Milestone Mastercard® - $700 Credit Limit review: Shocking fees will steer you toward better cards
Outrageous rates and fees with no perks beyond an unsecured credit line make this card a last resort for credit builders.
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Snapshot
2.5
Bottom line
This card lacks many of the features you should look for in a credit card if you have bad or no credit history. While it comes with a decent unsecured credit line and could help you establish payment history, its high fees and APR are far from worth it.
Intro offer
N/A
Annual fee
See terms*
Regular APR
See terms*
Bankrate Score
Cost of membership
Ease of building credit
APR
Features
Why you'll like this: It has a fairly high credit limit without requiring a security deposit, which is generous for a credit-building card.
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Milestone Mastercard® - $700 Credit Limit overview
The Milestone Mastercard may make sense as a solution to building credit since typically, you'll have few worthwhile credit cards to choose from when you have a low credit score or no credit history. But it shouldn’t be at the top of your list if you want a low-cost credit-building option. While it’s an unsecured credit card — as it doesn’t require a security deposit and is more accessible than most secured cards — the issuer charges high interest rates and fees with smaller credit limits to safeguard its risk since there is no collateral to fund your credit limit. Also, the card terms don’t mention any way to increase your credit limit — a must-have feature if you’re focused on maintaining low credit utilization.
Overall, the Milestone Mastercard falls short compared to many credit-building cards that charge lower fees, offer rewards and credit limit increase opportunities, and provide a pathway to upgrade to more lucrative cards.
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Rewards
- This card does not offer rewards.
- This card does not carry a welcome offer.
Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- Annual fee: (See terms)
- Monthly fees: (See terms)
- 1 percent foreign transaction fee
- Up to $41 late payment, overlimit and returned payment fees
- No penalty APR
- No intro APR on purchases
- No intro APR on balance transfers
- 5 percent cash advance fee ($5 minimum, $100 maximum), plus 35.9 percent variable cash advance APR
- Ongoing APR: (See terms)
Expert Appraisal: Weak
See our expert analysis -
Credit-building features
- Reports to all three major credit bureaus
- Potentially receive an unsecured $700 credit line
Expert Appraisal: Weak
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- No security deposit required
- Standard Mastercard benefits, including $0 liability fraud protection and Mastercard ID Theft Protection
- Overlimit coverage (enrollment required)
- Credit protection (enrollment required)
Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive
See our expert analysis
Milestone Mastercard pros and cons
Pros
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It’s potentially more accessible than secured cards because it doesn’t require a security deposit.
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The issuer reports your card activity to all three credit bureaus, which can help build your credit history.
Cons
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It will be difficult to justify this card’s high first-year annual fee and ongoing monthly fees (see terms).
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Its high ongoing APR (see terms) and other fees make it a more costly option if you have to carry a balance or miss a payment.
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This card has no rewards program or tools to help build good financial habits, which you can find on other credit cards available with limited credit.
How the Milestone Mastercard works
The Milestone Mastercard works like a typical unsecured credit card. You can make purchases up to your credit limit and you must pay off your balance by the card’s due date to avoid interest. You won’t earn rewards with the card, so you only need to monitor your balance and the cost of keeping the card in your wallet.
While this review breaks down this version of the Milestone Mastercard, 28 or more versions of the Milestone card exist through different websites, mailed pre-screened offers and channels.
Thoroughly read the terms of the card you qualify for before applying, since this confusing process could stick you with a version of the card that charges costly additional fees — up to $150 each year in monthly fees, annual fees ranging from $35 to $99 each year or up to $175 in the first year and $49 thereafter as well as an extremely high ongoing APR (from 24.9 percent variable up to 35.9 percent variable).
If you’re offered a version of the Milestone Mastercard with sky-high rates and fees, you should almost certainly avoid the card. You can find many alternative credit-building cards that charge no annual fees, carry lower APRs or offer rewards programs.
Why you might want the Milestone Mastercard
Applying for a credit card with a low credit score (or no credit score) can be challenging. A hard credit pull can temporarily lower your credit score, and a security deposit could be costly. Since the Milestone Mastercard doesn’t require a deposit, it may be an appealing entry point if you have a low score and want to start building toward better credit or don’t have any other options.
Credit line: Impressive limit with no deposit required
One of the Milestone card’s only appealing features is its potentially high unsecured credit line. You could receive a $700 credit limit with no deposit required. That’s more than double the credit limit you’ll typically find on unsecured cards available to people with low credit scores.
Access to a higher credit limit could help maintain lower credit utilization, which is a key factor credit bureaus use when scoring credit. To get a credit limit this high on a secured card, you’d need to deposit $700. That’s a costly initial sum that you might not have on hand, and tying it up in a deposit means you can’t use it to build credit through responsible spending.
Why you might want a different credit-building card
Depending on which version of the Milestone Mastercard you get, you may end up with an exceptionally high annual fee and interest rate while only having access to a small credit limit. These features are especially big downsides, given that the card doesn’t offer any notable credit-building perks or other benefits.
Rewards: No rewards program or welcome offer
The Milestone Mastercard doesn’t earn rewards, limiting its long-term value. Rewards aren’t typical on cards available to people with limited credit, and it’s hard to recommend most unsecured cards for bad credit because many carry high APRs and fees. But a few no-annual-fee secured cards offer terrific rewards programs, including:
- Discover it® Secured Credit Card
- Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card (See Rates & Fees)
- Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card
The card also doesn’t come with a sign-up bonus, although most cards for limited credit histories don’t carry welcome offers. However, it’s worth noting that the Discover it® Secured Credit Card and several student cards carry valuable welcome offers.
If you’re a college student establishing credit, a student credit card is one of your best options. Student cards are usually unsecured and often earn rewards on student-centric perks while charging fewer fees than other credit-building cards.
Perks: Limited features
Credit-building cards generally carry limited perks, but the Milestone Mastercard carries even fewer. This card doesn’t offer anything beyond its high approval odds and industry-standard account protection.
The issuer’s website doesn’t even cover how to increase your credit limit or check your credit score for free — two incredibly helpful features that the majority of credit cards offer and are essential for credit-building cards.
The Milestone Mastercard only offers standard Mastercard benefits. These features include basic zero liability fraud protection for unauthorized purchases and identity theft monitoring. Enrolling in the Mastercard ID Theft Protection service allows the issuer to regularly search the surface web and dark web for personal information that may have been compromised (including your Social Security number, email addresses, bank and card info, account logins and more). However, you can find these perks on almost any Mastercard and most credit cards.
Rates and fees: Outrageous fees eat into credit limit
When you have limited credit history, any type of fee hinders building good credit habits. The Milestone Mastercard’s fees are shockingly steep compared to rival cards.
The version we are reviewing has a whopping $175 annual fee for the first year, then $49 in subsequent years. Although the Milestone card’s annual fee decreases after the first year, you’ll still face a steep fee (see terms) of $12.50 per month, adding another $150 in annual fees. So while you are getting a reduced annual fee, it’s essentially replaced by this excessive monthly fee.
The Milestone Mastercard also has one of the highest ongoing APRs on the market (which can be as high as 35.9 percent) and a $41 overlimit fee if you opt in to the issuer’s overlimit coverage (if you don't opt in, the issuer will decline transactions exceeding your credit limit).
Although it sounds like a positive, the overlimit coverage can also result in up to two additional $41 fees on top of the original overlimit fee if you carry an over-extended balance to the next billing cycle. These terms are especially bad considering that overlimit fees have largely disappeared, and the occasional issuer that allows you to exceed your limit may not charge an overlimit fee at all.
On the bright side, the foreign transaction fee is lower than normal at 1 percent.
Staff experience: Here’s what our experts say
When he was first starting out with credit cards, Bankrate editor Steve Dashiell learned just how quickly interest charges and card fees can add up. While getting access to an unsecured credit line may seem like a lucky break, he says, it's not worth it if it means paying a ton of fees or facing a high APR. His advice on a card like the Milestone Gold?
Skip it.
"As someone who held a card similar to this in my younger years, here's my advice: Toss it. Unless you have a top-tier rewards card, you should avoid fees as much as possible. This card makes that impossible, and its fees can quickly add up, leading to a maxed-out card. That’s a bad place to be given the high APR.
In my own experience with this kind of card, I made the rookie mistake of paying only the minimum for the first few months. By my fifth month, I couldn’t keep up with the interest rate any longer and the account eventually went into collections. This won’t happen for every person who applies for something like the Milestone Mastercard. But with so many better, safer options on the market, why open yourself to the risks?"
— Steve Dashiell, Editor, Credit Cards
How the Milestone Mastercard compares to other credit-building cards
Before applying for the Milestone Mastercard, consider your options. Odds are you’ll find a secured or unsecured option with stronger features and lower rates and fees that can better help you work on your credit score. Here are a few options worth reviewing.
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.
Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card
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
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.
Who is the Milestone Mastercard right for?
High fees, no rewards and few notable features make the Milestone Mastercard a tough sell. But it may be worth considering if you’re set on avoiding a deposit and don’t intend to spend much.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the Milestone Mastercard worth it?
The Milestone Mastercard’s high interest rates and excessive fees create a bad combination for if you’re trying to regain or establish financial footing. Its exorbitant annual and monthly fees (see terms) severely cut into the initial available credit, and the price tag makes it difficult to justify.
Make sure to consider other cards before applying for the Milestone Mastercard. Stronger (and more rewarding) options are available to help build credit with lower rates and fewer fees.
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
Milestone Mastercard® - $700 Credit Limit
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. 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.
