Merrick bank is a specialist in offering sub prime credit to those with blemished credit histories, with products which can help to build or rebuild credit scores, and does report to all three main credit bureaus. The Merrick bank offers a visa card to those with less than perfect credit, which actually illustrates how secured credit cards can be a much better deal for card users hoping to rebuild their credit score. Merrick’s own secured MasterCard stands clear ahead of their unsecured visa card, for those who don’t mind paying the security deposit.
The unsecured visa card comes with a one off set up fee and an annual fee. These fees will vary depending on how much credit you choose to take up on the card. As credit card laws now stipulate that advance card fees must not exceed 25% of the credit limit, Merrick very cleverly structure your fees based around the credit limit they offer you. Thus a $400 credit limit will cost you a one of set up fee of $60 with an annual fee of $36, allowing you just more than 75% of your credit limit in immediately available credit.
The one time set up fee can vary widely though and can range from $19 to $149 depending on your credit limit. Certainly this kind of fee set up should encourage customers to save up the deposit which is refundable and opt for the secured credit card instead.
In the area of sub prime credit Merrick bank does have a good name in providing excellent customer service, and of increasing credit limits regularly. This is convenient as if using a credit card to rebuild a bad credit history one of the first rules to follow, along with paying off your monthly balance in full, is to not exceed more than 30% of available credit.
Interest rates on the Merrick visa card are variable and quite high compared to other cards, based around a current rate of 17%. Any breach of the credit agreement means that the penalty APR immediately comes into effect, but Merrick guarantee this will never exceed 35%. Late payment penalties are standard at $15 on balances under $100, $29 under $500, and $39 over $500. The returned payment fee is fixed at $30 for any amount.
If you are looking for a credit card to assist in rebuilding your credit score the Merrick bank visa card is an expensive way to do it, and you would be much better serviced by considering their secured MasterCard instead. The initial fees on the visa card are just too expensive to make this a worthwhile card to use.