Petal 1 Credit Card Review

Review The Petal 1 Credit Card

The Petal 1 credit card is one of three cards issued by WebBank designed to help boost the credit profiles of those with fair to poor credit or limited credit histories. Cards in the Petal Family require no security deposit and don’t affect your credit score to learn your approval odds. The Petal 1 card even made the list of the top-rated credit cards with no security deposit.

This Petal 1 review will walk you through the pros and cons of this card. Also, low-rate personal loans should be considered as an alternative. Top-rated lenders, including Credible and Upstart, offer personal loans for applicants with a FICO score starting at 580.

Petal 1 Features and Benefits

The Petal 1 credit card and Petal 1 Rise credit cards have surprising benefits for unsecured cards. They also allow consumers to check their approval odds before taking a hard credit inquiry on their credit reports.

Petal 1 offers between 2% and 10% cash back at rotating select merchants that members can identify in the Petal App. The card is subject to either no annual fee, a monthly fee of $8, or an annual fee of $59. An unusual benefit of membership is the potential to take advantage of the company’s Petal VisaCredit Card Leap program.

The Leap program helps cardmembers develop sound financial habits through goals designed to increase and maintain their credit scores.

• APR 25.24% – 35.74% (Variable)
• 2% to 10% cash back on select purchases
• No security deposit needed
• Credit score not necessary to qualify
• No or low ($0 – $59) annual fee
• $8 monthly membership fee may apply
• Offers a financial responsibility program
• Credit limits between $300 and $5,000
• Credit limit increase potential after 6 months
• Reports to all three major credit bureaus
• Pre-qualification won’t affect credit score
• Robust mobile app available
• Free credit score access in the mobile app
• No foreign transaction fees
• $10 or 3% cash advance fee, including money orders
• $50 maximum cash advance fee

Petal 1 Editorial Rating

Trusted Company Reviews Rating Score for the Petal 1 credit card: 8.8

The Petal 1 card comes in two versions, the Petal 1 and the Petal 1 Rise, and makes our list as one of the best credit cards with no security deposit necessary. The Petal product family doesn’t allow consumers to choose their card. Instead, the company’s website provides a pre-qualification step determining which card and terms each customer can receive if approved.

Taking the pre-qualification step draws only a soft inquiry on your credit report, won’t affect your score, and won’t appear on future inquiries on your report. For customers without a credit score or who have a limited credit history, Petal and WebBank can generate your Cash Score to help determine which card and terms you may qualify for.

We chose to feature the Petal Credit Card Family not only for its pre-qualification step, which is becoming quite popular among cards for fair credit, but for the company’s revolving rewards and its Leap program to help members develop habits that can positively impact their credit profiles over the long term.

About the Petal 1 Card

The Petal 1 and Petal 1 Rise credit cards differ slightly in APR and monthly or annual fee requirements. In general, customers with lower or no credit score and very limited credit history will likely qualify for the Petal 1 Rise card. In contrast, those with some credit history could be approved for the Petal 1 card.

The differences between the two are straightforward. While both offer the same cash-back benefits of between 2% and 10% at a rotating selection of vendors, the Petal 1 card features a lower potential interest rate and doesn’t require a monthly or annual fee.

Both cards offer the same pre-qualifying step to determine eligibility. Customers simply input their personal and financial information into the company’s website for pre-qualification to see which card they may receive if they choose to apply formally.

The cards feature starting credit limits of between $300 and $5,000, depending on creditworthiness. WebBank reports to all three major credit bureaus to help improve your credit profile as effectively as possible. The company will also review your account after the first six months to see if you qualify for a credit limit increase.

Finally, Petal offers its robust mobile app to help cardholders track spending and manage their cards and rewards wherever they are.

What is the Petal 1 Rise Credit Card?

The Petal 1 Rise credit card is similar to the Petal 1 card. However, it’s designed for those who need to build or rebuild their credit scores more so than customers who may qualify for the Petal 1 regular card.

While the Petal 1 Rise card comes with slightly higher interest rates and is subject to potential monthly or annual membership fees, the card still features the same cash-back benefits as the Petal 1 card.

Customers who use WebBank’s pre-qualification tool won’t be able to choose between the Petal 1 and the Petal 1 Rise. Instead, the company will determine which card each applicant qualifies for based on creditworthiness factors.

Petal 1 Credit Card Credit Score Requirements

No credit score or credit history requirements are set for Petal 1 or Petal 1 Rise credit card approval. However, the company does retain the right to refuse card issuance to any customer based on creditworthiness. Consumers with a bankruptcy on their record within the past 48 months won’t qualify for a Petal card product.

For applicants with little or no credit history or a poor credit score, WebBank may offer its Cash Score option to help approve consumers who may otherwise be turned down for typical credit cards.

Besides credit scores and history, the company may require customers to connect their bank account to their credit card account to develop a Cash Score based on income versus bill payments.

Petal Credit Card App

The Petal Credit Card App is available for Android and iOS devices on Google Play and the App Store. Through the app, Petal customers can perform the following card-related functions.

• See their payment due date
• Make payments
• See their credit card balance
• Review transactions and history
• Follow their credit profile and score progress
• Participate in the Leap program
• Set up recurring payments

How to Use the Petal 1 Credit Card

For everyday use, the Petal 1 and Petal 1 Rise credit cards work just like any other ordinary credit card. However, Petal is one of a handful of non-secured credit cards that don’t require a security deposit and also provide a rewards plan.

Taking advantage of the 2% to 10% cash-back rewards requires paying attention to the rotating collection of retailers selected by Petal and using the card at those places to collect the reward points.

The company’s mobile app will list the current retailers where the cash-back rewards can be earned. While customers can use their Petal 1 credit card anywhere Visa® is accepted, rewards are only earnable at the selected retailers during the active period WebBank chooses and states in the app.

Redeeming Petal Rewards

Redeeming Petal rewards after earning them by shopping at the select retailers and maintaining your account in good standing is possible from the company’s mobile app. Use the Cash Wallet in the app to request a statement credit or an ACH transfer to your linked bank account.

Balance Transfers

The Petal 1 credit card and WebBank don’t offer a balance transfer function with any of its card products. See our best balance transfer cards for fair credit review and featured products if you need a card with balance transfer availability or consider debt consolidation or a personal loan.

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Path to Credit Limit Increases

To qualify your Petal 1 credit card account for credit limit increase reviews after six months of on-time payments, Petal requires connecting your bank account to your credit card account. The company’s Leap program also offers multiple financial goals that could lead to credit limit increases over time.

Petal 1 Credit Card Reviews

Reviews for the Petal 1 and Petal 1 Rise credit cards are a mixed bag. Ratings on review sites range from around 3 of 5 stars to just over 4 stars, with most reviews landing on the positive side. Positive reviews cite the card and mobile app’s ease of use and convenience, while others are happy with the increases in their credit scores over time.

However, complaints and some low ratings exist. Many complaints about Petal products generally concern the company’s recent rollout of an $8 monthly membership fee for some cardholders. Other complaints seem to stem from fine print details, while some point to related customer-service disputes.

Why the Petal 1 Credit Card Stands Out

While many credit cards, with or without a necessary security deposit, don’t feature any perks for the customer and often involve high fees, the Petal 1 card stands out by going against that grain.

While the rewards offered by Petal 1 are limited to certain vendors at certain times, just having the potential to receive rewards is a nice perk.

However, the Petal 1 card series really stands out through the company’s Leap program, which offers real-world advice and goal-setting to help actively improve and maintain customers’ credit scores to make the most of their Petal 1 card membership.

Petal 1 Credit Card Vs. Petal 2 Credit Card

Petal offers three versions of its credit card products. The Petal 1 and Petal 1 Rise cards are entry-level products for consumers with low credit scores or limited credit histories. The Petal 2 card is somewhat more advanced.

The Petal 2 card features an easier-to-use rewards system that awards 1% to 1.5% cash-back on everyday purchases at more retailers than the Petal 1 cards. Therefore, the Petal 2 may be the better gas and grocery credit card.

The Petal 2 also features no annual fee. However, approval for the Petal 2 card requires a more robust credit history and at least a fair to good credit score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

Image Source: petalcard.com

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Deane Biermeier