By : 
Mr Credit Card
Mr Credit CardAt A Glance
Another very attractive feature is that if you get denied after applying for the card, there will be no hard inquiry and hence no impact on your credit score. If you do not approved, there will be a hard inquiry after the approval in Experian.
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
|
Competition
| Card | Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee | Credit Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Egg Visa | $0 | 0% | Varies |
| Capital One Platinum | $0 | 0% | $300 and up |
| Ollo Platinum | $0 | 0% | Varies |
| Mission Lane Visa | $0 - $59 | 3% | $300 - $1,000 |
| Oportun Visa | $0 - $49 | 0% | $300 - $1,000 |
Full Review
Attractive Features
The Best Egg Visa has a few very attractive features.- No Annual Fee and No Foreign Transation Fee - It is one of the few credit cards targeting people in the 650 credit score range that does not charge any annual fee. Furthermore, they also do not charge any foreign transaction fee. This is quite rare for a rebuilder credit card and it makes it an ideal credit card to use when you travel abroad outside the US.
- No Hard Pull if you are declined - You can only apply for the Best Egg Visa is you get a pre-approval offer in the mail. In that pre-approval offer, it states that there is no hard iquiry unless you are approved. What happens is that you get a hard inquiry on Experian only after you get approved. If you are denied, then there is no hard inquiry.
- Accepts those with Bankruptcy - Best Egg accepts applicants to have been discharged from bankruptcy. It seems that most who have been approved have been discharged for 2 years and have raised their credit scores to 650 area and above.
- Intro APR - Best Egg offers an intro 0% APR for 6 months on purchases. The APR thereafter is quite decent as well (14.99% to 29.99%).
- Slick Mobile App - Best Egg has a slick mobile app where you can manage your account. You can add a user, update travel dates, spending limits and check your spending patterns and insights all through the mobile app.
- Free Credit Score - Best Egg also provides a free credit score through their Best Egg Financial Health section which you can access through your mobile app as well.
- Rewards through Community Participation - Best Egg has an online community of their credit card holders and they frequently ask you for suggestions on how to improve their credit card and what features you would like. When you participate, you can earn points which can be redeemed for gift cards of popular retailers.
Unsured of Starting Credit Limits and CLI Track Record
As the Best Egg Visa is relatively new and they do not explicityly state their starting credit limit on their website, we can only look at existing cardholder feedback on this issue. We have seen cardholders mentioned that they have received $1,000 up to $3,000 in starting credit limit. At this time, we have not heard of any credit limit increases.Competitive with Peers
The best Egg Visa credit card is also competitive with its's peers that target the same market. For example, Best Egg has no annual fee and no foreign transaction just like other cards like Capital One and Ollo. Having said that, we do not have a clear idea of their how much credit you will start with and if they have a track record of credit limit increases. Other cards like Mission Lane Visa have a much better track record of credit limit increases. In fact, your credit limit will get it's first increase after your seven months if you pay all your bills on time during that period.However, I think the real standout feature is that there will be no hard inquiry if you are denied after you apply. This is different from most soft pull credit cards where you go through a soft pull pre-approval process and then go through a hard inquiry during the application if you are pre-approved with an offer. Most cards do not guarantee you an approval even if you are pre-approved.
Upcoming Features
Best Egg is working on the following features:- Instant access through virtual cards
- Autopay Discounts
- Rewards Program - I already see the terms and conditions on their website but I do not think this has been introduced yet.
Our Take: Looks like a Competitive Card
The Best Egg Visa credit card has many attractive features. It has neither an annual fee or foreign transaction fee. The credit limit you get appears to be decent and you get modern features like mobile apps, free credit scores that you would expect from Prime and Fintech issuers. They also accept applicants who have been discharged from bankruptcy.
However, I think the most underated features is that there will be no hard inquiry if you do not get approved. I think this is a really unique feature because there is no unsecured credit card that I know of that works like this. If you get denied after you get a pre-approval offer from Best Egg and you apply, there is no hard inquiry. Instead, a hard inquiry is performed on Experian after you are approved. In contrast, other cards may let you go through a pre-approval or pre-qualification process and if you get pre-approve, you will receive an offer. But then you have to formally apply and there will be a hard inquiry whether you are approved or not.
Though Best Egg does not list their terms and conditions on their website, people have reported that they have gotten 14.9% as their APR. This is actually pretty decent for a rebuilder credit card.
To sum up, based on our review and evaluation, we give the Best Egg Visa credit card a 4.2 start out of 5 for the absence of annual and foreign transaction fees, it's lack of hard inquiry unless you are approved, the ability for rebuilders to get a decent APR and starting credit limits, free credit score and their user friendly mobile app. It's lack of reward program prevents us from giving it a higher rating.
If you are at the stage as a rebuilder where you would have a no annual fee unsecured credit card, then the Best Egg Visa credit card is a very good option to consider.
