Review of the Tribute® Gold Mastercard® Credit Card

The Tribute® Gold MasterCard® Credit Card was last reviewed on 10th February 2009

Summary - The Tribute® Gold MasterCard® is an unsecured credit card designed for those with not so good credit. This card allows you to get an initial credit limit of $300. Find out more about this card.

Fees - Like most unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit, the Tribute® Gold MasterCard® credit card comes with a fees that you should be aware of. Firstly, the annual fee is $150.00. There is a monthly fee of $9.95, which works out to $119.40 annually.

APR - The APR is prime rate plus 24.5%. The average daily balance method (including new purchases) is used to calculate monthly balances. The grace period is 25 days.

Credit Limits - If you are approved for the $300 Card, your credit line will be $300 and your Annual Fee of $150 will appear on your first statement. Once your initial minimum payment of $30 has been received, cleared and posted on your credit card account, your initial available credit will be $180. You will be billed an Account Maintenance Fee of $9.95 per month (total of $119.40 per year), beginning after you make your first purchase or cash advance.

Verdict - The Tribute® MasterCard® Gold Credit Card has significantly higher fees than other sup-prime cards. If you add up both the annual fee and the monthly maintenance fees, they total over two hundred dollars. Plus, the card has a high 24.5%* interest rate. A much better card to get would be the First PREMIER® Bank Platinum Card

If you have a 500 plus credit score, you are much better off getting a secured credit card, not just because it is cheaper (ie lower fees and rates), but also because you could have a much better credit utilization ratio which will improve your credit score much faster.

Let's illustrate this with an actual example. Let's take the Tribute MasterCard and the Public Savings Bank Secured Card.

Card	1st Year Fees	2nd Year Fees	3rd Year Fees	4th Year Fees	5th Year Fees	Total Fees Paid
Tribute MasterCard	$269.40	$269.40	$269.40	$269.40	$269.40	$1347
Applied Bank Secured Card	$79	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0

Over the course of 5 years, you would end up paying over a thousand dollars more than you would with a secured credit card. Furthermore, with a secured credit card, you can deposit up to $100,000 (in the case of Public Savings Bank). Hence, if you use say $200 of your available credit, you will have a much better credit utilization ratio (i.e. debt over available credit).

"Important: Always read the full terms & fees disclosure provided by the credit card issuer before you apply. The creditor's terms may include more detailed or updated information than this chart."

Positives