Chime Credit Builder Card Overview And What Are The Benefits Of It?
If your credit history has been problematic or nothing at all, the Chime Credit Builder Card is one way to get the operationality of your credit card without having to experience a standard credit check.
The card helps you build credit by reporting activities on your credit card to the big credit bureaus.
But you must be aware that it will not earn you any rewards, nor can you convert into an unsecured card. Hence it may not be the best option for some customers.
With minimal fees and no minimum security deposit, the Chime Credit Builder Card is an easy, accessible, and economical way to get your hands on a credit card and start building or repairing your crediting history.
If you have bad credit or have been declined for other cards, you can easily get a Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa card, provided you are of the eligible age and have all the identity requirements.
Is Chime Credit Builder Card The Best For You?
One of the most distinct features that differentiates the Chime Credit card from any other secured credit card is how it lets you pay your outstanding balance by using your security deposits.
However, your security deposit equals your spending limit; therefore, this way of paying your balance will decrease the funds available for you to spend.
Unless you refill those funds, you will have to deal with a considerably lower spending limit.
You must know that the Chime Credit Builder card has specific shortcomings too. Firstly, it will not earn you rewards or benefits of any kind. Therefore, even if you are not paying a fee of any kind, you will still have to miss out on all the returns and benefits that you may get from a rewards credit card.
Secondly, a balance cannot carry itself from one statement to the next one. Although you must always aim to pay off your balances on time, having the option of carrying it forward may erratically be useful.
Lastly, Chime will not be offering you any direct way to convert to an unsecured card.
However, it might indirectly help you upgrade your credit score, which will, down the line, help you fetch approval for other cards.
Speaking of a direct conversion? Well, you cannot directly update your Chime card to an unsecured one. So, if you want to get your hands on an unsecured card, you will have to apply for one and get it approved on your own.
If you are in search of a secured credit card, it is better to go for the one that might earn you rewards and allow you to convert it into an unsecured one without any hassle.
However, if your credit is extensively damaged, which is causing trouble for you in getting approvals for other secured cards, Chime Credit Builder might just be the best option that you may want to go for.
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How Does The Chime Credit Builder Card Work?
You may not need a credit check or a linked bank account in order to get the Chime Credit Card, but there are several other requirements that you will have to meet.
Firstly you must own a Chime checking account, which is only available to 18+ year U.S citizens that can provide a valid social security number.
You would also be required to have direct deposits of $200 or more within a year before when you applied in order to qualify.
The only direct deposits that may qualify have to be sourced from a payroll provider, employer, or benefits payer.
Once you fill these requirements and apply, you will receive your Chime Credit card within 5 to 7 business days. While this happens, you can use this time to transfer the money from your Chime checking account to your credit builder account.
After receiving the card, you may activate it and start using it immediately.
The funds you designate to your Chime Builder account must come from your Chime
Checking account. No funds transfer directly from external accounts can occur. It is only a matter of a minute to load your Credit Builder account.
There is no different spending limit for a Chime Credit card; the total funds you load in your Chime Builder account are exactly the amount on which you limit your spending. It shows as “Available to Spend” in your Chime app.
With every purchase, the “Available to Spend” balance decreases correspondingly.
At month’s end, you will receive a statement for the Credit Builder account that will detail your total balance.
You may also set up an autopay or manually pay the balances with money from your checking account, which the credit bureaus will get details of. If you go for manual payments, you will have to send in the full payment on time, or else it will negatively impact your credit.
Rewards Of Chime Credit Builder Card
It is disappointing, the Chime Credit card does not offer you any welcome bonus or rewards. Therefore, you will not get any returns for the amounts that you spend on it.
However, reward earning should not even be your top priority when you are in it for a secured credit card. Although, specific competitors offer a rate of cashback as high as 5% on selective purchases.
Every dollar that you spend on the card will effectively cost you rewards or cashbacks. You can easily earn rewards on different cards, which in comparison, makes it much less attractive.
Benefits Of Chime Credit Builder Card
The Chime Credit Builder Card may not offer you the typical benefits of a credit card. However, there are other beneficial features that it comes with.
Here are the benefits of a Chime Credit Builder card:
- Credit Reporting
- Visa Benefits
- Flexible Credit Limit
Chime Credit Builder Card Fees
One of the biggest strengths of the Chime Credit Card is that it lacks fees. There is no involvement of an annual fee. You can hold the card indefinitely without having to incur any cost.
Foreign transaction are not a part either. This means you would not have to pay any fees for making international payments.
There are also no late payment fees. This is because the money you are spending is already there in the bank.
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The Bottom Line
To conclude, the Chime Credit card is one of the best options if you want to improve your credit history.
It’s easy to use, and you would not have to pay any additional fees to get access to the card.
Yes, it does not provide any cashback or rewards. However, that should not even be your priority if you are here to fix your credit history.
Once you fix it, you will get your hands on many other unsecured credit cards. This will yield you as much cashback as you want in the long term.
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