The Fortiva Credit Card, issued by The Bank of Missouri and serviced by fintech company Atlanticus, is a poor-credit unsecured card. How is this even possible? Well, tag along to discover more surprises.
Because there is no security deposit to pay, the Fortiva credit card may be tempting, but its fees and rates make it costly to maintain.
The fees for this credit card can be a matter of coming close to making an average deposit in total, except you will never see that money again. The price of this card is not a wise long-term investment in building credit.
How Do I Get the Fortiva Credit Card?
You may use the acceptance code on a mailed offer to shop the terms on the card website. One benefit of this card is that you’ll be able to see the likelihood of being approved without impacting your credit scores, but there are other credit cards that have that option as well as lower fees.
Being preapproved isn’t always being approved and doesn’t indicate that you will receive the card; it’s just a soft “yes” on the information in your credit report.
If you make it past that point and formally apply, you’ll then get a hard approval or rejection based on qualification. In this phase of the process, there is a hard check, which has the potential to temporarily decrease credit scores, but that is par for the course with most providers of credit cards.
Is There More to the Fortiva Credit Card?
Depending on your terms, the Fortiva Credit Card can pile on the fees. Whether you’re on the low end or the high end of the fee spectrum, the price isn’t sustainable or ideal over a long term. The card’s fees include:
- An annual fee: From $49 to $175 the first year, and after that it’s $0 to $49 annually.
- An account maintenance fee: From $60 to $180 annually (billed monthly).
- Late fee: $41 maximum.
- Authorized user: $19 to add an authorized user to your account.
If you can afford to pay the fees associated with this card, you’ll be doing yourself a better favor if you get a secured credit card that involves a deposit.
If you pay on time, the money will be reimbursed when you close the account or when the issuer allows you to upgrade to a higher level. One of the superior attributes of a credit-builder card is that it’s easy to leave open for a long period of time.
How long your credit history is taken into account when calculating credit scores, and closing a credit card can have a negative effect on them. A secured credit card is an exception because closing the card usually is required to get the deposit back.
For potentially lower fees, consider the Petal® 1 Visa Credit Card, which does not require a security deposit, and it charges an annual fee of $0.
In evaluating your credit, Petal’s issuing bank may opt to look beyond your credit scores, and they may consider factors such as your banking data.
The APR for Fortiva Credit Card
It’s critical to your financial health to avoid carrying a balance on the Fortiva Credit Card. The APR for purchases ranges from 22.74% to 36%, based on creditworthiness (rate accurate as of March 2023).
If you’re paying annual fees, monthly maintenance fees, and an exorbitant APR, that’s a toxic combination that can lead to debt.
Due to this same cause, you do not like to use cash advances. They bear the same interest rate, and in addition to that, there is a charge of $5 or 5% of the value of each transaction, whichever is greater.
To avoid interest charges, consider the Chime Secured Credit Builder Visa Credit Card, which will protect you from paying interest and fees because it does not have the ability to carry a balance month to month. It requires no initial security deposit or credit check.
But it requires a Chime checking account to fund the periodic security deposit of your desired size. You can only spend up to the funds stored in the Chime Credit Builder.
And to borrow money, the Chime checking account offers a plan that might allow overdrafts up to $200 with no fee, if you qualify.
Features of the Fortiva Credit Card
The Fortiva Credit Card does contain some ideal credit-building functions, yet the fees associated with the card negate them. It reports to all three bureaus, a critical step in building credit.
As a cardholder, you’ll also get periodic reviews for credit limit increases. A credit limit bump can help credit scores along because it can lower your credit utilization ratio, the amount of available credit used compared with the card’s credit limit. It’s a key factor that affects credit scores.
The Fortiva Credit Card’s credit limit can go as high as $2,000, depending on eligibility and the invitation channel. Regular reviews can also help you upgrade to other products or get fee reductions.
For lower prices and credit limit bumps, check out: The $0-annual-fee Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card reports to all three major credit bureaus, and it can open the door to qualification with a security deposit of $49, $99, or $200, depending on qualification.
In just six months, you automatically qualify for a credit limit increase, too. As long as you make timely payments, the deposit gets refunded, and you can be upgraded to the unsecured Capital One Platinum Credit Card.
Bottom Line
The Fortiva Credit Card comes with an optional credit protection plan that pays the minimum payment due, up to six months, if you’re terminated from your job or become disabled or hospitalized.
If you pass away, the program erases all or a portion of your remaining balance, up to the stated amount. Terms and conditions apply. You must call or send in a claim to make a claim.
To qualify for coverage, you’ll be charged 89 cents for every $100 of the outstanding amount. At a balance of $500, that would amount to paying a monthly fee of around $5 until the balance drops.
This option probably isn’t worth the expense. It’s another charge that can contribute to the cost of having this card. Usually, after death, your estate pays any outstanding debt. If there’s no money or assets remaining to pay those balances, the debt usually goes unpaid.
In the event of hospitalization, the plan can cover the minimum sum for six months, but interest keeps on building, and any annual fee keeps getting deferred until the benefit period runs out. And if you can be eligible for disability insurance or unemployment, coverage might not be required on those grounds.
