First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card review: A low-interest, credit-building option
This card’s low APR and slightly forgiving terms make it a solid choice for building credit — just watch out for the annual fee.
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Snapshot
2.8
Bottom line
The First Progress Platinum Prestige is a secured credit card that gets the job done when it comes to building credit. Its lower than average ongoing APR is one of the card’s best features, and it even offers a modest rewards incentive for keeping up with payments. Just keep in mind that the card requires a security deposit and has an annual fee, which could chip away at its affordability.
Regular APR
14.74% (Variable)
Annual fee
$49
4.1
Cardholder rating
Extra perks
Online tools
Customer service
Information safe
2.8
Bankrate score
Cost of membership
Ease of building credit
APR
Features
Why you'll like this: Your security deposit determines your credit limit, allowing you to establish credit and potentially receive lower interest rates than with many unsecured cards.
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First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card Overview
The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard Secured Credit Card is a secured credit card designed for people with no credit history or poor credit who are trying to get their credit score back on track. The card charges an annual fee of $49, and you aren’t required to meet a minimum credit score for approval.
The primary differences between the three similarly named First Progress secured cards — including the First Progress Platinum Select Mastercard Secured Credit Card and First Progress Platinum Elite Mastercard® Secured Credit Card — are their annual fees and lower ongoing interest rates. The First Progress Platinum Prestige has the highest annual fee, but a 14.74% (Variable) APR in exchange, which is far below the current average interest rate, even for cardholders with excellent credit.
Ultimately, First Progress’ Platinum Prestige card is only worth considering if you’re rebuilding credit and don’t qualify for a no-annual-fee secured card.
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Rewards
- 1 percent cash back when you make a credit card payment
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- Regular APR: 14.74% (Variable) APR
- $49 annual fee
- $200 minimum security deposit
- $29 late payment fee ($40 if you’re late again in the following six billing cycles)
- 3 percent foreign transaction fee
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Credit-building features
- Soft pull inquiry
- Reports to 3 major credit bureaus
- Manageable monthly payments
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Redeem rewards for statement credits
Expert Appraisal: Weak
See our expert analysis
First Progress Platinum Prestige pros and cons
Pros
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The card’s APR is much lower than even many full-fledged credit cards’ rates.
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An initial deposit of between $200 and $2,000 gives you room to choose your credit limit and keep credit utilization low.
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The late payment fee of up to $29 (then up to $40 if you’re late again within six billing cycles) is pretty forgiving and not common on many secured cards.
Cons
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The $49 annual fee coupled with an initial minimum security deposit of $200 lowers this card’s affordability compared to some competing secured cards.
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This card has no intro APR offers on purchases or balance transfers, so you won’t get a break on interest if you end up carrying a balance.
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The card’s redemption options for rewards are limited.
Why you might want the First Progress Platinum Prestige
As far as cards for no credit history or bad credit go, the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard is notable for its incredibly low ongoing APR and fast approval process with no hard credit pull.
Rewards rate: Every bit counts
The First Progress Platinum Prestige earns 1 percent cash back on payments you make toward your credit card balance. This kind of reward structure is ideal for a credit-building card since it ties your earnings to establishing good credit habits like paying your bills on time. It also gives those who are new to rewards an easy way to get used to earning and redeeming them, which will come in handy for higher-tier cards.
APR: Much lower than an average secured card
The card’s rock-bottom 14.74% (Variable) APR is about half the typical interest rate for someone with limited credit. By comparison, the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card has no annual fee, but it has an APR of 29.99% (Variable) (See Rates & Fees). While you should avoid carrying a balance with a credit card — particularly if you’re building credit — the low APR should help keep any interest charges low.
Credit Building: Standard but essential features
The First Progress Platinum Prestige has a few key credit-building features that can help raise your credit score.
You can apply for the First Progress Platinum Prestige online with a soft pull on your credit, so there will be no negative impact on your credit score. First Progress also reports to all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) each month, so you’ll be able to improve your credit standing provided you use your card responsibly.
Why you might want a different secured card
Despite its solid credit-building perks and great interest rate, the First Progress Platinum Prestige secured card comes with its fair share of drawbacks. With its potentially low credit limit and myriad fees, this card can cost more than it’s worth.
Credit limit: The limit is quite low
Like most secured cards, your initial security deposit on the card becomes your credit limit. With the First Progress Platinum Prestige, this amount can be anywhere from $200 to $2,000. Keeping a low credit utilization ratio helps improve your credit score, but keeping a low ratio is more challenging with a lower credit limit. The general guideline is to keep this ratio under 30 percent, but the minimum $200 credit limit means you’ll need to keep your balance below a mere $60.
This detail is important since the annual fee will eat into your credit limit when you first open your account and when it’s charged each year. If you start with the minimum $200 credit limit, you’ll actually have just $151 available on your card in your first billing cycle, with very little spending power before you reach above 30 percent on your credit utilization ratio.
Rates and fees: A few caveats to keep in mind
If you’re interested in the First Progress Platinum Prestige’s low APR because you’ll carry a balance from time to time, you should be aware of the card’s other fees. The annual fee is $49, which is expensive compared to other cards of its caliber and generally a negative to have on a credit building card unless you have few other options. The card also charges up to $30 for your first late payment, then up to $41 if you’re late again in the following six billing cycles. This factor adds a layer of grace not typically seen among secured credit cards, but these fees can still add up quickly if you fall behind on payments.
Finally, if you can’t pay your bill online or you’re worried your payment will be posted too late, you can make an expedited telephone payment in exchange for a $10 fee. There is also a $1 fee if you ever need a copy of a billing statement over six months old.
Redemption: Limited options for rewards and low earning rate
You can only redeem the rewards you earn with the First Progress Platinum Prestige as a statement credit. Once you’ve earned a minimum of 500 rewards points or $5 worth of earnings, you’ll be able to redeem your points for a statement credit toward your card balance. Since you only earn 1 percent cash back on purchases and the card carries an annual fee, it will take some time before your spending pays off.
How the First Progress Platinum Prestige compares to other secured credit cards
The Platinum Prestige is a more practical and possibly easier to obtain way to build credit with a card compared to other options like store credit cards. But its steep $49 annual fee is also noteworthy when other secured credit cards offer more effective features for no yearly cost.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Earn 1% Cash Back Rewards with First Progress Prestige!.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match - only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
Rewards rate
Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically. Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Who is the First Progress Platinum Prestige right for?
The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard is notable for its incredibly low ongoing APR and fast approval process with no hard credit pull. If one of the following sounds like you, the card might prove a good fit.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the First Progress Platinum Prestige worth it?
The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard Secured Credit Card could be a decent choice for building credit if you don’t qualify for a secured card that doesn’t carry an annual fee. But you can find secured cards from major issuers with lower upfront deposits, higher initial credit limits and more lucrative reward programs. Replace with "Ultimately, the First Progress Platinum Prestige card's perks don't offset enough of the annual fee compared to other popular secured credit cards.
How we rated this card
Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring credit cards for students and people building credit, including each card’s cost, APR, credit-building tools and more.
We analyzed over 50 of the most popular cards designed for students and people with no credit history, bad credit or a fair credit score and scored each based on where its key features stood in relation to others in its category.
Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score:
Frequently asked questions
What cardholders think
First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
