Indigo® Mastercard® review: A simple credit-building card with very few features

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is perhaps one of the best secured cards on the market. It requires a $200 minimum security deposit, but you can qualify for up to a $2,500 maximum credit line (please note, however, that a $2,500 credit line will require a $2,500 deposit) — though Discover will determine your maximum credit line by your income as well. It’s also one of the rare secured cards to earn rewards. While earning rewards shouldn’t be your priority if you’re focused on building credit, they can be a great bonus if you don't overspend by putting a little extra cash back into your hands.

You don't have to track or activate any bonus categories quarterly, so it's fairly low maintenance. Even better, Discover’s unique welcome offer matches all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year, removing the pressure of needing to chase a welcome offer’s spending requirements. Plus, the card doesn’t carry an annual fee and putting down a higher security deposit gets you a higher credit limit, making it easier to keep your credit utilization low.

Since the Indigo Mastercard doesn’t earn rewards, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card has a clear edge, but only if you can spend responsibly. 

The Capital One Platinum Secured doesn’t charge an annual fee (See Rates & Fees) but like other secured cards, it requires a security deposit. You can get started with a deposit of either $49, $99 or $200 based on your creditworthiness, which is potentially lower than many other cards’ minimum deposits.

Capital One will also automatically consider you for a higher credit line in as little as six months with on-time monthly payments. This is an earlier timeline than what other cards offer and can speed up the credit-building process.

Opting for a secured card like the Capital One Platinum Secured over the Indigo Mastercard can help keep costs low, since the Platinum Secured card’s security deposit is refundable, unlike the Indigo Mastercard annual fee. You’ll also get your deposit back when you close your account or graduate to an unsecured card. 

Many credit cards have a time-consuming application process, but the Indigo Mastercard is one of the easiest cards to get. Have all your basic information ready and you can finish the entire process online in around a minute. You can apply and get started as long as you are 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number and a U.S. physical and IP address.

The Indigo card provides a small credit line without any deposit. If you don't have the funds to put down a security deposit or prefer not to tie up your money, an unsecured credit card is ideal. You won't have to wait until you save enough money to start building credit.

The Indigo card can be a reasonable option if you value simplicity over rewards and perks while building a positive credit history. It may not have flashy credit-building benefits, but it does report to all three credit agencies, which is essential when working to improve your credit. 

This card can also help if you’re just starting your credit journey and you want a basic credit card to practice healthy spending habits without the distractions of bonus categories and unnecessary perks.

A credit-building card’s cost has a large influence on its overall score. This is because cards in this category tend to be much pricier than traditional credit cards designed for people with a good or better credit score. 

We compare a card’s total cost, including any annual fees, account activation fees, monthly fees and more against the total cost of other cards in the credit-building category and assign each card a score based on its affordability. We also factor rewards-earning potential into our assessment of a credit-building card’s total cost, subtracting expected earnings from the sum of its fees. 

To get a sense of a credit-building card’s rewards-earning potential, we estimate its average annual rewards rate and average annual earnings based on the most popular spending categories (as covered in the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer spending report). 

However, we use a slightly lower spending assumption ($300 per month or $3,600 per year) to estimate average earnings, assuming credit-builders will start out with a lower credit limit, will want to keep credit utilization low and will focus primarily on small purchases they can easily pay off.

A card’s APR is also a major factor in its credit-building score. Each card’s average APR is compared against the average APR of other cards in the category, and the cards with lower-than-average APRs receive a higher rating. 

Though high APRs are hard to avoid when you’re just starting out or working on your score, credit-builders should strive for as low an APR as possible since they’re likely to either be new to managing cards or trying to establish better financial habits and avoid falling into debt.

Along with a credit-building card’s cost, our rating system takes into account how easy the card makes it to build credit. To assess this, we evaluate its credit limit potential and minimum deposit requirement.

Unsecured cards with a high starting credit limit and secured cards that let you put down a large deposit and get a matching high credit limit will score the highest according to our “Ease of building credit” rubric and are more likely to appear on our list. 

This is because a high credit limit can make it much easier to keep your credit utilization low, a primary credit-building factor that makes up 30 percent of your FICO credit score. 

Secured cards have a slight advantage in this category since the maximum credit limit on a secured card tends to be much higher than the typical starting credit limit on an unsecured card that’s available with a bad or fair credit score. However, unsecured credit-building cards have the upper hand in another key aspect of building credit: accessibility. 

Cards that carry no or a low deposit requirement can also receive a high score according to our “Ease of building credit” rubric since these cards offer a lower barrier to entry than secured cards that require you to put up hundreds of dollars in an upfront deposit. 

Indeed, some users may prefer to pay a non-refundable $50 annual fee while they work on their credit score than tie up hundreds in a refundable security deposit.

We also evaluate a credit-building card’s benefits based on how useful they are for someone looking to build a positive credit history or save money on everyday spending. 

We consider the inclusion of a rewards program and access to your credit score or a credit monitoring service of prime importance, along with the ability to prequalify for the card with only a soft credit pull and a clear path to increase your credit limit or graduate to an unsecured or full-fledged rewards card.

Cards that include these benefits are likely to score higher according to our credit-building card scoring rubric.

You could be approved for an Indigo Mastercard with a score of 300 to 670 on the FICO scale. A major draw for this card is that its credit requirements benefit those with limited credit, low credit or even those who may have filed for bankruptcy.

No, the Indigo Mastercard does not offer a mobile app. However, you can manage your account and pay your balance online at any time.  

No, the Indigo card does not allow balance transfers. If you want to transfer a balance from another card, you might want to check out these balance transfer credit cards. Be aware that many balance transfer cards require a good to excellent credit score (a FICO score of 670 or higher).