I’m not sure why, but some of our most popular posts are reviews of terrible credit cards (like the Verve credit card or First Premier Bank Card). I like to think that the majority of views are people with bad credit searching for information before accepting a pre-approval offer. So without further ado, I bring you the Celtic Bank Surge Card.
Despite the sweet card design and tagline “Give Your Credit A Surge”, this card isn’t as great as it first looks. The card is issued by Celtic Bank, but it’s serviced by Continenal Financial. If that isn’t already ringing alarm bells, it should. They’re also responsible for the awful Verve card. Let’s look at some of the highlights of this card:
- APR of 29.99%
- Annual fee of $125 the first year, $96 thereafter
- Monthly maintenance fee of $10 per month (billed annually and waived first year)
- Additional card fee of $30
- Credit limit of $500 (reduced to $375 after the annual fee is billed)
- Card is either unsecured, secured or partially secured and as far as I’m aware does not graduate
Personally I’m not a big fan of paying $216 in fees in the second year for no benefits, but each to their own I guess. I thought it would be interesting to see if Surge is the worst card out there, so compared it to the Verve & First Premier.
| Surge | Verve | First Premier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee 1st Yr | $125.00 | $185.00 | $150.00 |
| Annual Fee Yr 2+ | $216.00 | $156.00 | $120.00 |
| APR | 29.99% | 29.99% | 36.00% |
I really guess it depends, if you’re going to carry a balance then First Premier will be the worst. If you’re going to hold the card for more than one year then Surge is the “winner”, if you’re going for just one year then Verve is the worst card for you.
In all seriousness, I really dislike credit card issuers that prey on people with bad credit. There are plenty of better options out there for you if you’re struggling to rebuild your credit:
- Secured credit cards (read our list of the best secured cards here)
- Prepaid cards (American Express offers a lot of these and their fees are reasonable)
- Check to see what other cards you’re pre-approved for, you might be surprised what is available
If I convince just one person to not sign up for this card, I’ll be a happy man and this whole blog will be worth it from my point of view. Do you know of any cards that are worse than this? If so, let me know in the comments.
Thanks to unfortunate reader Dan who received a pre-approved mailer for this card and bringing it to my attention.
