Verve Mastercard Credit Card
REVIEW

In a Nutshell:

The Verve Platinum Mastercard is a rebuilder credit card from Continental Finance and issued by Bank of Missouri. It is only available through mail offers and you cannot apply for it online. There are four different versions which you might be offered and each has a different credit limit ($300, $500, $750 or $1,000) and comes with different fees. One of the unique features of the Verve credit card is that your credit limit will double to $600, $1,000, $1,500 and $2,000 respectively after only only 6 months if you have paid all your first 6 credit card bills on time.

The Verve Mastercard comes with a mobile app for you to manage your account. You will also get a free credit score if you sign up for e-statements. It is also a card where you can pay at the pump (which some subprime cards do not allow) and you can certainly use it for car rentals. However, you should know that it does not have the Mastercard Collision Damage Waiver insurance so you would have to pay the car rental for CDW insurance or solely rely on your primary auto insurance.

You can pay your Verve credit card bills through a variety of ways including using MoneyGram and Western Union though you cannot pay with a debit card. Setting up autopay is relatively easy as well. For the first 6 months, your payments will be withheld from your credit limit for 7 days. After 6 months of timely payment and after you have gotten your credit limit to double, you will no longer face these payment holds.

In this review, I will be going over this card's features and also comparing it with it's peers and see how it stacks up.

Some Cardholder Reviews

I was quite skeptical and nerve when I got the Verve credit card. But to my surprise, they honored what they said and doubled my credit limit from $500 to $1,000 after 6 months. And my score subsequently increased by 15 to 20 points accross the various credit bureaus. If you are looking for a helpful credit card to rebuild, Verve is it.

I burned Verve in a BK 2 years ago and they actually forgave me and sent me a pre-approval. My old verve card started off with $500 credit limit and you will only be considered for an increase after one year. But the solication I got in the mail said they would approve me of $750 limit which will double to $1,500 if I paid my first six bills on time. Well, I did and they kept their word.

4 Possible Offers You Can Get

If you get a mail pre-approval offer, you can get one of these 4 possible offers.

Card	Annual Fee	Monthly Fee	Credit Limit
Verve $1,000	$125	$0*	$1,000 $2,000 after 6 on-time payments
Verve $750	$125	$0*	$$750 $1,500 after 6 on-time payments
Verve $500	$125	$0 - $10/month	$500 $1,000 after 6 on-time payments
Verve $300	$75 Y1, then $99	$0 - $10/month	$300 $600 after 6 on-time payments

Annual Fees, Monthly Fees and Credit Limits

The 4 versions that you may be offered have 4 different credit limits of $300, $500, $750 and $1,000. The $750 and $1,000 credit limit versions have only an annual fee and no monthly fee.

Both the $300 and $500 credit limit versions have both an annual fee and monthly fee added from the second year onwards. While the $500 credit limit version has the same annual fee ($125) as the $750 and $1,000 version, it charges a monthly fee ($10/month) from the second year onwards. The $300 credit limit version has a different annual fee from the other versions. During the first year, it is $75 and increases to $99 from the second year onwards. There is also a $10/month monthly fee added from the second year onwards as well.

Double Your Credit Limit (2X) After 6 Months

One of the unique features of the Verve credit card is that your credit limit will double after 6 months if you pay your first 6 credit card bills on time. You do not have to pay in full, just the minimum balance (although we recommend that you always pay in full). Hence the initial credit limit of $300, $500, $750 and $1,000 will double to $600, $1,000, $1,500 and $2,000 respectively after 6 months. Verve can also increase your credit limit after the initial doubling and the maximum credit limit of this card is $4,000.

How to pay your Verve Mastercard? And Payment Holds

Verve offers you many ways to pay your credit card bills (which cannot be said of other subprime credit cards). You can pay via check, money orders, cashier check and with third party digital payment networks like MoneyGram and Western Union. However, you cannot pay with a debit card.

You can send your checks and money orders via mail, pay online through the Verve and Continental Finance portal, over the phone and also from the Verve mobile app.

You can also set up autopay from their online portal. Autopay cannot be set up from the mobile app at this moment.

One of the things that you have to be aware of is that during your first 6 months of your card membership, your payments will be withheld from your credit limit for up to 7 days after the payment has been processed.

Requirements to Get Approved

• Score of At least 550 - If you have not been discharged from a bankruptcy with all your debts wiped out, then you should at least have a 550 credit score to get a decent chance of getting approved.


• Need Checking Account - You will need to have a checking account to get approved for this card.


• Debt Payment to Income Ratio - Your debt payment to income ratio should be no greater than 40%.
•  
• Limited charge offs and collections - It is best that you have as little charge offs and collections as possible. If for example, all your unsecured credit cards are in collections, charged off or consolidated, you are very unlikely to be approved.


• No delinquencies or late payment for at least a year - You need to period of timely payments (at least a year) to stand a chance of approval for Verve.

Reasons to Like Verve

• Doubles Your Credit Limit After 6 months - This is probably the most attractive feature of the Verve Platinum Mastercard. Most subprime credit cards start you off with a small $300 credit limit and vague promises of the possiblity of getting your credit limit increased in the future (which may not happen). Verve guarantees that your limit will double as long as you pay your first 6 credit card bills on time.


• Generous Starting Limit and Maximum Limit of $4,000 - The initial credit limits offered by Verve are rather generous for a subprime credit card. Even if you get offered the $300 limit version, you know it will double to $600 after 6 months. Furthermore, the maximum credit card limit you can get on this card is $4,000 (which is a lot for a subprime credit card).


• Free Vantage 4.0 Credit Score - As is common with most credit card these days, Verve offers you a free Vantage 4.0 credit score. You do however, have to enroll in e-statements for get this benefit.


• Can be used "At The Pump" - You can use the Verve credit card at the pump. You might be saying "what is the big deal with this"? Well, many subprime credit cards do not allow you to use the card at the pump. Instead, you have to go inside and pay at the cashier's desk.


• Has mobile app - Verve has a mobile app and while this is a common feature in most prime credit cards, many subprime credit cards have lagged in their mobile app development. You can manage your account through the app. The one thing that the app cannot do now is set up autopay. You have to set up autopay from your desktop portal.

Fineprints: What You Should Be Aware Of

• Payment Hold on Credit Limit for the first 6 Months - Verve will not reflect your payment in your credit limit for up to 7 days during the first 6 months of your card membership. After 6 months, there will be no more payment holds on your credit limit though it may still take 2-3 days for payments to be processed (depending on which payment method you choose).


• Cannot Pay via Debit Card - You cannot use your debit card to pay your Verve bills. Having said that, some cardholders have reported success using debit card to pay using the pay by phone method with a live representative. This involves paying a fee of around $10 per expedited payment transaction.


• Mastercard does not have Auto Collision Damage Insurance - Another thing you have to be aware of is that the Verve Mastercard does not offer auto collision damage insurance. That means that when you rent a car, you cannot waive the auto collision damage waiver but instead have to pay the rental for that insurance.

Analysis Using Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio (TFCL)

The Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio is the measure we like to use to evaluate the cost benefit analysis of unsecured credit cards when it comes to fees and credit limits. With this method, we add up the total fees you pay during the year and divide it by the credit limit you will get. This is you the percentage of credit limit that you are paying in fees each year. For the Verve credit card, we are going to calculate the TFCL ratio for the first and second year (especially for the $300 and $500 credit limit versions) because they have different fees during the first year and second year onwards.

TFCL Ratio for $750 and $1,000 credit limit versions

Let's start with the $750 credit limit version. During the first year, the TFCL ratio is $125/$750 = 16.67%. From the sixth month onwards, the new TFCL ratio is $125/$1,500 = 8.33% because the credit limit doubled to $1,500.

The $1,000 credit limit version has a TFCL ratio of $125/$1,000 = 12.5%. From the sixth month onwards, the new ratio is $125/$2,000 = 6.25%.

TFCL Ratio for $300 and $500 credit limit version

For the $300 credit limit version, the TFCL ratio for the first year is $75/$300 = 25%. From the second year onwards, the TFCL ratio is $(99+120)/$600 = 36.5% (the $120 is the total monthly fee introduced from the second year onwards while the annual fee increases to $99. The credit limit also doubles to $600 after 6 months). The TFCL for the $500 credit limit version is $125/$500 = 25% during the first year. From the second year onwards, the TFCL ratio is $(125 + 120)/$1,000 = 24.5%.

Competition

I am going to split up the comparison of the Verve credit card into two groups. The first group is the $750 and $1,000 limit versions while the second group consists of the $300 and $500 credit limit versions. But before that, you should know that Continental Finance a couple of other credit cards aside from Verve and I am going to do a quick comparison. It will be "quick" because they are very similar cards.

Comparison with Other Continental Finance Credit Cards

The are three credit cards from Continental Finance that we should compare this card to. They are the Reflex Mastercard, Surge Mastercard, Revel Mastercard and Cerulean Mastercard. The Reflex and Surge credit cards are essentially similar and identical to Verve in every aspect from fees to credit limits and also the doubling of you credit limit after 6 months of timely payments. Revel is similar to Verve in that you can only apply if you receive a pre-approval offer.

The other card from Continental is the Cerulean card. Cerulean has a $750 starting credit limit and a $125 annual fee. So the Cerulean is the $750 credit limit version of the Verve, Reflex and Surge Mastercard. Like them, Cerulean will double your starting credit limit to $1,500 after 6 months of timely payments.

The Fit Mastercard is another card from Continental Finance. It has an annual fee of $99, a one-time processing fee of $89 and a monthly fee from the second year onwards of $6.25 a month. The starting credit limit is $400 which will double to $800 if you pay your first 6 minimum payments on time. The Fit Mastercard is comparable to Verve if the get the version where your starting limit limit is only $300. Here, the Fit Mastercard is slightly better because it has a lower month fee from the second year onwards ($6.25 vs $10 a month). The starting credit limit of the Fit Mastercard is also higher ($400 vs $300) and you will double it to $800 after 6 months with Fit.

Now that we have got the other Continental Finance credit cards out of the way, let's compare the Verve with it's competition based on the starting credit limit.

Comparison of $750 and $1,000 Credit Limit Versions

Card Annual Fee Monthly Fee Credit Limit Total Fees/Credit Limit Ratio
Verve $1,000 Anual Fee = $125 Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $1,000 $2000 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL Ratio (First 6 Months) = $125/$1,000 = 12.5% TFCL Ratio (After 6 Months) = $125/$2,000 = 6.25%
Verve $750 Annual Fee = $125 Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $750 $1,500 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL Ratio (First 6 Months) = $125/$750 = 16.67% TFCL Ratio (After 6 Months) = $125/$1,500 = 8.33%
Merrick Bank Double Your Line Annual Fee = $0 - $72 Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $550 - $1,350 $1,100 - $2,700 after paying on-time for 7 months TFCL Ratio (First 7 Months) = $72/$2700 = 2.67% TFCL Ratio (After 7 Months) = $72/$1,100 = 6.5%
Mission Lane Annual Fee = $0 - $59 Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $300 - $1,500 Increase after 6 paying on-time for 6 months TFCL Ratio = $59/$1,000 = 5.9%

I am going to compare the Verve $750 and $1,000 initial credit limit version with the Merrick Bank Double Your Line credit card and the Mission Lane Visa. The reason I chose these two cards for comparison is because both do not charge any monthly fee from the second year onwards (similar to the Verve $750 and $1,000 version) and both will increase your credit limit after 6 or 7 months.

Let's take a look at the Mission Lane Visa first. It has a lower annual fee ($0 to $59) compared to Verve ($125). Mission Lane can start you off with a credit limit of anywhere between $300 and $1,500 (based on cardholders feedback). You will be automatically be considered for a credit limit increase after 7 months. Many have seen their credit limit doubled and Mission Lane has a good track record of increasing your limit even after the initial one.

The Merrick Bank Double Your Line Mastercard is another very comparable card. The annual fee ranges from $0 to $72 and is thus lower than the Verve $750 and $1,000 versions. The starting credit limit ranges from $550 to $1,350. If you pay your first 7 credit card bills on time, your credit limit will double to between $1,100 and $2,700 respectively.

Both the Mission Lane and Merrick Bank credit cards have slightly lower Total Fee to Credit Limit (TFCL) ratios than the Verve Mastercard because they have lower annual fees. But the Verve credit card is still very competitive and your maximum credit limit is up to $4,000. We do know that Mission Lane and Merrick Bank cardholders have seen maximum credit limits of up to between $3,500 and $4,000. One advantage that Mission Lane has over the Verve credit card (and in fact most subprime credit cards), is that they have auto collision damage waiver insurance. That means if you rent a car and pay with Mission Lane credit card, you can decline the auto collision damage insurance offered by the car rental because Mission Lane Visa offers that. Verve Mastercard does not have this feature.

Analaysis of $300 and $500 Versions

Both the Reflex $300 and $500 version come with monthly fees from the second year onwards. Hence, we will compare them with similar cards with similar credit limits.

Card Annual Fee Monthly Fee Credit Limit Fees/Credit Limit Ratio
Verve $500 Annual Fee = $125 Monthly Fee = $10/month Credit Limit = $5,00 $1000 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL Ratio = Y1 = $125/$500 = 25% Y2 = ($125 + $120 = $245)/$1000 = 24.5%
Verve $300 Annual Fee = Y1 = $75, then $99 Monthly Fee = $10/month Credit Limit = $300 $600 after paying on-time for 6 months TFCL Ratio = Y1 = $75/$300 = 25% Y2 = ($99 + $120)/$600 = 36.5%
First Digital Annual Fee = Y1 = $75, then $48 Monthly Fee = Y1=$0, then $8.25/month Credit Limit = $300 TFCL Ratio = Y1 = $(75 + 95 -36)/$300 = 44.67% Y2 = ($48 + $99 -36)/$300 = 37%
Fit Mastercard Annual Fee = $99 Monthly Fee = Y1=$0, then $6.25/month Credit Limit = $400 $800 after paying on-time for 6 month TFCL = Y1 = $(99 + 89)/$400 = 24.75% Y2 = ($99 + $75[$6.25 X 12])/$800 = 21.75%

I want to compare the Verve $300 and $500 versions to another credit card from Continental Finance called the Fit Mastercard and credit cards from Vervent. I have chose to use the First Digital Mastercard from Vervent as it has essentially the same features as other Vervent credit cards.

First, let's compare the Verve $300 and $500 with the First Digital Mastercard. The First Digital credit card charges a one-time activation fee of $95 which you have to pay in order to get the card mailed to you. In contrast Verve does not charge any one-time activation fee. The First Digital also has a cash back program where you earn 1% cash back when you pay your bills. We are going to assume that you use the full $300 credit limit and pay in full back every month. That means you will earn $3 a month in cash back, which makes it $3 X 12 = $36 a year.

Based on these assumptions, we can see from the table above that the Verve $500 version has the best TFCL ratio. That is because it has a higher initial credit limit which doubles to $1,000 after 6 months. Both the Verve $300 and the First Digital have roughly the same TFCL ratio from the second year onwards even though we assume that the credit limit for Verve is $600 vs $300 for First Digital. That is because the Version $300 has a higher annual and monthly fee from the second year onwards compared to First Digital. Furthermore, First Digital has cash back earnings to offset the fees.

The comparison with the Fit Mastercard is also interesting. Like First Digital, they also charge a one-time activition fee (which is $89). The annual fee of $99 is lower than the Verve $500 version ($125) but the same as the Verve $300 version from the second year onwards. The monthly fee of $6.25 is lower than Verve's $10/month. As a result, the TFCL ratio from the second year onwards is lower for the Fit Mastercard compared to both versions of the Verve $300 and $500. If you get pre-approved for the Verve $300 and $500, you might want to consider the Fit Mastercard instead.

Go For It if you get the $500, $750 or $1,000 Credit Limit Version

I am going to split my evaluation of the Verve Platinum Mastercard based on the different versions simply because each of the four version you might be offered have different credit limit and/or fees. Let's start with the $750 and $1,000 version first.

$1,000 and $750 Credit Limit Version - If you get pre-approved for the $750 or $1,000, I would say go for it. Though the annual fee at $125 may seem a little high, there is no monthly fee and your credit limit will also double to $1,500 and $2,000 respectively after 6 months of timely payments. Based on the credit limit after 6 months and the potential to max out at $4,000, I would say that the $125 annual fee is worth it. This is reflected in the Total Fee to Credit Limit (TFCL) ratio for both the $750 and $1,000 versions.

$500 Credit Limit Version - I would say that if you got pre-approved for the $500 version, it is not bad even though they do charge a monthly fee from the second year onwards. But this is offset by the fact that you will have your credit limit increased to $1,000 after 6 months. The TFCL ratio at 25% (after you get your credit limit raised to $1,000) just makes our self-imposed cut off point.

$300 Credit Limit Version - If you get the $300 credit limit version, it will double to $600 after 6 months. But even then, the TFCL ratio is high at 36%. That means that the fees you are paying represent 36% of the credit limit. That is quite high in my opinion and the only way to lower the TFCL ratio is to hope you get credit limit increases down the road. This is an issue for all subprime credit cards that charge both an annual fee and monthly fee and only start you off with $300 credit line. If you get this offer, I suggest that you consider getting the Fit Mastercard which is also another card from Continental Finance. The starting credit limit of $400 will double to $800 after 6 months and it has a lower monthly fee and hence a TFCL ratio at 21.75% that is more reasonable compared to the Verve $300 credit limit version.

Aside from the quantitative factors like fees and credit limit, the Verve Mastercard has a lot of good features that most cardholders expect. There is now a mobile app where you can manage your account. You get free Vantage 4.0 scores when you sign up for e-statements.

But the most impressive feature is that you can double your credit limit after 6 months as long as you have paid your first 6 credit card bills on time. Continental Finance also has a track record of increasing your credit limit after the initial doubling after 6 months. In fact, the maximum credit limit you can get on the Verve credit card is $4,000.

You can also use the card at the pump, which some subprime credit cards do not permit and you can easily use the Verve credit card to rent a car. If you do, just bear in mind that the Mastercard agreement with Verve does not provide any collision damage waiver benefit so you have to purchase it from the car rental company or assume the car rental insurance risk with your primary auto insurance.

The Verve Platinum Mastercard also allows you to pay your credit card bills in a variety of ways. You can pay via mail, online, over the phone, through their app or through third party digital payment systems like MoneyGram and Western Union. Verve does not allow you to pay via debit card though some cardholders have reported that you can pay by debit card over the phone with a live representative but at a cost of $10 for expedited payment. Verve does withhold your payments from your credit limit for 7 days during the first 6 months of your card membership. Once the 6 months have passed, there will no longer be any holds on your credit limit through it may take a couple of days for payment to be processed depending on how you pay.

Another interesting fact about Verve that very few people know is that even if you have burned credit cards from Continental Finance in a previous bankruptcy, they will still give you a second chance and approve you a few months after you have been dischared from your BK.

To sum up, based on our review and evaluation, we are giving the Verve Platinum Mastercard a 4 star out of 5 for doubling your credit limit after 6 months, modern featurs like having a mobile app, free Vantage 3.0 credit scores, multiple payment methods, ability to use the card at the pump and also one of the few cards that will give you a second chance even if you have burned Continental Finance before. Their 7 day payment hold on your credit limit for the first 6 months, not letting you pay via debit card, lack of auto collision damage waiver insurance and higher fees in the $300 and $500 credit limit version prevents us from giving it a higher rating.

If you get a pre-approved offer on either the $500, $750 or $1,000 starting credit limit version, I would say go for it. It is as good as any subprime credit cards with similar credit limits. If you get the $300 credit limit version, you might want to consider the Fit Mastercard from Continental Finance instead as it has a lower monthly fee from the second year onwards.

Alternatives to Verve

For those offered the $750 or $1,000 version

Though the $750 and $1,000 limit versions do not charge any monthly fees from the second year onwards, the $125 annual fee is rather high even for a subrpime credit card. One great alternative is the Mission Lane Visa, which only has an annual fee of between $0 and $59, which means you do have a chance to get a no annual fee rebuilder. Like Verve, Mission Lane also has a good track record of regular credit limit increases and arguably even better than Verve. Another advantage that Mission Lane has is that they do offer car rental insurance (ie auto collision damage waiver) if you charge your car rental to the card. Verve Mastercard does not have this feature. For those of you who intend to use your card for car rentals, Mission Lane is the better choice.

If you are offered the $300 and $500 version

If you are offered either the $300 or $500 limit versions, you might want to consider the Fit credit card which is also from Continental Finance. As seen in our analysis above, the Fit Mastercard has lower fees than both the Verve $300 and $500 versions and you will save more in fees in the long run compared to Verve.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long does it take to receive Verve credit card?

How long does it take to receive Verve credit card?

How long does it take for Verve to approve my application?

How long does it take for Verve to approve my application?

Where do I manage my Verve account online?

Where do I manage my Verve account online?

What is the maximum credit limit I will get?

What is the maximum credit limit I will get?

Can I pay my credit card bills with a debit card?

Can I pay my credit card bills with a debit card?

Can you set up autopay?

Can you set up autopay?