On this blog I usually only talk about prime credit cards that have high sign up bonuses, every now and then I see products that are so bad that I can’t help talk about them. Today is one of those days, let’s take a look at the Vast Platinum Card.
Overview
Here are the marketing bulletins that they proudly display:
- Get a $1,000 credit line
- No credit check
- No application denied for poor credit
- Low monthly payments
- 0% financing on brand name products at their online store
- “Amazing benefits” such as roadside assistance and legal assistance
What’s a bit more hidden:
- You agree to receive marketing material from their partners (17 listed here in addition to Lexington Law).
- You also agree that those marketing calls can be made via automatic dialing, they say you can opt out of this by “clicking here” but there is nothing to click on.
- Initial application fee of $29.95
- Every 30 days you are charged another $19.95 fee
- Your credit line can only be used at http://www.myuniqueoutlet.com/
- Minimum monthly payment is $25 or 15%, whichever is greater
- $10 late payment fee
As you can see this is not actually a credit card at all, it’s a store card which can only be used on their website. In the first year you’ll end up paying $249.4 in fees and each year thereafter you’ll pay $239.4 (actually you’ll pay slightly more than this as fees are paid on a rolling 30 day schedule rather than monthly).
Unfortunately we can’t see our expensive products are on the myuniqueoutlet website without creating an account, but I’d highly doubt you’d be able to save $240 annually with their prices. When most people with bad credit see an offer like this they’ll see the $1,000 credit limit and no credit check and instantly think it’s too good to be true and in this case that reasoning holds true.
There are a number of good secured credit cards on the market with no/low fees that can help you to rebuild your credit. There is absolutely no reason to pay excessive fees to companies such as this. You can view our list of the best secured credit cards here. The Verve card is another card which I find charges excessive fees to consumers.
