Credit One Bank American Express® Card review: Decent benefits for a fair-credit Amex
This Credit One Amex card adds a few additional benefits to a modest credit-building card.
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Snapshot
3.0
Bottom line
This card stands out from other Credit One options thanks to its low annual fee and Amex perks. However, plenty of other credit cards for fair credit offer better long-term value.
Intro offer
N/A
Annual fee
$39
Regular APR
29.24%* Variable
4.4
Cardholder rating
Online tools
Customer service
Information safe
Extra perks
3.0
Bankrate score
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Credit One Bank American Express® Card overview
The Credit One Bank American Express Card is a card for fair credit users that offers a few decent benefits like shopping protections, travel perks and Amex Offers. It also earns modest cash back on all purchases, making it a solid choice if you need to boost your credit score.
Although rewards shouldn’t be your primary focus when building credit, other cards for fair credit or secured credit cards can offer higher cash back rates and more valuable benefits. If you’re interested in earning more cash back while you establish a credit history, you might want to explore other options.
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Rewards
- 1 percent cash back on all purchases
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- APR: 29.24%* Variable
- Annual fee: $39
- Foreign transaction fee: Either $1 or 3 percent (whichever is greater)
- No intro APR for purchases and balance transfers
- Late payment fee: Up to $39
- Returned payment fee: Up to $39
- Cash advance fee: Either $5 or 8 percent (whichever is greater)
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Credit-building features
- Free online credit monitoring
- Free credit score
- Reports to all three credit bureaus
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Amex Offers
- Amex entertainment access
- Retail protections
- Optional credit protection program
- Primary car rental loss and damage insurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Credit protection program
- Zero fraud liability
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
Credit One Bank American Express Card pros and cons
Pros
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It offers solid American Express benefits for a card for fair credit.
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You can earn an unlimited 1 percent cash back on all purchases, which can help offset the card’s annual fee.
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The card reports to all three credit bureaus, which may help improve your credit score.
Cons
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The $39 annual fee can eat into your cash back earnings and counteract efforts to build credit.
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Your cash back earnings are automatically redeemed for statement credits, which results in less reward flexibility than competing cards.
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The minimum credit line can be as low as $300, which can make it difficult to keep your credit utilization ratio under 30 percent.
Why you might want the Credit One Bank American Express Card
If you want a credit-building card with rewards, this card could be a good option. It has a simple, flat-rate rewards program and valuable Amex benefits.
Rewards: Easy-to-understand flat-rate structure
The Credit One Bank Amex card offers a no-frills way to earn rewards while building credit: You earn unlimited 1 percent cash back on all purchases. This isn’t bad when you consider it’s a card designed for average credit. Plus, it can encourage credit building through responsible spending rather than chasing rewards, which is a habit you might want to explore more when you qualify for credit cards for good credit.
Cardholder perks: Solid protections and benefits from Amex
This card offers more features than other Credit One Bank cards and many competing cards for fair credit because of its American Express benefits. You’ll get many standard American Express card features that provide solid perks and shopping protections, including the following:
Why you might want a different credit-building card
Even though the Credit One Bank American Express offers some credit-building features, it lacks educational tools and other perks that may help first-time cardholders get a handle on the process of using a card and accessing information about their credit. On top of that, it doesn’t offer a welcome bonus, has limited redemption options and poses too many fees.
Welcome offer: No sign-up bonus or intro APR offers
The Credit One Bank American Express card doesn’t have a welcome offer. Although credit cards for fair credit rarely extend offers, it’s a perk you might expect from a card with an annual fee, like this one.
Rates and fees: Has annual fee and high APR
The Credit One Bank American Express card’s $39 annual fee is a common price point among cards for average credit, but options with no annual fee are also easy to find at that credit level. You should avoid annual fees when possible if you’re focused on building credit so that you can keep your credit utilization as low as possible.
Unfortunately, the low 1 percent cash back rate makes it hard to offset the annual fee with spending. You’d have to spend at least $325 monthly for a year to earn enough cash back to offset this fee, which might make maintaining a low credit utilization ratio difficult, considering the minimum credit line is $300. These factors could slow your credit-building progress until you can increase your credit limit.
The card also charges a 3 percent (or $1, whichever is greater) foreign transaction fee and a fee for its optional Credit Protection Program. On top of all that, the high APR can be punishing if you carry a balance. Other cards for fair to average credit that don’t have an annual fee, high APR or foreign transaction fees may be better options.
Credit-building: You only have online access to your credit report
When it comes to features to help you increase your credit score, the Credit One American Express falls short. The only credit-building benefit of this card is the ability to access your credit report online for free. Other credit-building cards include more credit education tools, such as tips and information on improving your credit score or clearly defined timeframes to qualify for a credit line increase.
Staff experience: Here's what our experts say
Bankrate editor Nouri Zarrugh sees the appeal of this card: It's available with only a fair credit score, it doesn't require a security deposit, gives you a chance to earn rewards (albeit at a low flat rate) and comes with a few perks you won’t typically find on credit-building cards.
Based on his experience building credit from scratch, however, he thinks it's possible to avoid annual fees and earn rewards with a limited credit history, even if you want an unsecured card. He got started with a no-annual-fee store credit card.
Even when I had a limited credit history, I was able to qualify for an unsecured card that earned rewards and carried no annual fee. The catch? It was an Amazon store card that couldn't be used anywhere else.
Looking back, though, I think it was a great starter option thanks to its low cost, $0 deposit and even its low starting limit, which kept me from getting into trouble.
While a card like the Credit One Bank Amex isn't crazy expensive, I'm sure you can find an unsecured, rewards-earning alternative that carries no fee at all. I think store cards are especially underrated as credit-building options. They may not be the best value long term, but they can be a great starting point if you already do some of your everyday spending with the store.
— Nouri Zarrugh, Senior Editor, Credit Cards
How the Credit One Bank American Express Card compares to other credit-building cards
You should carefully weigh the value of the American Express benefits included. While beneficial for shopping and travel, these perks may not save you money regularly. Here’s how this card stacks up against similar offerings.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Earn unlimited 1% cash back rewards on all purchases, terms apply.
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
Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply. Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day.
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 Credit One Bank American Express Card right for?
Depending on your circumstances, the Credit One American Express card may be the best option if you fit either of the following descriptions.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the Credit One Bank American Express Card worth it?
The Credit One Bank American Express Card is a decent option for building credit with a few extras like rewards, shopping protections and American Express benefits. However, several cards for fair credit and secured credit cards carry similar or better cash back and benefits.
All information about the Credit One Bank American Express® Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.
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
Credit One Bank American Express® 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.
