer is the only option as of now.
Explore Other Credit Card Options:
Verve Card Key Specs:
Key Details:
- Regular APR: 25.9% at the time of publishing this review (variable)
- Initial Credit Limit: $750 (with the ability to apply for future credit limit increases)
- Credit Reporting: Monthly reporting to all three major credit bureaus
- Fraud Liability: $0
- Security Deposit: Varies
Fees:
- Annual Fee: $99
- Monthly Maintenance fee: $0 (according to the cardholder agreement, although some users did report a monthly fee on top of the annual fee)
- Foreign Transaction Fee: 3%
- Late Payment Fee: $40
- Additional Card Fee: $30
Sign-Up Bonuses and Rewards:
- Not available, which is not uncommon for a beginner or secured credit card
Other:
- Credit Card Application: Direct mail prequalification is currently the only option
- Customer Service: You can contact a Continental Finance Company customer service representative by calling 1-866-449-4514
- Credit Protection: Offers credit protection for an annual fee that you can learn more about here
- Mobile App: A mobile app is available to manage your online account
The Pros and Cons
The Verve Mastercard Credit Card has more cons than pros, and the main benefit it offers is helping to build your credit score.
While the card can help you do that if you use it the right way, you need to make sure that benefit outweighs the fees that the card charges.
Verve Card Pros
Pro 1: Credit Building Capabilities
The biggest pro to the Verve card is that it can help you build your credit score if you use it responsibly.
It’s designed for people with a low credit score, unlike premium credit cards and most cash back credit cards, you can apply and potentially get approved even if you have a bad score.
The card reports to the three credit bureaus, so if you make your payments on time and in full every month, you should start to see your credit score improve slowly over time as your credit history improves. Plus, you can easily monitor your progress by taking advantage of the card’s free monthly credit score checks.
All that being said, there are other options that exist that can help build your credit that we’ll dive into a little further below.
Pro 2: Credit Limit
The Verve Credit Card states that your credit limit could start at $750. Plus, they offer the ability to apply for a potential credit limit increase after 6 months.
That’s a lot of spending power for a credit card designed for someone with less than ideal credit. While a high credit limit is generally a good thing, you need to ensure that you use your card responsibly and only spend what you can afford to pay off.
Just because you can spend $750 a month, doesn’t mean you should.
Verve Card Cons
Con 1: Fees
The biggest downfall with the Verve Card is that it has some hefty fees.
Mainly, the $99 annual fee is a large one to pay with almost no benefits offered in return.
Plus, there are a few fees that you can avoid, but need to watch out for, such as the foreign transaction fee, late payment fee, and additional card fee.
While some other reviews on this card reported a monthly maintenance fee, I couldn’t find any mention of it in their cardholder agreement. Although, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
If a monthly fee does exist on top of the annual card, then you have an extremely high chance of finding a better card with fewer fees to help build your credit score.
Con 2: Lack of Rewards
A lack of rewards is not uncommon for a credit card in this category, but it is still a downfall of this card.
Con 3: Application Process
As mentioned earlier, the application process for this card is far from straightforward. I’m not even sure if you can apply without getting selected as a prequalified applicant via mail offers.
The lack of transparency is a clear negative here in my book.
Con 4: High APR
Paying the annual percentage rate, or APR, should be avoided at all costs. It’s essentially the interest rate carried on any credit card balance left unpaid at the end of the month (or on a cash advance).
If you’re paying the APR, it usually means you haven’t been paying off your card on time and in full every month.
While it should be avoided, sometimes emergencies happen and unexpected expenses pop up causing you to carry an outstanding balance on your card, and the APR with this card is very high if you do end up needing to pay it.
Is the Verve Credit Card Worth It?
In short, no, I do not think the Verve Credit Card is worth it.
For one, who knows if you can even apply for this card! The application process is not straight forward on their website.
Although, even if it was easy to apply, I’m not sure that I would.
The high fees, high APR, and lack of rewards make this card unappealing, especially compared to your other options. If you add in a monthly fee on top of the annual fee, then it moves even farther down on the list of credit cards for people with bad credit.
As you’ll see in the next section, there are better credit cards out there that can help improve your credit score.
Alternative Credit Cards to Build Credit
The Verve Card is not your only option when it comes to building credit.
In fact, I wrote a whole article on the best credit cards for someone with fair credit that highlights many cards that outshine the Verve Card.
If you have a bad credit score or anything below fair credit, there are better options out there for you too, including secured credit cards and regular credit cards.
I could list out some cards for you to review, but the better option would be for you to use the credit card tool below to find cards to apply for based on your credit score:
Last, if you’re not sure where your credit score sits on the spectrum, Experian has a reputable definition and ranking of credit scores:
- 800-850: Exceptional
- 740-799: Very Good
- 670-739: Good
- 580-669: Fair
- 300-579: Very Poor
And if you need to check your credit score, you can do so through Credit Karma, annualcreditreport.com, and many other options.
Summary: Verve Credit Card Review
The Verve Credit Card is not the worst card out there, especially if your primary goal is to build your credit score.
Keep in mind, that’s assuming there is no monthly maintenance fee, and just the $99 annual fee. If there is an additional monthly fee, I’d argue that the Verve Card is one of the worst out there!
It’s worth doing your due diligence to see what other options you have before committing to the Verve Card. You might be able to find a better secured card or unsecured card with a lower annual fee or potentially even one that offers some sort of rewards to offset the fee.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Just Start Investing is a personal finance website that makes investing easy. Learn the simple strategies to start investing today, as well as ways to optimize your credit cards, banking, and budget. Just Start Investing has been featured on Business Insider, Forbes, and US News & World Report, among other major publications for its easy-to-follow writing.
