Is the Aspire Credit Card Worth It?

Aspire Credit Card

$49 - $175

7

7.0/10

Strengths

• Unsecured credit card for bad credit
• No application fee

Weaknesses

• Relatively high fees
• Cannot request credit limit increase

The Aspire Credit Card is one of two “Aspire” credit cards offered by The Bank of Missouri in St. Robert, MO. (the second is the Aspire Cash Back Reward Card)

The Aspire Credit Card is an unsecured credit card meant for people with bad credit. It’s not a card anyone can simply apply for, you have to have an invitation (which is why their website says “respond to offer” on the buttons rather than “apply).

If you received an invitation, you might be wondering if this card is worth it, we’ll explain:

Aspire Credit Card Benefits

Many of the Aspire Credit Card’s benefits are similar to those of other unsecured credit cards designed for folks with bad credit. It’s unclear how high of a credit limit you get, but their agreement does state that they will not accept credit limit increase requests, so what you get is what you get.

One benefit they tout is a free credit score. While nice, the credit score they offer is a VantageScore 3.0 which is the same score that many other services offer for free. There are at least half a dozen different companies that offer a free credit score so this benefit is not terribly impressive.

The one highlight is the type of product — it’s an unsecured credit card, which means you don’t have to submit a security deposit. You can also set up transactions alerts and access the account via a mobile app or on the Aspire website.

You can also choose your own payment due date. That can come in very handy if the due date assigned to you doesn’t align with your paychecks and other bills.

Another point in favor of the card is that there are no application fees.

Requesting an Aspire Credit Limit Increase

Unfortunately, the Aspire Credit Card will not accept any credit increase requests. It’s stated within the cardholder agreement:

If approved for an Account, your initial Credit Limit(s) will appear on your Card carrier. Your current Credit Limit(s) can be found on your Statement or provided upon request. We do not accept Credit Limit increase requests.

Aspire Credit Card’s Cardholder Agreement

That said, they do reserve the right to increase or decrease your credit limit so there are opportunities for it to change after it has been set. You can’t ask them to increase it but they could do so on their own.

Aspire Credit Card Fees

According to their generic cardholder agreement, the Aspire Card’s fees are substantial.

Annual fee: You’ll pay between $49 and $175 in the first year and $0 to $49 after that. It’s not clear why there is such a large range, but I suspect it has to do with the cardholder’s creditworthiness.

Account maintenance fee: In addition to the annual fee, there is a monthly fee of between $5 and $12.50 after the first year.

Late fee: There is a $41 fee for any late payments

Returned payment: There is a $41 fee for any payments you send that do not clear your bank account.

Balance transfer fee: If you transfer a balance to this card, a fee of 3% of the amount transferred will apply.

Cash advance fee: To receive cash from the card, you’ll pay either $10 or 5% of the cash advance amount, whichever is greater.

Foreign transaction fee: A 3% fee will be added to any purchases not in U.S. dollars.

Additional card fee: If you want to add an authorized user to the account, there will be a one-time $19 fee.

Aspire Credit Card Alternatives

The Aspire Credit Card is may be good for building credit but there are alternatives that are cheaper.

Chime Credit Builder Credit Card

The Chime Credit Builder Credit Card, works like a pre-paid debit card. You load the card with money and the amount you’ve loaded onto the card is your spending limit. As you shop, your available balance decreases. When the bill is due, the funds you had loaded onto the card are used to pay the full balance.

There are no fees, which makes it far cheaper than the Aspire Credit Card, and it reports your behavior to all three credit bureaus.

Here’s our full Chime Credit Builder Credit Card review for more info.

Go to Chime

Extra Debit Card

The Extra Debit Card links to your existing checking account, as you spend with your Extra card, the loan is automatically paid back with a transfer from your checking account two or three days later. It loans you the money for your purchase just long enough to transfer funds from your account. This counts as a payment and is reported to the credit bureaus, but it doesn’t allow you to accumulate debt.

You can also earn points that you can then use for purchases such as coffee or rideshare.

There is a $20 monthly fee for the card. You can upgrade to $25 a month if you would like to earn the rewards, but make sure its worth the cost before upgrading.

Here’s our full review of the Extra Debit Card for more info.

Go to Extra

OpenSky Launch Secured Visa® Credit Card

The OpenSky Launch Secured Visa is a traditional secured card. This means you will have to send in a security deposit and then you can use the card like a regular credit card. Your payment will be due once per month and it will not be withdrawn from your security deposit. You will need to send in an additional payment.

With the OpenSky Launch, the minimum security deposit is $100. There is a fee of $2 per month for the first year and $3 per month after that.

Go to OpenSky

Is the Aspire Credit Card Worth it?

The main benefit of the card is that you’re paying for a credit card that can help you build credit over time, as long as you use the card responsibly.

The Aspire Credit Card is okay… but it’s not great. It’s just slightly more expensive than some alternatives.

If you received this offer and are considering it, shop around to see if you can get a better unsecured credit card that will also help you build credit. There are several options out there, and you owe it to yourself to see if you can get the same type of card for less.

If you can’t, there’s nothing wrong with the Aspire Credit Card other than the fact that it’s expensive.