Reflex® Platinum Mastercard® review

If you have a limited credit history or are looking to repair your bad credit, signing up for a new credit card can be a great first step. You get a chance to practice good financial habits and build your track record as a responsible cardholder, which will help you qualify for better terms in the future.

The catch is that cards designed for credit-builders tend to be burdened with harsh terms, including high interest rates, big penalties and exorbitant fees. Unfortunately, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard is no exception. The card carries a ton of fees, an extremely high APR and next-to-nothing in the way of perks.

Though the Reflex Platinum Mastercard reports to the national credit bureaus and could help you improve your credit with responsible use, its high cost makes it hard to justify for most credit-builders.

See related: How long does it take to rebuild credit?

Fees at every turn

Even compared to cards designed for people with bad credit, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard carries an inordinate number of fees, making it a costly credit-building option, especially after your first 12 months as a cardholder.

To start, you’ll pay an annual fee between $75 and $125 just to maintain your account. While such fees will be almost impossible to avoid if you’re looking for an unsecured credit-building card, a few alternatives offer a wider range of potential annual fees, based on your creditworthiness.

The Milestone Mastercard® - $700 Credit Limit, for example, charges an annual fee of between see terms. Though you may well end up paying see terms annually with this card, you at least have a chance at a lower fee.

If you’re willing to put down a refundable deposit, secured credit cards could save you even more, as many charge much lower annual fees. The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card, for example, charges all cardholders just $35 per year, while the Discover it® Secured Credit Card and Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card charge no annual fee at all.

After your first 12 months as a cardholder, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard also charges a monthly maintenance fee ranging from $0 to up to $150 annually, billed at $0-$12.50 per month. This is on top of your regular annual fee, meaning you could be paying as much as $275 annually after your first year, just to have a Reflex Platinum Mastercard account. Such monthly fees are uncommon even among credit-building cards.

And the fees don’t stop there. You’ll also have to pay a foreign transaction fee of 3% when you use the card abroad and a $30 fee for each authorized user you add to your account.

As you can see, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard is an expensive credit-building option and is not a card you’ll want to hang onto for any longer than is necessary. 

Extremely high APR

Along with its high fees, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard charges a very high variable APR of 35.90%. The card’s low-end APR is nearly 60% higher than the current average credit card APR and is high even compared to that of cards designed for bad credit. Meanwhile, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard’s high-end APR rivals that of many store credit cards, which are known for their eye-popping interest rates.

If you have any doubt about your ability to pay your card balance in full each month, you should avoid the Reflex Platinum Mastercard. Whether you have bad credit or average credit, you should be able to find an unsecured credit-building card with a lower APR. Some secured credit cards and most credit-builder loans also offer relatively low, fixed interest rates.

Chance at a relatively high credit limit

The Reflex Platinum Mastercard offers new cardholders an initial credit limit between $300 and $1,000 (subject to available credit). While this range is quite low compared to the limits available on credit cards for people with excellent credit, the high-end limit is relatively high for an unsecured credit-building card.

Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll be offered a $1,000 limit. Additionally, your annual fee is immediately assessed and deducted from your available credit. This means if you’re assigned a $300 limit and a $99 annual fee, you’ll start off your card membership owing $99, with $201 available to spend – just two-thirds of the credit limit you may have expected.

On the plus side, you can have a chance to increase your Reflex Platinum Mastercard credit limit after your thirteenth Monthly Billing Statement. This is a major benefit considering many cards in this category either offer no clear timeline or guidance on getting a credit limit increase or simply give you the option of requesting a credit limit increase, with no guarantee you’ll be approved.

Since maintaining low credit utilization is key to building credit, be sure to keep your spending in check if you’re assigned a lower limit, and consider paying off your balance more than once per month to keep your utilization ratio low.

If you opt for a secured credit card instead, you can have a bit more control over your credit limit, as your limit will usually match your security deposit. Of course, that requires you to put down money up front.

See related: Best high limit secured credit cards

Prequalification and approval odds

New credit card applications almost always result in a hard pull of your credit report, which will temporarily lower your credit score. This means credit-builders should carefully consider which cards they apply for and only try for those that offer decent approval odds.

The Reflex Platinum Mastercard is designed for people with a damaged or limited credit history (and a credit score of 580 or better). Thankfully, you can check if you prequalify for the Reflex Platinum Mastercard before you apply. While not a guarantee of approval, being prequalified will give you some peace of mind about your odds of approval.

The card also offers a chance at instant approval for online applications, so you may not need to wait days or weeks to hear back on the status of your application. Once you’re approved, your Reflex Platinum Mastercard and welcome materials should be mailed within three business days.

No rewards program and few perks

While cash back and other rewards programs are uncommon among credit-building cards, they’re not unheard-of either. A number of Credit One Bank credit cards, for example, offer at least 1% cash back on some everyday purchases.

Unfortunately, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard offers nothing in the way of rewards. This is especially disappointing given the card’s high fees, as even 1% back on select purchases would help offset the Reflex Platinum Mastercard’s high cost of ownership.

That said, the card does include a couple of useful perks. Most notably, you’ll get access to your Vantage 3.0 score from Experian when you sign up for e-statements. You’ll also enjoy $0 fraud liability for unauthorized charges.

These perks are certainly welcome, but they’re far from impressive. After all, free access to your credit score and fraud liability coverage are the bare minimum needed if you want to protect and keep tabs on your credit.

How does the Reflex Platinum Mastercard compare to other credit-building cards?

The Reflex Mastercard should offer good approval odds even if you have poor or average credit, but it is an extremely expensive way to build your credit – especially if you need to hang onto the card for more than a year. Consider these alternatives, all of which are unsecured credit-building cards that offer cash back rewards programs that will help offset any fees.

Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card	Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit*	Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card
Rewards rate 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 1.5% cash back on all purchases	Rewards rate 1% cash back on eligible purchases including gas, groceries and phone services. Terms apply.	Rewards rate 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away. Up to 1.5% cash back on every purchase after making 12 on-time monthly payments.
Credit limit See terms	Credit limit Starting at $300	Credit limit $300-$10,000
Annual fee $39	Annual fee $75 for the first year. After that, $99 annually ($8.25 per month)	Annual fee $0
Other things to know Account reviewed for possible credit limit increase after 6 months of on-time payments Automatic cash back redemption available No foreign transaction fees	Other things to know Includes free access to your Experian credit score and $0 fraud liability Pre-qualify and see your offer before you apply $19 annual fee for authorized users	Other things to know No fees of any kind Issuer considers alternative credit data (like income and bill payment history) when evaluating applications, not just credit score Includes money-management tools and free credit reporting

Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

Designed for cardholders looking to bolster their credit scores, the Capital One QuicksilverOne card offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase. While this is not the most impressive cash back rate, it should help to offset the card’s $39 fee. You’ll also have a chance at a credit limit increase if you make six consecutive on-time payments.

Credit One Bank Platinum Visa for Rebuilding  Credit

Unlike the Reflex Platinum Mastercard, the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa for Rebuilding Credit does not charge a monthly maintenance fee. And while it’s still not the cheapest option, the card offers good approval odds even with poor credit. It also comes with a cash back rewards program that can help reduce your total cost of ownership. Plus, it’s an unsecured card, so you won’t have to tie up hundreds in a deposit just to get started

See related: Credit One vs. Capital One

Petal 2 Visa Credit Card

A unique credit-building offering that’s geared more toward people with no credit than those with poor credit, the Petal 2 Visa Credit Card allows you to earn true cash back with no deposit and no fees of any kind. You’ll earn 1% back on eligible purchases to start, with this rate increasing to 1.25% after you make six on-time monthly payments and to 1.5% after 12 on-time monthly payments. Additionally, since the issuer considers alternative credit data in its approval decisions, it’s a great option for someone with limited credit but a good income and bill payment history.

Why get the Reflex Platinum Mastercard?

• You want a chance to build credit without tying up money in a deposit.
• You want a chance at a higher limit than you’ll find on most unsecured credit-building cards.
• You don’t anticipate needing to carry a balance from month to month.
• You only plan to use the card for small purchases.
• You plan to switch to a different card as soon as your credit score improves.

How to use the Reflex Platinum Mastercard

• Keep an eye on your credit score, and switch to a card with fewer fees and better terms when it improves.
• If you’re assigned a low limit, keep your balances low and pay them off quickly to improve your credit utilization.
• Request for a credit limit increase after your thirteenth Monthly Billing Statement. This can help your credit utilization and give you more room to breathe.
• Limit the number of authorized users you add to the card, as each new user incurs a $30 fee.
• Pay off your card balance in full each month to avoid high interest charges.

Is the Reflex Platinum Mastercard worth it?

Due to its extremely high cost of ownership and enormous APR, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard is hard to recommend even for those with severely damaged credit. In most cases, a secured card will be a better credit-building option. However, if you’re set on an unsecured card, the Reflex Platinum Mastercard may be worth it for the first year, if only as stepping stone to better credit and better cards.

*All information about the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa for Rebuilding Credit card has been collected independently by CreditCards.com. The issuer did not provide the content, nor is it responsible for its accuracy.