Destiny Mastercard®
REVIEW

• Annual Fee = $59 or $75 for the first year, then $99
• APR = 24.9%
• Starting credit limit = $300
• Accepts applicants with discharged bankruptcy on credit report
• Reports to three major credit bureaus

Pros	Cons
Various Annual Fee	Credit limit does not increase
No monthly fee versions available	Some offers come with monthly fee after second year
No One-time application fee	No mobile app
No-fee payment methods	Desktop website not mobile friendly

At A glance

The Destiny Mastercard from Genesis Financial Services is one of the few unsecured credit card that does not charge any monthly fees (they just charge an annual fee) and allows you to get pre-approved first without any impact on your credit score. It is also one of the rare credit cards that allows you to use Moneygram to pay your bills and will approved those who have been discharged from bankruptcy. It's downside is that the starting credit limit of $300 does not increase so at best, this card should be considered a stop gap until you can get another unsecured credit card with a much higher credit limit.

Requirements

• Credit Score: 550 - 650
• Not more than 2 hard inquiries during the last 6 months - this is a major reason why many folks get denied
• On-time payments for at least one year
• At least 2 existing trade lines - this can including student loans or auto loans
• Income of at least $30,000
• No tax liens
• Not more than $25,000 in credit card debt
• Not more than $50,000 in non-credit card or non-mortgage debt like student loans and auto loans

Destiny (like most subprime credit cards these days) is very picky about the amount of balance that you carry. You should not have more than $25,000 in credit card debt and not more than $50,000 debt in student loans or auto loans or any other personal loans. Number of hard inquiries during the last six months should also not exceed 2. These are more important than your credit scores.

Tip: If you do not meet these criteria, you migh want to consider a prepaid debit card like the Extra Debit Card, which actually reports to credit bureaus and has a 99% approval rate.

Various Offers and Terms and Conditions

If you are pre-approved, you can be offered any of these two version below (each with different terms and conditons).

Annual Fee	Monthly Fee	APR	Credit Limit
$59	N.A.	24.9%	$300
$75 for 1st Year Then $99	N.A.	24.9%	$300

As you can see from the table above, there are 6 versions and terms and conditions that you could be potentially offered. Four of them just have an annual fee that does not charge any monthly fee from the second year onwards. There are three credit limits that you can be offered, $300, $500 or $700. The regular purchase APR are either 24.9%, 29.9% or 35.9%. There are a couple of other things that you should be aware of.

• Credit Limits do not increase - Destiny does not increase your credit limit. Once you are given your starting credit limit, the will be the limit for as long as you have the card.


• Foreign transaction is 1% - The foreign transaction fee is 1% for all cards. 1% is lower than the standard 3% though I expect that most cardholders will never use this card abroad.


• Late and Over-the-limit Fee - There is a $40 charge for late payments or going over the limit.


• No Mobile App - Destiny has no mobile app and their desktop online account website is not mobile friendly either (for now).

Manage Account Online

While Destiny Mastercard does not have a mobile app, you can manage your account online at www.destiny.myfinanceservice.com/. You can pay your bills online and choose paperless statements as well. In fact, paying your bills online is free. Since, Destiny does not have a mobile app, there is no "account alerts" at the moment.

Mastercard Benefits

Card members will also get the following Mastercard benefits which is very useful:

• Mastercard ID Theft Protection - This services monitors your vital information like email address, credit card numbers, social security numbers in the dark web to detect any possibility of it being stolen. TransUnion is also monitored for potential ID theft. If an ID theft is suspected, Mastercard will provide Resolution Services.


• Zero Liability Protection - This is present in almost all credit cards. Essentially, you will not be held liable for any fraudulent charges to your credit card.

You can see the full Mastercard Benefits here.

Competition

Card Version	Annual Fee	Credit Limit
Destiny #1	$59	$300
Destiny #2	$75 for 1st Year Then $99	$300	No Increase Ever
Mission Lane	$0 - $59	Varies	Increase after 6 Months
Merrick Bank	$0 - $72	$550 - $1,350 $1,100 - $2,700 after 7 months

Compared to other Genesis Financial Services cards

The Destiny credit card is one of three cards marketed by Genesis Financial Services. The other two cards are the Indigo credit card and the Milestone credit card.

The Destiny Mastercard has very similar offers as both the Milestone and Indigo cards. And they also share the same features. For example, they all have foreign transaction fees of 1%. They all have no mobile app. And all three cards require that you go through a pre-approval process. For detailed comparison, please read the following posts.

Further Research

Destiny vs Milestone credit card

Destiny vs Indigo credit card

Compared with cards with no monthly fees

One of the key features of the Destiny credit card is that it has no monthly fee. Two of their competitors are the Merrick Bank Double Your Line and the Mission Lane Visa. The difference between these cards and Destiny is that they will increase your credit limit whereas Destiny does not. In Merrick Bank's case, they have a higher starting credit limit ($550 - $1,350) vs $300 and it will double after 7 months if pay on time (doubles to $1,100 - $2,700). Mission Lane will also evaluate your account for a credit limit increase just after 6 months.

However, both Merrick Bank and Mission require higher credit scores to get (high 500s to mid 600) and they do not allow you to pay with Moneygram. But from a credit limit perspective, they are better than Destiny.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Pre-Approval Soft Pull - Before you can apply for this card, you actually will have to go through a pre-approval process. This is only a soft pull so if you are not pre-approved, there is no hard pull on your credit report.


• Manage Account Online 24/7 - You can manage your account online 24/7 from your online portal.


• Free Online Payment - While many customers expect this, there are some cards that still charge for making online payments.


• Prior Bankruptcy is OK - Those of you who have just emerged from BK might have a hard time getting approved for credit. Destiny will approve folks like you with prior BK on your credit report.

Cons

• Some offers have monthly fee - While the $35 and $59 annual fee version, and even the $75 annual fee for the first year and $99 thereafter version have no monthly fee from the second year onwards, there are a couple of versions with high monthly fee.


• Website is not mobile friendly - Many cardholders have noted that the website is not mobile friendly and they have to manage everything from their desktop computer.


• No Rewards - Most subprime credit cards do not have reward program. But increasingly, more ARE offering them. Cards from Credit One and even Discover's secured credit cards offer them.


• No Credit Limit Increase - Destiny will not increase your credit limit. It is set at $300 or $500.


• No Mobile App - Though you can manage your account online, there is no app for this card at the moment.


• No Free Credit Scores - More of Digital Mastercard peers are providing some form of free credit scores. At the moment, Destiny Mastercard does not provide any free credit scores.

Our Take: Great Stop Gap Unsecured Credit Card

The Destiny Mastercard is one of the few unsecured credit cards targeting those with bad credit that does not charge any monthly fee. All they do is to charge an annual fee. While this is a good thing, the downside is that the starting credit limit of $300 will not increase. But it does accept and will approve those who have been discharged from bankruptcy. They also allow you to pay your bills via Moneygram, which will appeal to those without a bank account.

If you have just been discharged from bankruptcy and/or do not have a bank account and do not mind paying your bills with Moneygram, then the Destiny Mastercard would be a decent card to get (especially if you get the $59 annual fee version). However, the $300 credit limit for the life of the card means that at most, this card is a stop gap measure that you should hold for maybe a year or two before you try to get a card that has much higher credit limit potential.

To sum up, based on our evaluation and review, we give the Destiny Mastercard a 3.8 star out of 5 but it's lack of annual fee, it's acceptance of applicants who have just been discharged from bankruptcy and those who have no bank account but have Moneygram. It's low credit limit (which stays the same) and lack of mobile app prevents us from giving this card a higher rating.

A Few Cardholder Reviews

Here are a couple of comments that cardholders have emailed me:

I applied for the Destiny credit card when my credit score was 600 and I had 2 old charged off accounts from 4 years ago. Prior to this card, I just had one secured credit card with a $600 credit line. There are a few details to mention about this card. Firstly, your annual fee gets charged the first month and taken out your initial $300 credit. The minimum payment is $40 a month. It takes about 4 days to process my payments from my checking account but once it clears, the money is immediately available as credit. There is no mobile app but I am fine with that. I just simply set up autopay from the online account. My score has improved again to 670 within 8 months. The goal is to get a couple of other cards with higher limit and then cancel this card before the next annual fee hits.

My credit line was $300 when I first opened it in Febraury 2021. During my application process, they asked me to provide my utility bills and ID for proof of identification and address (which was not a big deal for me). They do not have an app so I simply manage my account online. I set up autopay via e-bill with my bank. Payment posts in about 4 days and credit becomes immediately available. My score was 557 when I applied and it is now 615 after 8 months. So I really love this card.

How To Apply Online?

You can only apply online for this card. You first have to go through a pre-approval process. The pre-approval only involves a soft pull and has no impact on your credit score. If you are pre-approved, then you can go on to apply for the Destiny Mastercard (there will be a hard pull when you actually apply after you get pre-approved). It is important to be aware that a pre-approval does not guarantee approval when you actually apply (though the chances are pretty high that you do get approved if you already passed the pre-approval test).

If you have gotten a pre-approved mail with an application code, then you can proceed straight to the application page.

If you do not pre-qualify for the Destiny credit card, then you will be offer the Opensky Secured Visa Card (which is a secured credit card that does not check your credit). If you are inclined to take up this offer, we suggest that you read our review here first.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who issues the Destiny Mastercard?

Who issues the Destiny Mastercard?

Can I apply over the phone?

Can I apply over the phone?

Can you explain why I have to get pre-approved or pre-qualify?

Can you explain why I have to get pre-approved or pre-qualify?

When will I receive my card?

When will I receive my card?

What is the starting limit of Destiny?

What is the starting limit of Destiny?

Does Destiny increase credit limit?

Does Destiny increase credit limit?

Can I transfer a balance to Destiny credit card?

Can I transfer a balance to Destiny credit card?

Can I use the Destiny Mastercard to get a cash advance?

Can I use the Destiny Mastercard to get a cash advance?

Can I use the Destiny credit card abroad?

Can I use the Destiny credit card abroad?

What are the ways to pay Destiny Mastercard?

What are the ways to pay Destiny Mastercard?

Where should I send my Destiny Mastercard payments?

Where should I send my Destiny Mastercard payments?

What information do I need to use Moneygram to pay my bills?

What information do I need to use Moneygram to pay my bills?

When will my online payment post to my account?

When will my online payment post to my account?

Will there be a hold after I make my payment?

Will there be a hold after I make my payment?

Contact Information

Genesis FS Card Services | PO Box 4477 Beaverton, OR | 97076-4477

Toll-free customer service number: 1-844-222-5695

FAX number: (888) 325-4717