Milestone® Unsecured Mastercard® Review

CardName ESSENTIALS

Pre-qualifying for a credit card typically requires a hard inquiry, which inevitably dings your credit score, at least a little. If you’re aiming to build or rebuild your credit score every little adjustment to that three-digit number matters dearly, which is why we perked up after hearing about the CardName. The CardName offers a pre-qualification process that does not mean a hit to your credit score.

Additional perks make it easy for cardholders to focus on rebuilding and building credit, too. Milestone® reports to the three major credit bureaus and there are numerous sites these days that allow you to keep an eye on your score without paying a fee..

CardName’s best features:

• Zero liability
• No security deposit
• Reports to all three major credit card bureaus
• Quick pre-qualification
• MasterCard® Gold benefits, including price protection, rental car insurance, roadside assistance and travel assistance
• Identity theft resolution services

WHAT OUR EDITORS LIKE MOST ABOUT THE CardName

The CardName is designed to help consumers rebuild their credit. If you qualify, Milestone® will recommend an APR/annual fee combination based on your credit profile (more on that below). The Milestone® is an unsecured credit card, so there’s no security deposit. Credit lines start at $300 for the card, but the company will determine your credit limit based on your credit profile once you’re approved. After approval, the card has many standard benefits that you’ll find with secured cards offered by major companies like Bank of America® and Capital One®.

One of the best card benefits is MasterCard®’s Identity Theft Resolutions Services. These services include identity theft alerts, which informs consumers if MasterCard® believes thieves are buying and selling your personal information online. The service also includes guidance from an identity theft specialist about how to keep your information secure. There’s zero liability protection if your card is lost or stolen, and MasterCard® Gold offers benefits like extended warranty coverage, price protection and emergency roadside assistance to keep you safe.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES OF THE CardName

Unlike some other unsecured cards, the CardName doesn’t offer a credit limit increase. The credit limit you get when you’re first approved is what you’ll be stuck with — at least until Milestone® changes its policy. There’s also no balance transfer option, which is probably negligible considering that the APR average is slightly high.

The biggest drawback with this card is the annual fee structure. Depending on your credit profile, you’ll be offered a different annual fee/APR combination. All of them have relatively high APR and annual fees start at $35. They then increase to $59 — and depending on how bad your credit is — go up to $75 the first year and $99 every year afterward.

If you’re looking to rebuild your credit, it might be better to get a secured card with no annual fee and a low minimum required deposit.

CardName CARDHOLDER SCORES

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

HOW THE CardName COMPARES TO OTHER CREDIT CARDS

CardName vs. CardName

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The CardName reports monthly to the three major credit bureaus, as well as provides online credit education and an e-newsletter to help cardholders proactively work on improving credit. It also offers a worry-free application that doesn't require a credit check, so you don't have to worry about your application affecting your credit score.

There's a set annual fee of AnnualFees, and the refundable deposit you provide becomes your credit line limit on your Visa card. Plus, you get to choose it yourself, from as low as $200.

OpenSky® also offers a Visa Zero Liability policy which protects cardholders against fraud.

CardName vs. CardName

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CardName has two attractive card benefits that surpass Milestone®: free credit scores and 1% cash back on eligible gas, grocery and telecommunication purchases, which include internet, cellphone, cable and satellite TV services. The APRs on the cards are comparable, and the possible annual fees are also similar.

The CardName and the CardName are fairly similar cards, but the the Credit One card has a slight edge because of its cash back and free credit score benefits.

CardName vs. CardName

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The CardName regularly reports to all three major credit bureaus, has $0 fraud liability if your card is ever lost or stolen, offers some premium benefits like extended warranty, auto rental insurance, travel accident insurance, 24/7 travel and roadside assistance, and price protection, carries no-annual-fee, and you could qualify for an account with a deposit as low as $49 to establish your initial $200 credit line (you'll pay a refundable security deposit of $49, $99 or $200 based on your credit history and must have access to an authorized bank account to make your $49, $99 or $200 refundable security deposit).

Plus, with this card you can get access to a higher line of credit in as little as six months with no additional deposit needed.

IS CardName A GOOD CARD?

The CardName is good option for those looking for an immediate answer about approval (without worrying about a denied application hurting your credit score). Since this card reports to all three major credit bureaus, it is a good tool to help you repair bad credit, while also providing you with great benefits such as price protection, rental car insurance, roadside and travel assistance, and identity theft resolution services.

Survey Methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents' scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. “Current Scores” reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2022 survey.