The First Progress Prestige Secured Mastercard®
REVIEW

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Accept those with discharged bankruptcy in credit report Earn 1% Cash Back on Payments Free Vantage Score Get Opt to get card first before funding security deposit	Payment hold on credit limits of up to 10 days Charges annual fee

Key Takeaways

The First Progress Prestige Secured Mastercard is ideal for the rebuilder with really bad credit scores or those who have just emerged from bankruptcy and have been rejected by other subprime credit cards including secured credit card. You simply have to fund your security deposit after you are approved to get your card mailed to you.

This card has a $49 annual fee but also a 1% cash back program. Hence, simple math calculation tells us that if you spend $4,900 a year on the card, you would have earned $49 in cash back which will offset your annual fee. That works out to $408.33 in monthly spending. To achieve a 30% credit utilization ratio (which is recommended by credit bureaus), you should have a credit limit and hence put down a security deposit of at least $1,361 ($408.33/30%). Therefore, the First Progress Prestige is will be great for those who can put down this amount of security deposit and who intends to spend at least around $408 a month of the card. If you intend only to put down the minimum security deposit requirement ($300) or leass than $1,361, then you should consider no annual fee secured credit card like the Opensky Plus Secured Visa intead.

In this review, we will go over the card in greater details, including their payment methods, cash back program and also worthy competitors.

Key Features

The First Progress Prestige (as with other First Progress secured credit cards) have 2 features which makes them standout from the crowd. They are:

Credit Limit

When you apply for your First Porgress Platinum Prestige Mastercard, you will be asked to indicate how much you want to put down as your security deposit. The security deposit amount becomes your credit limit. You can deposit anywhere between $200 and $2,000. If you want to increase your security deposit after the initial one to increase your credit limit, you need to get approval from First Progress (which is quite the usual practice for most secured credit cards).

Receiving Physical Card Before Funding Security Deposit

Get Your Card Before You Fund It - Another neat feature that First Progress has is that they will mail you your card before you fund it and allow to do so once you have received this. This procedure is a piece of mind to some of you who are not comfortable paying your security deposit before you receive the card. There is a $29.95 for this feature.

Other Important Features

Apply with No Impact on Credit Score - First Progress may perform a soft inquiry of your credit, but soft inquiries do not impact your credit score. First Progress also accepts and approve applications even if you have a prior recent discharged bankruptcy.

Free Vantage Score from Experian

First Progress provides free Vantage credit scores from Experian to all their card members.

1% Cash Back Program

First Progress offers a Cash Back Rewards Program and this is how it works. You do not earn points (or cash back) from spending. Rather, you earn them when you make your payments on your credit card bills. You will earn 1% cash back for every dollar that you pay though it is recorded in points. For example, if you pay $100 on your bills, you will earn 100 points. The 100 points are worth $1 (ie 1%).

You can redeem in 500 points ($5) increments in the form of statement credits. You can redeem points via your online account at cc.firstprogress.com, through your mobile app or simply calling customer service. Your cash back or points do not expire.

Breakeven Spending and Cash Back to Offset Annual Fee

To offset the the $49 annual fee, you would have to spend and pay back $4,900 a year to earn $49 in cash back (ie 1% X $4,900). This works out to a monthly spending of $4,900 divided by 12 which is $408.33. If we were to keep our credit utilization ratio to 30%, that means that you need a credit limit of #408.33/30% = $1,361. This implies that you need to put down a security deposit of $1,361. With this amount as your credit limit, spending 30% of it every month will earn enough cash back to offset the annual fee. To illustrate this further, I have calculated the various cash back you will earn if you spend 30% at various credit limits and so you can see how much cash back you can earn a year and hence how much you can offset the annual fee.

Credit Limit	30% Monthly Spending	Cash Back Earned	Annual Fee Offset
$300	$90	1% X ($90 X 12) = $10.80
$500	$150	1% X ($150 X 12) = $18	(- $31)
$1,000	$300	1% X ($300 X 12) = $36	(- $13)
$1,361	$408.33	1% X ($408.33 X 12) = $49	$0
$2,000	$600	1% X ($600 X 12) = $72	$23

Understanding First Progress Payment Methods and Your Choices

Up next is First Progress payment methods. I think it is very important to understand the choices that First Progress offers for you to pay your credit card bills and potential payment holds you may face. So let's get going.

Payment Holds - Cardholders may face payment holds of up to 10 days. The number of days of payment hold may depend on how new your account is, whether First Progress have had problems with your bank's Bill Pay etc. If you have had the card for a while and never have problems with payment, then your payment hold will be relatively shorter (perhaps 5-6 days). Here is a feedback from a First Progress cardholder about this matter.

Took the $200 offered with the $200 deposit. I use the card monthly for smaller purchases. Pay it off every month. The Interest I pay is much lower than expected. Making the payment is easy. Eight months into having this card it no longer takes ten plus days for the payment to be reflected in my balance. more like 5 or 6 now. I recommend it.

Pay via Check or Money Order - Paying via check or money may be the old fashion way, but doing it this ways means that First Progress will process the check or money order the same day as long as it arrives before 5pm CT. Just make sure you send the check early and give the Post Office enough time to deliver before your due date.

Online - You can pay your bills online.

Pay via Phone - You can also pay via phone for Express Payment (ie payment will be process immediately) but you will incur a $10 charge. Though your payment will be processed immediately if you pay this way, it will still take the usual 7-10 days for the payment to be reflected in your credit limit. Here is another review from a cardholder.

The First Progress Prestige has been a good card for me to raise my credit rating. The only negative thing is even when i pay over the phone and my bank takes my payment out within 24 hours.I still have to wait 7 to 10 days for my available credit. But like I said, it is a good card and has helped me imcrease my credit rating.

Pay by Moneygram - You can also pay via MoneyGram (which is a third party digital payment service). If you pay by MoneyGram, your payment will be processed immediately and be available in your account within 2 days. This is the best method to pay your bills if you want to avoid long payment holds on your credit limit.

I must admit at first I was a little disturbed about how it would take 10 days for First Progress to receive my payment if I did bill pay by my bank but after speaking with someone from the billing department they had advised me that if I went to CVS and paid my bill why MoneyGram it would only cost me $5 which I did not mind spending the $5 keep in mind and they would receive my payment within 2 business days. So I always make sure that I have at least three business days prior to my due date. I also want to make it clear that my score increased by 49 points on my credit report from this card not even after a month of having the card. Thank you First Progress

Find out more about First Progress Payment Methods and Holds.

First Progress Compared To Other No Credit Check Cards

Card	Annual Fee	Min Deposit	Cash Back
First Progress Prestige	$49	$200 - $2,000	1%
First Progress Select	$39	$200 - $2,000	1%
First Progress Elite	$29	$200 - $2,000	N.A.
Applied Bank	$48	$200 - $5,000	N.A.
Opensky Plus	$35	$300 - $3,000	N.A.
Go2Bank	$0	$100	N.A.
Chime	$0	No min or max	N.A.
Self	$25	$100	N.A.

The two main characteristics of the First Progress Prestige card is that they do not check your credit when you apply and that they will pre-approve and offer you an unsecured credit card after paying your bills on time for six months. So we are going to compare other secured credit cards which share either one or both characteristics.

Compared to Opensky Plus Secured Visa Credit Card

The Opensky Plus Visa Secured Credit Card has the most similar characteristics as the First Program Prestige. It does not check your credit or perform any hard inquiries and you will definitely be approved and get your card after you fund your security deposit. Like the First Progress card, there is a pathway to an unsecured credit card. In Opensky's case, it is their own Opensky Gold Unsecured Visa. The Openksy Gold has lower fees and a higher starting credit limit than the First Digital card that First Progress will offer you after you pay your bills on time for 6 months. Like First Progress, you may also get a chance to get your credit limit increase without having to add any additional security deposit.

Unlike the First Progress Prestige, the Opensky Plus does not have any annual fee and neither does it have any cash back program. Earlier on, we have calculated the breakeven spending you have to make to cover the Prestige annual fee. If you do not intend to spend more than $4,900 on your card and intend just to put the minimum security deposit on a secured credit card, then the Opensky Plus would be a better option than First Progress. Furthermore, the Opensky Plus has better payment options where you can set up autopay and pay through your mobile app, features that First Progress lacks at the moment.

Compared to Other First Progress Cards

First Progress has another card called the Select version, which has a lower annual fee at $39 compared to the Prestige version ($49).

Because the Select version has a lower annual fee and also the same 1% cash back program, the breakeven spending level to cover the annual fee of $39 is lower. It means that you have to spend $3,900 a year, earn $39 in cash back (ie 1% of $3,900) and cover the Select annual fee. $3,900 in annual spending works out to $325 in monthly sending. To maintain a 30% credit utilization ratio, the credit limit you should have based on this monthly spending level is $1,083.33 ($325/30%). From this perspective, the Select version is better than the Prestige version because it's lower annual fee requires less spending to offset it.

First Progress Compared to New Fintech Secured Cards

There are a few new secured credit cards launched by Fintech startups that have no credit checks and also no annual fees. However, you are required to either open a mobile banking account and set up direct deposit with them or open a credit builder account.

For example, the Self Secured Visa has no credit checks and no annual fee. You can get it once you have "saved" enough money in your credit builder account.

There are other secured credit cards like Chime Secured Visa and Sable One Secured Credit Card that require you to set up a mobile banking account with them. Chime and GO2bank also require that you set up a recurring direct deposit with them. Having said that, once you have met this hurdle, there is no credit check if you want their secured credit card and they have no annual fee as well.

Pros: What We Like

• 1% Cash Back Program - Very few subprime credit cards offer any sort of rewards program. But the First Progress Prestige Mastercard is one of the rare secured credit cards that has a cash back program whereby you can earn 1% cash back on your payments. If you spend $4,900 a year on the card, you will earn $49 in cash back and that is enough to cover your annual fee.


• Low APR - The purchase APR of 13.74% is quite low regardless of any credit card. This is very helpful for those who carry a balance occasionally. This rate used to be lower at 9.99% but with the Federal Reserve raising rates recently, the APR has also increased to the current levels.


• Apply with No Impact on Credit Score - First Progress may perform a soft inquiry with no impact on your credit score. But you will be approved and get your card as long as you fund your security deposit.


• Those with Discharged Bankruptcy Can Apply and Be Approved - If you have a discharged bankruptcy record on your credit report, First Progress will still approve you. Note that if you have a pending bankruptcy in your credit report, you will not be approved.


• Free Vantage Score from Experian - You will get a free Vantage score from Experian which is updated monthly.

Cons: What Do Do Not Like

• Annual Fee on higher end of spectrum - Many secured credit cards used to charge an annual fee. However, an increasing number are now not charging annual fees. The $49 annual fee is also slightly on the high side compared to other secured credit cards. Having said that, earning cash back on the card can offset the annual fee.


• Payment Holds - No matter which payment method you choose (with the exception of MoneyGram), you may face a payment hold on your credit limit for up to 10 days. Over time, consistent on-time payments will reduce it to 5-6 days. Though the payment hold period will shorten, 5-6 days is still longer than the typical 2 days that is typical of many subprime credit cards.


• Needs First Progress approval if you want to add more security deposit - If you decide to add more security deposit to your account to increase your limit, First Progress does not make it easy at all. You have to get their approval first before you can top up. So it is best that you figure out from the start what credit limit you want and fund your security deposit accordingly.

Our Take : Ideal If You Can Spend $4,900 a Year and Fund a $1,361 Security Deposit

The First Progress Prestige Secured Mastercard is one of the few secured credit cards that does not check your credit and will definitely approve you and mail your card to you as long as you fund your security deposit. Because of the $49 annual fee and the 1% cash back program, the First Progress Prestige is ideal for the rebuilder who has really bad credit and does not want to incur hard inquiry, but who can afford to put down at least $1,361 as a security deposit and spend at least $408.33 a month of the card. This works out to a 30% credit utilization ratio and a total of $4,900 in annual spending. At this level of spending, you will earn $49 in cash back which will offset the annual fee. If you can afford to put down a larger security deposit and keep your spending to 30% of you credit limit, then the cash back you earn will more than offset the annual fee.

If you only intend to put down a much smaller security deposit (like between $200 and $1,000), then you will not earn enough cash back to offset the annual fee. In that case, I would suggest you get the Opensky Plus Secured Visa instead because it has no annual and like First Progress, it does not check your credit and you will also have the opportunity to graduate to their Opensky Gold Unsecured Card.

The First Progress Prestige Card is not perfect though. And the area where they fall short is in their payment methods and holds.. There are also payment holds on your credit limit regardless of how you choose to pay (with the exception of paying via MoneyGram). If these are deal breakers for you, then the Opensky Plus is still our goto card recommendation.

Based on our evaluations and review, we give the First Progress Prestige Secured Mastercard a 4 star out of 5 for it's easy approval, the 1% cash back program, their offering of an unsecured credit card after paying on time for the first 6  months and the free Vantage score you will get as a cardholder. It's payment holds on your credit limit prevents us from giving it a higher rating.

Best Practices - How to Use Your First Progress Prestige Mastercard?

I am now going to make a few suggestions to make your journey with the First Progress Prestige Card as smooth as possible with as little hickups. Here are some suggestions.

Make sure you have the right amount of security deposit and hence credit limit the FIRST TIME - Because First Progress needs to approve you before you can add more security deposit to your "Deposit Account" to increase your credit limit, it is best that you fund it sufficiently when you apply. That way, you can avoid situations where you cannot use your card because your credit limit is too low. Ask yourself if you will use the card to rent a car, book a hotel etc. Sometimes, merchants like car rentals will put a hold on a certain amount so it is vital you have enough credit lines on your credit card.

Make sure you pay your FIRST bill on time - Your annual fee will be billed on the very first bill even if you may not have used the card then. Make sure you pay it off. Sometimes, the card might take a while to arrive (due to "supply chain issues"), but you still have to pay off your first bill and not be late. The reason is you do not want to miss the invitation to apply for the First Digital Mastercard just because you were careless and did not pay the first bill.

Send in your check or money order with enough time to arrive - Though First Progress will process your check or money the same day if it arrives before 5pm CT, you still have to make sure that it arrives on time. It is best to put it in the mailbox a good few days before the due date just to be sure.

Pay online at least 6 days before the due date - If you choose to pay your bills online, First Progress may take up to 5 days to process this. So you should at least send in the electronice payment 6 days before the due date just to be safe.

Pay In Full, Pay on Time and Watch Your Credit Utlization Ratio - As with any credit cards, make sure you pay in full, pay on time and keep your credit utilization low. Credit bureaus suggest a 30% credit utilization is ideal for credit rebuilding purposes.

Some Cardholders Reviews

Below are some feedback and reviews from cardholders.

My spouse passed away and as a disabled person, I had harly any income. I went behind on credit payments and my credit hit the 300's. First Progress was one of two cards that gave me a chance.. I made sure I paid on time and so far, First Progress has been amazing. I have clawed my credit into the 600's within a few months.

My credit was 420 when I applied and it's now 650. I only use 20% of my limit and pay for little things like netflix. That's all I did to get my credit score up again.

i applied with a 4xx credit score and got approved. I paid for fast processing and shipping and still got my card in 10 days (which is not very fast). so far i have had no fees other than the annual fee pf $49 which they take from your deposit. ive been paying on time, never late and always leave a 30% balance in there. in the first month, it showed up in my credit history and my score has been going up drastically.

My credit score was in the 400's when I first started in 2017 and now with the help of FIRST PROGRESS, I have a credit score in the high 700'S. I have never had any bad experience with customer service or the card and cannot understand any negative reviews I have seen.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Does First Progress report to credit bureaus?

Does First Progress report to credit bureaus?

What is expedited processing?

What is expedited processing?

How long does it take to receive a response after I apply?

How long does it take to receive a response after I apply?

Does First Progress deposit earn interest?

Does First Progress deposit earn interest?

Does First Progress really not perform any hard inquiry?

Does First Progress really not perform any hard inquiry?

How do I apply for First Progress Rewards

How do I apply for First Progress Rewards

How do I redeem my rewards

How do I redeem my rewards

Contact Information

First Progress Card
P.O. Box 9053
Johnson City, TN 37615-9053

How to Apply?

The First Progress Prestige application process is really easy. You simply fill in your name and email address, address, one phone number, financial information like your estimates income and expenses, the amount of security deposit you want to put up, your social security number, date of birth and a password for your First Progress account. You can use Federal or state benefits, unemployment benefits and social security benefits as income. Then you simply have to tick off all of the check boxes and agree to the terms and conditions.



There are 3 ways to fund First Progress secured credit cards. You can fund it with a bank debit card or prepaid credit card or with a ACH transfer from your checking account. If you apply from your mobile phone (as you are doing now), funding your account via checking account is not available.



If you decide to fund with your debit or prepaid credit card, then all you need is to provide your debit card number and three digit security code.



First Progress also offers you the option to get your card in the mail first and then fund later. If you choose this option, you are given up to 90 days to fund your account. But you have to pay a $29.95 fee. If you are really paranoid about wanting to have the card in your hand before you part with your security deposit, then choose this option.