Arro Card vs Avant Card

Both the Arro Mastercard and the Avant Mastercard are unsecured credit cards targeting people with bad credit with relatively very low fees compared to many of their peers. The are both Mastercards and share similar benefits provided by it. Arro is slightly different from Avant (and in fact most credit cards) in that they do not rely on FICO scores to approve you. Instead, they look at your monthly income and cash flow in your bank account.

We are now going to compare these two cards and find out which is better.

Avant Mastercard Details

Avant is an unsecured credit card by the loan provider Avant. It is one of the unsecured credit cards targeted at people with bad credit that has lower fees than many of it's competitors. There are a few versions of the card and they differ by the fees that they charge.

If you apply online on Avant's site, the version that you will get will have a $39 annual fee. However, Avant also offers credit cards to their existing customers and they may be offered or pre-approved for one of the following three versions:

• Annual Fee only version - An annual fee only version whose fee ranges from $0 to $99.
• Monthly Fee only version - A monthly fee version that ranges from $0 - $1.99 monthly
• Annual Fee and Monthly Fee version - Those who are offered this version may get an annual fee ranging from $0 - $75 and a monthly fee ranging from $0 - $0.99 a month.

The APR ranges from 29.74% to 35.99% and the credit limit ranges from $300 to $3,000. Avant is known to approved people who have just been discharged from bankruptcy. Otherwise, most applicants who are approved have a FICO score of at least 620.

Arro Mastercard - No Hard Inquiry

The Arro Mastercard is one of the rare unsecured credit cards targeting people with bad credit that does not rely on FICO scores to approve you. Instead you need to have a minimum monthly income of $1,000 and a positive cash flow in your bank account (at least $50). Arro verifies this by requiring you to link your bank account to them via PLAID.

The maximum credit limit you can get with Arro is $2,500. Unlike other credit cards, you are in total control of any credit limit increase via taking and completing financial education courses via their app. Completing these courses will result in either an increase in credit limits or an APR reduction.

If your starting credit limit is between $50 and $200, the monthly fee during the first year will be $1/month ($12 annually). If your starting credit limit is higher than $200, the you will be charged a $3/month fee ($36 annually).

The APR is very low at 16% and you can get that reduced by completing financial literacy courses from their app.

Similarities

Both are unsecured Mastercards

Both the Arro and Avant are unsecured Mastercards that have the same Mastercard Benefits like Mastercard Identity Theft Protection etc.

Roughly similar maximum credit limit

The maximum credit limit you can get with the Arro Mastercard is $2,500. While there is no official maximum credit limit for the Avant Mastercard, many speculate that the maximum limit you can get is $3,000. This is roughly similar to the Arro Card.

Low Fees compared to peers

Both the Arro and Avant credit card (whichever version you get) have relatively low fees compared to many of their peers, where total fees of over one hundred dollars a year in both annual and monthly fees are not uncommon.

Differences

Arro does not rely on FICO scores

Arro Card is one of the rare unsecured credit cards that does not rely on FICO scores to approve you. Instead you need a minimum income of $1,000 a month and Arro verifies this by having you link your bank account to Arro via PLAID (which is very secure).

In contrast, Avant relies on FICO scores to determine whether to approve you or not. You would typically need a FICO score of at least 620 to get approved through Avant has been known to approve applicants who have just been discharged from bankruptcy.

Arro gives you credit limit increases through taking online financial literacy courses

While Avant advertises that they will periodically consider a credit limit increase for cardholders, not every cardholders has gotten a credit limit increase (CLI). In contrast, Arro will guaranteed credit limit increases if you take and complete certain online financial literacy courses from their app.

Avant allows you to via debit card

Avant is one of the rare credit cards that allows you to pay your credit bills via debit card. Paying via debit card often results in immediate availability of the credit limits freed up and hardly any payment holds. Avant also allows you to set up autpay but that is paid through ACH. Arro, on the other band, requires setting up autopay for your payments.

Arro can be loaded to digital wallets while Avant cannot

You can load your arrow card to your digital wallets whereas Avant does not allow you to do so. That means no Apply Pay or Google Pay for Avant card.

Arro has a much lower APR than Avant

The Arro's APR of 16% is much lower than Avant's APR of 35.99%. Furthermore, you can get APR reductions for Arro when you complete certain financial literacy courses from their app.

Which is better?Arro or Avant?

Both Arro and Avant are actually pretty good choices of rebuilders looking for an unsecured credit card. The reason is because they have much lower fees than most of the peers (whose fees alone are over a hundred dollars a year).

In Arro's case, they are also one of the rare unsecured credit cards that do not rely on FICO scores to approve you. Instead their requirement is that you need a minimum income of $1,800 and as long as your cash flow is positive in your bank account (to be verified by linking it to Arro), then you will definitly be approved. With Arro, you determine whether you get credit limit increases or APR reductions by simply completing online financial literacy courses.

It is for these reasons that I would give the slight edge to Arro over the Avant Mastercard.