Works For Rebuilding
My Situation
I was 20 years old and ruined my credit in merchant and consumers accounts due to opening a business, had banking accounts closed along with the credit from those banks as well. My score had dropped to about 460 in 2013. This eventually lead to having a bad credit status and being marked in ChexSystems, which prevents you from opening any sort of consumer accounts like checking accounts. After finding a job shortly after, instead of filing for bankruptcy, I decided to go ahead and repair my credit and it started with First Progress.
So this is my review 2 years and 9 months later...
Some prerequisites:
1.) You need to have bad credit, either this card is not for you. Even if you have no credit and want to build credit, this card is still not for you.
2.) An extra $200 or more (I put $300)
3.) Patience and knowing how/what to use it on. (give it 6 months at least, 12 months if you have many baddies on your account).
4.) Checking Account that allows bill pay, or another form of card that has these features (such as the Chase Liquid Card, which is what i used)
5.) The following needs to stick in your head:
a) Remember that rebuilding credit COSTS in some shape or form, either by deposits, charges and annual fees. Rebuilding is not easy, it takes a lot of patience and of course money.
b) Rebuilding is not just opening secured accounts and hoping everything will be fixed in a couple of years, you need to constantly work in fixing your negative remarks on your account, to a certain extent.
Opening Account
Opening the First Progress account was pretty easy, that is if you have a bank account to fund it with. If you do not have a bank account, I would highly recommend the Chase Liquid Card as they allow you to use their Online Bill Pay as a feature. The Chase Liquid Card is what I started out with since I was marked on ChexSystems and was unable to open any checking/savings accounts at any bank at the time (due to closed checking accounts with negative balances). The process took over a week and a half for them to receive the deposit and send out the card. Then I received it in the mail about a week later, so about 2 - 3 weeks in total for the whole process it took for me, but this can take longer for some areas.
Usage
Using the card was simple, I put $300 as the deposit and if this was your first secured card like it was for me, you would need to be responsible to keep it below the 30% utilization rate. Since I put $300 as the deposit, 30% in this case would be $90. You would need to make sure your max spending limit to have at the end of a billing cycle would be lower than $90, meaning when you recieve you billing statements, your balance owed should not be over $90, since $90 is 30% of your overall utilization rate. This is extremely important when you start applying for other cards down the road.
I would highly recommend finding some way to bill pay direcly to First Progress's account, the first bill I paid I used MoneyGram at a local CVS and this was the first and last time I would do something like this, it takes longer for First Progress to receieve the payment and could possibly make your payment late, plus the hassle of going in store, calling, connecting, providing the information, and confirming took about 40 minutes since this was my very first time doing something like this. Theres lots of debit cards that allow bill pay if you do not have a checking account or unable to get one like me at the time.
By also wary that this has an annual fee, for me it was $39 a year.
Results
My score was around 460 when I started in 2014, in about 6 months, my score jumped to 524. Not exactly an average score, however as long as progress is made, you're on the right track (and so was I). I soon applied for another secured card from Capital One a couple months after, and at the end of the 12th month, my score was around 580 from these 2 secured cards, which 580 for some credit cards applications is the bare minimum. First Progress was easy to use as it was accepted everywhere and suprisingly did not require a signature, unlike unsecured cards which do.
Eventually after a year and 2 months, I applied for my first Capital One Unsecured card (QuickSilver One) and was given a $500 limit. The secured card from Capital One also bumped up from $300 (my original security deposit) to a $600 credit line. I had First Progress to thank since it lead me up to this point in 2015.
However, don't expect an increase from First Progress as they do not hand out credit increases, whatever you deposit is what you get. I still have the same $300 limit from the time of opening the account to now.
Overall, this card was easy to use, and I had no problems with payments or First Progress using bill pay from Chase Liquid's Card. I would highly recommend this along with other secured cards for rebuilding your credit.
Awful
They advertised as a chipped card with extra security. Once the card arrived it didn't have a chip. Customer service stated NONE of their cards have a chip. Also, paid the extra fee for expedited shipping. Seems like it took close to 2 weeks to get it .. only plan on keeping it a year ..
has it's downs
the application process was awesome just pay your bills on time you'll have no issues. the only problem I had was they sent me a bill before I received my card but it's alright my score went up 60 points in one month they are awesome
SUCKS!!!!!!!
Their customer service sucks. And you cant understand them.
I had a 13 $ balance. Never. NEVER received a statement for 3 months.then may credit score fell 50 points.checked why they reported me for being late!!! My 13$ balance went to over 100$ because of late fees. Again didnt get statements. Tried to talk to them couldnt understand any of them ! From first person to manager!!
Im building my credit back, leave a small balance on all 8 of my cards. This company you have issues with online payments and receiving statements. Went paperless same freaking issue. STAY FAR AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!
I shall build that wall around their call center!!!!
SUCKS!!!!
They suck !!! Customer care is flat out not there. They send your statements as said. Ive not used my card. Never received a statement. Ended up paying over 120$ because of a 13 $ balance that they keep tacking on $39 dollar late fee. Said they would correct it . never did. You can understand customer service.
Stay far away from these guys !!!!!!!!!!!!
I understand you did not recieve a payment, but did you put the $13 on the card?
Would not recommend to anyone
I have had this card only for a few weeks. I added a ecured balance of 200.00 when I applied. The card took almost 3 weeks to get to me after applying. I received the pin code a week after that. and my first bill 2 days later. My biggrest issue at first was trying to contact someone at their custmer service, which is next to impossible unless ou have your card in the mail and it still does not tell you that your log in info is your card number and last 4 of your social. Once you get set up online you apparently have not only activate the card online you have to call as well even though online tells you that its activated.
Second biggest issue. The day I received the card I already had a charge immediately for 49.00 which I had assumed was the service fee ( I figured okay no big deal) the part I coulld not figure out was that my balance showed availble credit of 124.50.( I havent even used the card yet!) The first bill I got did not show the service charge but online did. I immediately set up to pay the bill which come to find out if your bankk does not offer Bill Pay then you have to mail a check in. Thats the only options you get. Anyways, I pay the the balance off so i am supposed to be back at a 200.00 credit limit, WRONG!! My wife used the card for one purchase of 12.67 at the corner store and my payment had posted as well but mysteriously I have only 64.85 in available credit!?!?! I can not get the math to add up. Even if I use their APR for purchases at 9.99% I am still no where close to what they say has been used.
I would not recomend this card to anyone whatsoever and if youa re looking for a good secured card then look at the OpenSKy or CapitalOne Secured cards. Both of those are Easy to use and have exceptional customer service.
Went from a 495 to 657 in 3 months
I see a lot of people complained about customer service. Look, they are in Georgia and older people, therefore a little slower. But think of them as an older family member that is making ends meet. You wouldn't pick on your aunt or grandfather working a job like that to keep his lights on would you? If the answer is yes, you've got a bit of self reflection to do. I find them extremely helpful, and I've not had any real issues. After THREE months of two First Prigress cards (I did a $300 and $1000 limit card), I was approved for a Delta American Express. This is a great card for anyone WITHOUT bankruptcy (the only people that don't get approval are bankruptcy individuals) that's looking to rebuild their credit fast. Mind you, I was disputing things and paying things off via the "Snowball method" (Google it) which helped a lot, but I'm over a 700 now within the same 6 months as first getting my two cards, 250 point climb. I highly recommend them.
What card would you suggest to people who filed bankruptcy?
A credit one ultimate aluminum card
Don't do it!!! High interest rates and they will close your account even if you made the payment
Works For Rebuilding
My Situation
I was 20 years old and ruined my credit in merchant and consumers accounts due to opening a business, had banking accounts closed along with the credit from those banks as well. My score had dropped to about 460 in 2013. This eventually lead to having a bad credit status and being marked in ChexSystems, which prevents you from opening any sort of consumer accounts like checking accounts. After finding a job shortly after, instead of filing for bankruptcy, I decided to go ahead and repair my credit and it started with First Progress.
So this is my review 2 years and 9 months later...
Some prerequisites:
1.) You need to have bad credit, either this card is not for you. Even if you have no credit and want to build credit, this card is still not for you.
2.) An extra $200 or more (I put $300)
3.) Patience and knowing how/what to use it on. (give it 6 months at least, 12 months if you have many baddies on your account).
4.) Checking Account that allows bill pay, or another form of card that has these features (such as the Chase Liquid Card, which is what i used)
5.) The following needs to stick in your head:
a) Remember that rebuilding credit COSTS in some shape or form, either by deposits, charges and annual fees. Rebuilding is not easy, it takes a lot of patience and of course money.
b) Rebuilding is not just opening secured accounts and hoping everything will be fixed in a couple of years, you need to constantly work in fixing your negative remarks on your account, to a certain extent.
Opening Account
Opening the First Progress account was pretty easy, that is if you have a bank account to fund it with. If you do not have a bank account, I would highly recommend the Chase Liquid Card as they allow you to use their Online Bill Pay as a feature. The Chase Liquid Card is what I started out with since I was marked on ChexSystems and was unable to open any checking/savings accounts at any bank at the time (due to closed checking accounts with negative balances). The process took over a week and a half for them to receive the deposit and send out the card. Then I received it in the mail about a week later, so about 2 - 3 weeks in total for the whole process it took for me, but this can take longer for some areas.
Usage
Using the card was simple, I put $300 as the deposit and if this was your first secured card like it was for me, you would need to be responsible to keep it below the 30% utilization rate. Since I put $300 as the deposit, 30% in this case would be $90. You would need to make sure your max spending limit to have at the end of a billing cycle would be lower than $90, meaning when you recieve you billing statements, your balance owed should not be over $90, since $90 is 30% of your overall utilization rate. This is extremely important when you start applying for other cards down the road.
I would highly recommend finding some way to bill pay direcly to First Progress's account, the first bill I paid I used MoneyGram at a local CVS and this was the first and last time I would do something like this, it takes longer for First Progress to receieve the payment and could possibly make your payment late, plus the hassle of going in store, calling, connecting, providing the information, and confirming took about 40 minutes since this was my very first time doing something like this. Theres lots of debit cards that allow bill pay if you do not have a checking account or unable to get one like me at the time.
By also wary that this has an annual fee, for me it was $39 a year.
Results
My score was around 460 when I started in 2014, in about 6 months, my score jumped to 524. Not exactly an average score, however as long as progress is made, you're on the right track (and so was I). I soon applied for another secured card from Capital One a couple months after, and at the end of the 12th month, my score was around 580 from these 2 secured cards, which 580 for some credit cards applications is the bare minimum. First Progress was easy to use as it was accepted everywhere and suprisingly did not require a signature, unlike unsecured cards which do.
Eventually after a year and 2 months, I applied for my first Capital One Unsecured card (QuickSilver One) and was given a $500 limit. The secured card from Capital One also bumped up from $300 (my original security deposit) to a $600 credit line. I had First Progress to thank since it lead me up to this point in 2015.
However, don't expect an increase from First Progress as they do not hand out credit increases, whatever you deposit is what you get. I still have the same $300 limit from the time of opening the account to now.
Overall, this card was easy to use, and I had no problems with payments or First Progress using bill pay from Chase Liquid's Card. I would highly recommend this along with other secured cards for rebuilding your credit.
You have given me a couple more ideas for continued increase of my credit score. Thankfully it is slowly improving from a lot of medical bills.
HORRIBIE CUSTOMER SERVICE /they lie
THEY FALSE ADVERTISE. EVERY CUSTOMER GETS THE SAME UGLY GREEN CARD. THERE ARE NO CHIPPED CARDS. You will get a hard inquiry with this, there are only 2 ways to pay and one way is Moneygram at Walmart/Cvs and will cost you $72 a year. High annual fee, sucky website and is outdated. Terrible. when you pay by check it takes two weeks for check to clear ! I have heard it takes almost 2 months to get the deposit back. So disappointed.
HORRIBIE CUSTOMER SERVICE /they lie
THEY FALSE ADVERTISE. EVERY CUSTOMER GETS THE SAME UGLY GREEN CARD. THERE ARE NO CHIPPED CARDS. You will get a hard inquiry with this, there are only 2 ways to pay and one way is Moneygram at Walmart/Cvs and will cost you $72 a year. High annual fee, sucky website and is outdated. Terrible. when you pay by check it takes two weeks for check to clear ! I have heard it takes almost 2 months to get the deposit back. So disappointed.
If your bank has bill payment on line use it my bank has most other Banks account numbers to do direct payment on your bill I use it every time and it is credited to my account in 24 hours
Let's see I scheduled mine too be payed Monday via my banks bill pay was not available until Friday the same week if you pay on Wednesday like I did the first time didn't process until the following Tuesday and neither time was a holiday weekend either so consumer beware you've been warned!