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.

Should you apply for the Credit One Bank Amex Credit Card The bank has a very bad reputation due to its predatory credit cards with numerous fees. Its credit cards are intended for people with bad credit scores. This American Express card is the least horrible. Anyway, with a $39 annual fee, it is a bad choice.

It may seem like a good option if you struggle to get approved for other credit cards and cannot afford a security deposit. It has a pre-qualification option after all! However, before you apply for the card, make sure you understand what you are stepping into.

Credit limit

The total maximum you can spend using your Credit One Bank Amex Credit Card is called a credit limit. The initial credit limit of a Credit One Bank card is $500 which is better than the $300 that other cards offer. Bank can increase your initial credit limit. It may happen 6 months after you apply if your credit score improves. Otherwise, it can easily take 12 months. Most often it never happens.

Credit One Bank Credit Card annual fee

Banks often charge customers an annual or monthly fee for using a credit card. Credit One card has a $39 annual fee. Getting your first credit card is important, but even a very small annual fee can spoil your first credit card. Credit score should never cost you money. Without significant benefits, the annual fee is a red flag for credit cards.

Cashback

Credit One Bank American Express has 1% cashback. Some experts may argue that it is a good compensation for the annual fee. I think the flat 1% reward is too little to compensate for the annual fee. You’ll have to spend more than $3,600 annually just to break even. If you want to earn cashback apply for a Discover Secured credit card.

Credit One Bank Card Foreign transaction fee

If you have to travel abroad, leave the Credit One Bank card at home. It’s 3% foreign transaction fee disqualifies the American Express credit card. There are many credit cards that have no fees for transactions in currencies other than the US dollar.

Cash Advance

Taking cash from a credit card is always a bad and expensive idea. But Credit One Bank goes “above and beyond” and charges an 8% fee. It exceeds the 3% or 5% fee that is often charged by other credit cards. Other than that APR on the cash advance is super high and exceeds 27%.

Bottom line

The Credit One Bank Card falls into the same bucket as Mission Lane Credit Card and Merrick Bank Double your line credit card. They all charge you high annual fee without giving you any benefit. Under no conditions, you should open Credit One Bank Card. There are numerous better credit cards that you can get without an annual fee.

The Best Egg Credit Card is a traditional Visa card issued by First Bank & Trust. If you have a low credit score just above 600, then the Best Egg card may be a good option.

Two ways to apply

There are two ways to apply for Best Egg Credit Card. First is to request prequalification. You file forms just like a regular application, but it doesn’t make hard inquiry. Instead First Bank and Trust tell you if you have a high approval odds. Bank should send you a personal offer code that you can use to apply. This way you have a high chance of being approved. Second way is to use a personal offer code from regular mail that you receive in your mailbox.

Intro APR

The key benefit of Best Egg Credit Card is its 0% intro APR for the first 6 months. In my opinion the intro period is too short. If you really want intro APR you may be better off using some credit card with 12 or even 18 months intro APR.

After these 6 months you’ll get a regular APR as high as 17% and maybe even higher.

1% cashback

Sometimes the Best Egg offers 1% rewards on all qualifying purchases. This is not guaranteed, however.

It is good for travelers

Best Egg has no foreign transaction fee. It means if you use the credit card abroad to buy something in currency other than US dollars, there is no fee. Many other credit cards charge 3% international transaction fee.

Credit utilization

If you use all your credit limits it is ok. There is no penalty when you exceed your credit limit. However, high credit utilization is going to drop your credit score. The good thing is that as soon as you lower credit utilization your credit score should go up.

Don’t be late!

Late payment or returned payment will cost you $39. Most often the late payment fee exceeds the minimum payment, so I would encourage you to set up auto payment for the credit card. The late payment has one more consequence, it terminates your intro APR.

Summary

Best egg credit card is a fine choice for those who transition from a bad credit score to an average one.

The FNBO secured credit card is a Visa with EMV chip offered by FNBO Bank. It should help you to build your credit score. Why is a credit score so important? A good credit score can save you a lot of money in interest on auto loans and mortgage. It can also give you valuable benefits in the form of a cash bonus when you open a new credit card with a signup bonus.

FNBO Secured credit card is one of those cards which you may consider. Offered by a big respectable bank this Visa card may seem appealing. When you make a security deposit between $300 and up to $5,000 you can use the same credit limit. After 7 months of payments on time FNBO can increase your credit limit without need for additional deposit.

The noticeable benefit of the FNBO Secured Credit Card is graduation. Just like in college but much easier. When you pay off your balance on time every months for some time your credibility with your bank increases. At some point bank can trust you and return your money. In case of this FNBO Secured card after 11 months of payments on time they can return your security deposit and upgrade your card to unsecured one.

The Secured Credit Card of FNBO doesn’t have an annual fee, which makes it a fine choice to hold in the long term. There are many secured and unsecured credit cards for bad credit that charge origination fee, monthly fee, annual fee. FNBO Secured card has no any of these fees.

Additionally they report your payments to 3 credit bureaus every months. It means your credit score can be improved quite soon.

The FNBO credit card has 3% foreign transaction fee. It means using the card abroad is not a good idea. There are credit cards that have no international transaction fees that you can use to buy things in currencies other than US dollars.

Before you apply for this secured credit card make sure you pay off all your credit card debt. It makes no sense to build you credit score if you still cannot manage credit. Carrying any balance using the FNBO credit card is expensive. The APR is 23% which makes building credit score meaningless.

Cash advance and balance transfer of this card will cost you an arm and leg. Fees for cash advance and balance transfer is 5% or $15 whichever is greater. It makes these transfers very expensive.

Being late with minimum payment on a secured credit card is probably the worst thing you can do. It not only costs $40 but also hurts your credit score.

Overall I think the FNBO Secured credit card is a fine choice to build your credit score and keep the card for a long time.

FNBO Evergreen credit card is a Visa card with contactless payments feature. It is offered by First National Bank of Omaha, also known as FNBO. If you compare it with the FNBO Secured Credit card and FNBO Getaway card, then Evergreen is the best card. Other banks, however, can offer similar cards with much better benefits.

First benefit of the FNBO credit card is a one time 20,000 points signup bonus. These 20,000 points are worth $200. You can get the bonus after you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. While this bonus is definitely a nice thing, some credit cards can give $200 when you spend only $500.

Second benefit of Evergreen FNBO credit card is 0% intro APR for the first 12 months after you get the card. Current inflation rate makes the offer super attractive. If you must buy something anyway and have money right away you can do the following. Put money in a high interest savings account and pay off the balance over the following 12 months. However, there are credit cards that offer 15 and 21 months intro APR.

Third benefit is a flat 2% cashback. There are no special categories to earn more cashback. In this sense FNBO Evergreen credit card is similar to Wells Fargo Active Cash with its flat 2% cashback.

You can redeem FNBO Reward points in $25 increments. The options are statement credit, ACH deposit to your checking account or as a gift card.

To be approved for this credit card you need a good credit score. When you apply for the card FNBO makes a hard pull. The credit inquiry may result in a small dip in your credit score, but should go up after the first payment. When available credit limit increases, credit utilization goes down which in its turn raises your credit score.

FNBO Evergreen credit card has no annual fee. It is a great benefit that is expected from this kind of card.

Balance transfer will cost you $10 or 5% fee. It is too expensive in my opinion. Many credit cards charge you only 3% for balance transfer. Cash advance at the same time cost $15 or 5% fee.

I would suggest using this card only to receive the signup bonus and leverage 12 months intro APR. After this, using the FNBO Evergreen credit card makes no sense.

FNBO Getaway credit card is a greenish MasterCard that with features like security EMV chip and contactless payments technology.

The card is the next step after you have improved your credit score to at least 620 points. Even though the credit card has low minimum credit score requirement it is not a secured credit card. Getaway card requires no security deposit and no need for an annual fee. Which is a very nice thing.

The most noticeable benefit of this FNBO credit card is 0% intro APR for 12 months. It means you can make only minimum payments for 11 months and put the rest of the money into a high interest savings account. Then after 12 months you can pay off the balance from this savings account and avoid its regular 27% APR.

The cash back of the Getaway card is OK, but not great. You can earn 3 points on travel, dining, and gas. Which is fine if you don’t have alternatives. Also you can get only 1 point cashback on everything else.

One point is worth 1 cent. So you can redeem the reward points for cashback as a statement credit or ACH deposit. But you can redeem not less than $25.

There are few additional benefits like airport concierge and global services. Airport concierge gives you 15% discount on personalized airport services. For example, you can get a dedicated agent to escort you through more than 700 airports of the whole flat world. I would expect this benefit from a premium credit card like American Express Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve. Why would someone with FNBO Getaway Credit Card need such a service?

Global services can provide you card replacement or emergency cash if you are stuck somewhere in a foreign country. The benefit is so rarely used, that mentioning it makes no sense in my opinion.

FNBO Getaway Credit Card has no foreign transaction fee and no annual fee. But it has a balance transfer fee. It is $10 or 5% of the amount of balance transfer. Cash advance fee is $15 or 5% and late payment fee is $40 and returned payment is $35.

FNBO Getaway Credit Card has numerous competitors with much better benefits. Its 15% discount on personalized airport services makes no sense. Target audience of this card is not in a position to buy luxury services.

PNC Core Credit Card is a plain Visa card. It may be worth your attention if you already have a PNC Virtual Wallet account. Unlike other PNC credit cards Core has some valuable benefits.

To be approved for a PNC Core credit card you’ll need a good credit score. Some people recommend 750 points or more. In exchange you can get a $100 signup bonus when you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months. You may also receive pre-selected offer without any signup bonus. Getting free cash is very nice, but there are cards like PNC Cash Rewards that give you $200 for the same spending amount. There are cards that give $200 when you spend only $500. For example, Quicksilver from Capital One and Freedom from Chase.

Then there is 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months. It is definitely better than 12 months of PNC Cash Rewards. If you have a high interest saving account with 5% APY it can be worth more than $50 as a cash bonus. For example, Varo Savings pays 5% on up to $5,000.

Credit Limit

Credit limit that you can get for the PNC Core credit card can go as high as $10,000. PNC Bank automatically considers you for a higher credit limit every 6 months. It means if your initial credit limit is low after half of a year it can go up.

This card has no annual fee, which is a big plus. I like cards that pay a nice bonus and don’t charge an annual fee.

As most credit card PNC Core credit card has EMV chip for additional security. It also has contactless payment feature, so that you can tap to pay in store. Merchant should have enabled terminal. However, the benefits which make the PNC Core card stand out are the following.

Purchase security

Purchase security is also known as purchase protection. When you use the credit card to purchase non-perishable goods like personal electronics for up to $500 per claim and up to $50,000 per year. In case of theft, fire, vandalism, water it should reimburse you for repairs and replacement. The $500 is quite a small coverage, but still better than nothing.

Please be aware, that insurance covers limited number of cases.

• Sudden accidental damage from electric current
• Accidental discharge of water or steam from household plumbing
• Windstorm, hail, rain, sleet, or snow
• Caused by vehicles like car

It doesn’t cover cases like

• Items stolen from card
• Medical and professional equipment
• Pre-owned, refurbished items
• Purchased for resale
• Items in your luggage
• Items with expiration date

To get coverage you have to call within 60 days of occurrence to Administrator 1-800-553-4820

Cell phone protection

When you pay your cellphone bill using PNC Core credit card it insures your phone. Insurance has $50 deductible and covers up to $800 per claim. There is also a limit of $1,600 per year.

Travel and emergency assistance

When you travel and have some medical or legal troubles, you can use card’s hot line that can coordinate the services. However, you have to pay for them yourself.

Travel accident insurance

When you have and accident during your trip, the PNC Core Card supposed to cover you up to $250,000 in case of accident. Keep in mind, that it applies only when you buy tickets using the credit card.

Roadside dispatch

This benefit can help you in case of troubles on the road. This service includes assisting with coordination of tire changing, towing, jump starting, fuel delivery. To use this benefit you can call 1-800-847-2869. The service cost $70 per service call.

Fees of PNC Core credit card.

You should pay attention to the fees of PNC Core Credit Card.

Fee	Amount
Annual fee	$0
Balance transfer fee	3% or $5 for the first 90
Cash advance fee	5% or $10
Foreign transaction fee	3%
Late payment fee	$38
Returned fee	$38

If you like the benefits and the $100 signup bonus, then apply for PNC Core card, but there are better cards with high signup bonus and more generous benefits.

PNC Core credit card is a great option if you already have PNC Virtual Wallet account and want to keep your finance simple. Having credit and debit accounts under the same bank allows you to have less efforts to track your spending.