5 Things to Know About the Revvi Card

At first glance, the Revvi Card may seem like a good option to rev up your credit, but under the hood is a lemon with astronomical fees and gimmicky rewards.

Let’s start with the good (it won’t take long). The Revvi Card, issued by MRV Banks, doesn’t require a security deposit. Your account history will be reported to all three credit bureaus, and as a Visa, the card will be accepted anywhere credit cards are accepted. 

But if you have poor or no credit, there are other cards that can help improve your FICO score while keeping more money in your pocket.

Here are five things you should know about the Revvi Card.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best starter credit cards for no credit

1. The fees are outlandish

Credit cards issued for people with bad credit (FICO scores of 629 or lower) often come with fees. But the Revvi Card takes fees to a new level.

• Annual fee: $75 for the first year, then $48.

• "Program" fee: A one-time cost of $95. While this fee can be paid in three installments, you won’t be able to use your card until the fee is paid in full.

• Monthly service fee: $8.25 per month ($99 a year). This fee is waived the first year, but you really shouldn’t ever be paying a monthly fee on a credit card, even if you’re rebuilding your credit.

• APR: As of this writing, the ongoing APR was nearly 36%. That might be among the highest APRs we’ve ever seen.

• Credit limit: $300 initially. You can apply for a credit line increase after one year (but see the next bullet).

• Credit limit increase fee: A fee of 25% of the amount of any increase in your credit limit may be charged to your account. For example: If your $300 credit limit is increased by $60, a $15 fee can be assessed to your account.

• Additional card fee: $29 annually for each additional card.

• "Premium" plastic card design fee: An optional “premium” plastic card fee that won’t exceed $10.

If you don’t opt for an additional card or the “premium” plastic design, that makes your first-year fee an outlandish $170. Each year after that, you’ll pay $123 (assuming you don’t get a credit limit increase). 

Worse yet, those fees count against your credit limit of $300. So before you even receive the card in the mail, your initial credit limit will be $130, after the $170 in fees are accounted for. This matters because it can result in high credit utilization, which is an important factor in your credit score (in addition to giving you less available credit). And that utilization will only increase as you put charges on the card. 

If you are building credit and want to avoid fees, check out the Chime Secured Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card. To qualify, you must sign-up for and link a Chime Checking Account. Then, you move money from your spending account to the card account, which becomes your credit line. And you can adjust that credit line each month depending on your spending habits. 

» MORE: The big problem with easy-to-get subprime credit cards

2. You need a checking account to qualify

Like many “subprime” credit cards designed to help build or rebuild your credit, the Revvi Card requires a linked checking account to qualify. This acts as a factor of safety for the bank and increases the likelihood that your fees and statement balance will be paid.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best credit cards for bad credit

3. It reports to all three credit bureaus

Your payment history and other account details for the Revvi Card are reported monthly to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These three major credit bureaus each generate their own credit report, which can then be accessed by future creditors when you apply for a loan. 

It is important that Revvi Card details are reported to all three credit bureaus rather than just one because a future creditor may only review the credit report from one of the bureaus. If your account information isn’t on that one report, the creditor won’t be able to see your account history. 

But this is not a unique feature. Most major credit cards report to all three bureaus.

» MORE: Best credit cards with no credit check

4. It offers rewards … that aren’t that rewarding

The Revvi Card earns 1% in cash-back rewards, but there are a few catches.

Points are worth a penny each and can be redeemed for a statement credit. Redemptions can be made online, via the Revvi app or by phone (redemptions can’t be automated). Unlike most other credit cards, rewards are earned when you make payments on your card balance and not when you make a purchase. 

You can’t redeem rewards until you’ve been a cardholder for six months, and points are redeemable in 500-point increments only. This means you’ll likely be left with an odd number of points that will go unused.

If you have at least some credit and want to earn rewards, an alternative is the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card. You’ll earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases and have a $0 annual fee. There’s no minimum redemption amount for the cash back you earn. While an initial $200 deposit is required to secure your credit line, that can be refunded by making on-time payments and eventually transitioning to an unsecured version of the card. 

» MORE: Secured credit cards vs. unsecured credit cards

5. There's no path to a better card

Your credit should start to build after a few months of consistent, on-time payments. After enough time, your score should be good enough to qualify for a better card without those massive fees. But there are no options to upgrade the Revvi Card, so you’ll have to close your account and apply for another card to get rid of those fees. 

This is problematic for a card designed to “power up your credit,” as the card's slogan suggests. First, losing the card’s available credit line could impact your credit utilization. Second, your average account age will stop growing. And third, you’ll incur another hard inquiry on your credit report if you decide to apply for another credit card.

A better choice would be the Discover it® Secured Credit Card. Although it requires a security deposit, you can earn that deposit back by consistently making on-time payments and becoming eligible for an upgrade to a non-secured card in as little as seven months. You’ll avoid all of the fees you’d be paying with the Revvi Card, and even better, you will earn rewards without much fine print. That includes 2% back at gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 in purchases per quarter) and 1% back on all other purchases.

» NEXT: How to know when its time to ditch your starter credit card