Secured credit card offered by Bank of the West should help you establish credit score. It doesn’t require a high credit score and reports how you use it to credit bureaus. The bank is also known as BNP Paribas, but very few people call it like this.

It is a MasterCard that has EMV chip for additional security and contactless payments feature. As all other credit cards it offers Zero liability for unauthorized transactions, identity theft resolution, and emergency card replacement.

Bank of the West secured credit card doesn’t have any cashback.

You can apply for the card in branch only. You can then activate it online and on Bank of the West mobile app. The card can be used to pay your bills, online purchases etc. You can also download statements from its website.

I believe you should avoid this secured credit card and here is why. You can find lots of better credit cards on the market and there is no reason to go with a bad one. Annual fee and no gradation should be enough to turn you away. In addition you cannot apply for the card online. You must visit bank’s branch and file application in person.

If you already have a checking account at Bank of the West it may seem reasonable to open credit card in the same bank. I believe you should close the checking account and open it in some other bank.

Fees

Fee	Amount
Annual Fee	$25
Balance transfer	$10 or 4%
Cash Advance	$10 or 4%
Foreign Transaction	3%
Late Payment	up to $41
Returned Payment	up to $41

Does Bank of the West credit card have annual fee?

Yes, this secured credit card charges you $25 fee annually. It is a bad sign for a credit card that you are supposed to keep for a long time to build your credit score.

What credit score do you need for the credit card?

You don’t need any credit history or you can be approved even with a very low credit score. Bank reports how you use the card to major credit bureaus. It mean that it should help you to build credit score.

What credit limit does the card give?

Your credit limit can range from $300 and up to $12,000. All you have to do is put the desired amount as a security deposit. Then you can payoff the card and close the account. Bank of the West should return you security deposit.

Bottom line

I don’t like this secured credit card at all. You can get better secured credit cards from Discover Bank or Capital One.

Points Credit Card that is a Visa card offered by PNC Bank. You can earn rewards in form of points that can be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise, and transfer points to other rewards programs. Should you apply for the PNC points Card? Lets find out.

What credit score do I need for PNC Points Card?

The minimum credit score for the credit card is 700 points. However, your application can be denied even if you have 750 points. The reason can vary from too many recent inquiries, high balances on other cards, or not enough disposable income.

Earn points

When you use the credit card to make purchases it earns you 4 points per dollar. In addition you can get a boost of 25% when you have PNC checking account that is called Virtual Wallet.

Boost	Requirements
25%	Have Virtual Wallet account
50%	Virtual Wallet account with monthly balance of $2,000 or $2,000 direct deposit or $15,000 in connected account
75%	Virtual Wallet account with monthly balance of $5,000 or $5,000 direct deposit or $25,000 in connected account

With the bonus points you can earn

Boost	Earn when you spend $1,200 per year
0	4,800 points
25%	6,000 points
50%	7,200 points
75%	9,400 points

Does PNC points credit card have Cell phone protection?

Cell phone protection is a valuable benefit that PNC points card offers. To be eligible you must pay your monthly cell phone bill using the credit card. The benefit is handled by Visa and covers up to $800 in cell phone damage. However, it has $50 deductible.

If you have a cell phone worth $1,000 and it was stolen, then you can file claim and receive $750 in reimbursement.

0% Intro APR

Some people can find it valuable to leverage PNC introductory APR for the first 12 months (1 year). When you make purchases or transfer balance to the credit card you don’t have to pay any interest, but you still must make minimum payments. After the introductory period APR will go up to current variable rate that ranges from 18% and up to 30%.

Purchase offer and balance transfer offer are valuable it you have a clear plan to payoff the balance at the end of 12 billing cycles. Otherwise you shouldn’t carry the balance to avoid getting trapped in credit card debt.

The minimum amount of balance transfer is $200. Before you attempt balance transfer make sure you are aware of 3% balance transfer fee with $5 minimum. The fee is valid for the first 3 months, but then it goes up to 4%. In this light 0% balance transfer offer doesn’t looks so nice. I would call it 3% intro APR.

Cash Advance

Cash advance of PNC points credit card is not something you wan’t to try. It cost 5% (with $10 minimum) of the cash advance amount. In addition to the cash advance fee you should keep in mind, that APR on the amount of cash advance starts accumulating on the very first day.

Foreign transaction fee

PNC points card is not something you want to take for a trip. Each foreign transaction fee will cost you 3% of the amount. Any purchase in currency that is not US dollars is going to cost you 3%.

For example, when you buy something in Euro for an equivalent of $100, PNC charges you $3. In addition to the fee PNC Bank decides which currency conversion course it is going to use. I assure you it is not going to be the most favorable.

Fee	Amount
Annual Fee	none
Foreign Transaction	3%
Balance Transfer	4% with $5 minimum
Cash Advance	5% with $10
Late Payment	$38
Returned Payment	$38

Hotel credit cards are popular among travelers. If you are a fan of IHG hotels like Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, etc., then IHG Rewards Credit Card is worth considering. It is a co-branded credit card offered by Chase bank. There are two consumer-oriented kinds and one business card.

IHG stands for InterContinental Hotels Group. It owns wells known hotel brands like Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Holiday Inn Club Vacations. In total, IHG has 18 brands.

IHG Rewards Premier credit card

IHG Rewards Premier credit card has a $99 annual fee. It is the right choice for travelers who like the hotel brand. The 175,000 points signup offer makes it very attractive. It is worth just over $1,000. To get the bonus, you must spend $3,000 within the first three months of account opening.

It gives you automatic Platinum Elite status. Although it sounds cool, the actual value of the status is questionable.

I have first-hand experience, and as a hotel perk, the Platinum status is worth less than a kick in your butt. Most of the Platinum perks are “Subject to availability.” Finding Early Check-In, Late Check-Out, Complimentary Upgrades, and Guaranteed Room Availability is almost impossible.

IHG claims that there are no blackout dates for Reward nights. However, it has many hotels where you cannot use those nights.

IHG Rewards Traveler credit card

IHG Rewards Traveler credit card that has no annual fee. It gives you 120,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 within the first three months. The points are worth just above $800.

How you count the points’ value can change depending on how you use them. The average value of one point is less than 1 cent.

IHG Hotels

The IHG portfolio has more than 18 brands and almost 6,000 hotels. Hotels with IHG labels can range from old, dirty, moldy, and filthy motels to luxury resorts. What you may find even more surprising is that the same Holiday Inn Express can vary from a clean and pleasant one to a hotel with bed bugs.

Bottom line

The credit card has little value for an everyday traveler. Most people can stay at IHG hotels a couple of times a year. Sticking to the network makes no sense primarily because even in the same brand quality of hotels can vary dramatically, and is no guarantee of quality.

Citi Bank has a wide range of credit cards with various benefits and cash back. Citi Double Cash Credit Card has some benefits that are worth looking at. It is better than secured Citi Secured Mastercard, but worse than credit cards like Citi Rewards+ with a $200 signup bonus and no annual fee.

What credit score do I need for Citi Double Cash?

The minimum credit score for the card is 700 points. But to increase the chance of being approved your credit score should go above 720. At the same time, there are other factors that can impact approval odds. For example, the number of recent inquiries and your credit card debt.

Does Citi Double Cash has Cash Back?

One of the key benefits of a credit card is cash back. This credit card has flat 2% cash back. You earn 1% back when you make purchase and another 1% when you payoff the balance. Citi gives ThankYou Points that you can later redeem. Each point is worth 1 cent.

You can redeem ThankYou points as cashback in the form of a Direct Deposit so that money will go straight to your checking or saving account. Additionally, cashback can be used as a statement credit that reduces the balance of the credit card. The third way is to receive a paper check in the mail. The minimum amount is $5. Later you can deposit it into any bank account.

The minimum ThankYou points you can withdraw is 2,500 that is equal to $25.

Intro APR on balance transfer

Citi Double Cash has intro APR on balance transfers for the first 18 months. It means you don’t have to pay any interest on your balance for the first 1 and a half years.

If you are late with minimum payment then Citi charges a $41 late fee. When you miss even a single payment Citi terminates the intro APR. Then you’ll have to pay interest anywhere between 19% and 29%. This is why you must set up auto-payment as soon as you activate the credit card.

0% intro APR on balance transfer may look great at first sight. However, there is a balance transfer fee. If you make the transfer within the first 4 months of opening a credit card it is 3% and after that 5%. The minimum fee is $5. This way intro APR hides the 5% fee.

Foreign Transactions

If you travel and use Citi Double Cash to pay in other currencies bank can charge an international transaction fee. Citi Double Cash has a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Cash Advance

As with many other credit cards Citi Double Cash allows you to take cash out of your available credit limit. Cash advances cost a 5% fee and the minimum is $10. Taking money this way is very expensive. Not only do you pay the fee, but also interest on the amount starts accumulating immediately. There is no grace period.

Overall the Citi Double Cash credit card doesn’t have exciting benefits. Its intro APR is a questionable benefit. Other cards have much better benefits and sign-up bonuses.