Update 6/15/23: Some Petal 2 cardholders are having their cards replace with the Petal 1 Rise card (Chase won’t be happy) and this card charges a monthly fee of $8. It’s unclear how Petal is determining who gets to keep their Petal 2 card.
Correction: Petal is designed for people with no/low credit history rather than bad credit history.
The Petal Credit Card is a card for people with no credit history/score and unlike competitors comes with no annual or sign up fees. We first reviewed the card back in 2017. The major criticism we had is that the card came with no rewards program, starting Tuesday May 14th this will change.
Petal will offer all cardholders 1% cash back on all purchases and if you pay your card back on time you’ll earn higher cash back. The more ontime payments you make the more than cashback increases. The breakdown of increased cash back is as follows:
- Make 6 on time payments and your cash back will increase to 1.25%
- Make 12 on time payments and your cash back will increase to 1.5%
This new rewards program will also apply to existing cardholders and any purchases made from May 1st onwards will earn rewards (e.g even purchases that were made earlier this month before the rewards program was introduced).
If you have existing credit or good credit then obviously this card isn’t attractive as other cards earn at higher rates. If you are just getting started then this is an attractive option. My go to recommendation is still the Discover it Secured, as that card will earn 1% cash back on all purchases (doubled to 2% in the first year) and has 2% categories as well (doubled to 4% first year). That being said it’s a secured card and requires a security deposit so something like that isn’t always an option for people tight on funds.
I also really like the fact that Petal tries to encourage cardholders to make on time payments to increase the amount of rewards earned and the fact that the rewards program is being retroactively added to purchases already made in May for existing cardholders.
Not cool. I started with 1000 credit line in 2019. Went up to 2800 which I liked. The thing is they don’t say why and it’s an absolute downgrade which just sucks. Hey guys I got a lower level card thanks 🤠losers
It is crap card. You are better off with Discover it.
Trade lines still pay >$8/mo? I’m surprised.
I guess compared to Amex @$60/mo, $8 is a steal lol
thanks for sharing these opportunities doc!
From what I know about Chase’s newest card, this seems to be a bit of a rip off of the new Chase Rise card. Either that or Chase stole their idea.
Where did you hear 1 Rise is replacing 2? Seems odd they would move their best customers to their lowest tier card.
Reddit is full of people reporting they have been notified their card will be changed in a month.
Yeah Reddit is a big place, but thanks. Other sites report it is only certain cardholders, not everyone. So it is is not a replacement of the product but a change in underwriting decisions for certain people, and won’t affect new applicants. That is a BIG difference from what was reported here.
There are some more DPs here:
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Petal-1-amp-2-just-added-a-8mo-fee-to-their-No-fee-visa/td-p/6678014
I agree it is not clear that if it is an across-the-board change or not. Some people might be “safe” with the no-AF card, but I don’t know. Regardless, this should be a huge warning to anybody who’s interested in the no-AF card now that there is precedence of them forcing you into a product change to an AF card.
Originally it was only certain Petal 1 users reported a few weeks ago. Now hundreds of reports are coming out Petal 2 users are also receiving the same downgrade. I got the email. I have a 5,000 credit limit, and do use it for some purchases monthly. I’m furious I have to lose my credit because the only option is to close the card, or pay fees monthly.
I don’t know if I’m considered a “best customer” but I had a 750 credit score, and have been with Petal for years, originally on the Petal card, and later they automatically upgraded me to the Petal 2. Now I’m being forced on the Rise card with monthly maintenance fees.
Inboxdollars has a $20 offer for Petal in case you are inclined to sign up for this anyway. No idea if the terms of the program have changed from the time of this post.
The Petal is a great starter card with no annual fee and the cashback feature. A great first or second card. You’ll obviously get better cards down the road, but it’s nice to have peace of mind this card won’t cost you on annual fees and teaches good usage habits. The app is very attractive, and you can offer Petal to track your spending habits on your bank account (entirely optional), for them to determine future credit limit increases. I imagine if the card takes off they will begin offering a next tier card users can be upgraded into, or additional benefits beyond 1.5%.
I sound like an ad, but I was hesitant at first to get a Web Bank issued card, but I was pleasantly surprised with it and the generous starter credit line of $1500, and I’ve seen others much higher than that.
Aged like milk 🙂
They are not bankruptcy friendly btw.
It depends. I was just out of a Ch 13 (made it through all 5 years to successful discharge) and gave them banking info and was approved for a 6k credit line (Cap 1 gave me 3k on a no-fee Platinum, Discover approved me for a secured DiscoverIt, my CU approved me for a secured 1% rewards card). Since Petal’s a no-fee card it was a no-brainer even if I left it in the sock drawer. 1 to 1.5% cash back makes it reasonable for someone rebuilding credit, especially for those who aren’t going to be qualifying for cards requiring 750-800 credit scores anytime soon.
Oops sorry. I thought you were referring to Discover. You meant Petal. My bad.