By : 
Mr Credit Card
Mr Credit Card
Boost Platinum is a closed loop merchandise credit card from Horizon Card Services that is targeted at people with very bad credit. The card gives you an initial credit limit of $750 which you can use to purchase products at their online store www.thehorizonoutlet.com, where you can finance your purchases at 0% APR. There is also no fees for this card. Approval is very easy because Boost Platinum does not do any credit checks, employment checks or income checks. Below are Boost Platinum highlights:
- $0 Fees
- 0% APR
- $750 Credit Limit
- No credit checks, employment checks or income checks
Card Details
| Annual Fee | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0/month |
| Regular APR | 0% |
| Minimum Payment | $25 or 15% of Balance |
Here are the key details of the Merit Platinum.
Can only be used at www.thehorizonoutlet.com
The Merit Platinum allows you to shop and make purchases at Horizon Card Services' online website www.thehorizonoutlet.com. It is not a Visa or Mastercard and cannot be used elsewhere.
No Monthly Fee or Activation Fee
Merit Platinum does not charge any fees. There is no annual fee, monthly fee or any activation fee. Previously, the Boost Platinum charged a monthly fee of $14.77 and prior to that $24.95. However, as of October 2024, the went completely fee free (I will explain why later in this review).0% APR on purchases
With Boost Platinum, you can finance your purchases at www.thehorizonoutlet.com at 0% interest rate.But they do NOT report to any credit bureau
Boost Platinum does not report to any credit bureaus. Hence, it will not help those who are looking to rebuild or build their credit.Optional Membership Plan
- Free roadside assistance - You will get Roadside Assistance with the following benefits and terms. Members are eligible to receive up to 1 service call or towing request every 30 days and no more than 3 within a twelve-month period.
- My Legal Assistance - You will get a Free 30 minute consultation with legal professional in your area (it does not include criminal defense).
- Identity IQ - You can get a free credit report with this program (and you can access it any time) and also get $1,000,000 in identity theft protection.
- My Universal RX - With this plan, you can receive up to 50% discount on prescription drugs.
Are the Bundled Benefits Worth it?
To analyze where the bundled benefits of the roadside assistance, Universal RX , Legal Assistance and Credit hawk, we have to analze this in piecemeal and see how much it would cost to purchase these plans seperately.My Roadside Protection - Boost Platinum roadside assistance plan allows you to call them for assistance up to 3 times a year. You cannot call more than once during a 30 day period. The free towing service is good for up to 15 miles and $50 worth. Most roadside assistance plan allow you to call up to 4 times a year and waive the first $50 in cost too. AAA for example has a starter plan for $70 for the first year.
Universal RX - The Universal RX offered by Horizon Card Services is actually very good and is actually a family plan. A reputable RX plan like good RX will cost you $10/month for an indidual and $19.95/month for a family plan. So if you use the Universal RX plan alone, it will pay for the monthly fee on it's own.
Legal Assistance - Legal Assistance is essentially a prepaid legal plan, which typically cost $25 a month.
Identity IQ - Identity IQ is an identity protection service. As a comparable, a standard LifeLock will cost $7.50 a month.
So I think we can safely say that the bundled benefits of roadside assistance, RX plan, prepaid legal plan and credit monitoring servie at $14.95 a month is actually a really good value. Just getting a family plan for a RX plan will set you back $19.95 a month. And a typical prepaid legal service would cost $25 a month. I think most cardholders will find value in the roadside assistance and RX plan. I do not know anyone who actually has a prepaid legal plan. Off course, this is all optional and you do not have to subscribe to the benefits.
Paying for your Purchases
You have to pay a minimum of either $25 or 15% of your balance. For example, if you buy something that cost less than $25, you would have to pay in full. If you buy something that cost more than $25, for example $100, you would have to pay $25 first (after paying for your shipping and delivery fee). Your balance will be $75 by the next billing cycle and statement. You would have to pay 15% X $75 = $11.25. This continues until your balance is paid off.
History of Fee Changes over time
24.95/monthly fee, $750 Credit Limit - Original Version
The Original Merit Platinum version has a $750 credit limit and also charged a monthly fee of $24.95. This worked out to $299.40 annually. In return for the fees that you pay, you got benefits like roadside assistance, Universal RX prescription discounts, Prepaid Legal Advice and Credit Hawk (which is a credit monitoring tool).$14.77/monthly fee with $750 Credit Limit but NO credit bureau reporting version
Somewhere in the middle of 2023, Boost Platinum reduced their monthly fee from $24.95/month to $14.77/month.NEW VERSION - No monthly fee, credit limit still $750 and no credit bureau reporting
The present version of the Merit Platinum retains the $750 credit limit but the monthly fee of $14.77 has been eliminated. But so has the benefits of roadside assistance etc. Merit Platinum still does not report to any credit bureaus.CFPB Lawsuit against Horizon Card Services
Regulation Z requires that credit card issuers not charge more than 25% of the credit limit in fees. Boost Platinum's original version had a monthly fee of $24.95, which worked to $299.40 annually. This was $299.4/$750 = 39.92% of the initial credit limit of $750 and a clear violation of regulation Z. They have since lowered their fee once to $14.77/month and now have totally eliminated them altogether. Hence, they are now in compliant with Reg Z.
Competition
|
Card Monthly Fee (MF) Credit Limit (CL) Credit Bureau Reporting |
|---|
|
Boost Platinum Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $750 Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A. |
|
Net First Platinum Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $750 Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A. |
|
Freedom Gold Card Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $750 Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A. |
|
Choice Gold Card Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $500 Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A. |
|
Now Platinum Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $500 Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A. |
|
Sezzle Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = Up to $2,500 Credit Bureau Reporting = 3 Major Bureaus. |
|
Arro Mastercard Monthly Fee = $3 Credit Limit = Up to $2,500 Credit Bureau Reporting = 3 Major Bureaus |
Compared with Other Cards from Horizon Card Services
Boost Platinum is issued by Horizon Card Services, which also has othe similar cards. They include cards like Merit Platinum, Net First Platinum, Freedom Gold Card. They all have the same credit limits ($750), no fees, allow you to shop at www.thehorizonoutlet.com and all do not report to any credit bureaus.Compared to Cards from Unique Card Services
Unique Card Services is another company which issues merchandise cards that can only be used at their online store www.myuniqueoutlet.com. Examples include Vast Platinum and Now Platinum. They offer credit limits between $500 and $1,000, have no monthly fees and do not report to any credit bureaus.Compared to other no credit check cards that report to all 3 credit bureaus
Boost Platinum faces stiff competition from other no credit check apps and cards. Firstly, they face competition from Buy Now Pay Later apps which also have 0% APR and typically allows you to pay-in-4 (ie pay in 4 equal installments every 2 weeks). The BNPL apps typically have no credit checks, are easy to get and can be used in most retail stores. Some like Sezzle, also report to the 3 major credit bureaus.Boost Platinum also faces competition from some unsecured credit cards that do not rely on FICO scores to approve you. One such example is the Arro Mastercard, which requires a monthly income of $1,000 and a positive bank balance of $50. Arro has a $3 monthly fee but it is a Mastercard and you can use it anywhere Mastercard is accepted. They also have a higher credit limit ceiling and you can get up to $2,500 in credit limit.
What Is Good About Boost Platinum?
- No Credit or Employment Checks - The Boost Platinum does not check your credit, perform any hard inquiries on your credit report or any employment checks so you will definitely be approved for it.
- Generous $750 Starting Credit Limit - The $750 credit limit is actually very generous for a card that does not check your credit at all during your application.
- 0% APR - If you finance your purchases with Boost Platinum, you do not pay interest as the APR is 0%.
- No Fees - Boost Platinum does not charge any monthly fee, annual fee or activation fees.
FinePrints: What You Have to Be Aware Of
- Can Only Be Used At www.thehorizonoutlet.com - You should know this by now. The Boost Platinum Account can only be used to purchase products at www.thehorizonoutlet.com, which is their online merchandise store. It is not a Visa, Mastercard or Amex and cannot be used anywhere else.
- Does not report to credit bureaus - Boost Platinum does not report to any credit bureaus. So from a rebuilding standpoint, this card will not help you.
- No free shipping - Unlike online stores like amazon.com that offers free shipping to their "Prime" customers, Boost Platinum does not offer any free shipping. In fact, you have to pay your shipping fee first before they ship the product to you.
- Have to pay return fees - If you decide to return a product (within 30 days), you will have to pay the return fee.
Our Take: Boost Platinum has 0% APR, is easy to get but does not help your credit score
Having said all that, the Boost Platinum is not a Visa or Mastercard and you can only use it to purchase products from www.thehorizonoutlet.com. The products are mostly non-branded and the selection is quite limited in each category. Furthermore, there is no free shipping and they do not report your credit line and payments to any credit bureau.
To sum up, based on our evaluation and review of the Boost Platinum, we give it a 3 star out of 5 for it's easy approval, no fees and decent starting credit limit and 0% APR financing. The fact that it is not a Visa or Mastercard, is closed loop and can only be used at their own online store, and lack of credit bureau reporting prevents us from giving it a higher rating.
If you are looking for a shopping or merchandise credit card and do not care about credit bureau reporting, then Boost Platinum may be a consideration. But if product variety and credit building are important to you, there are other alternatives like sezzle, which is a buy now pay later app that is much beter than Boost Platinum.
Alternatives to Boost
Sezzle - Sezzle is a Buy Now Pay Later app that is very easy to get approved. Credit Limits range from $200 - $2,500. Like Boost Platinum, they do not charge any interest rate (ie APR is 0%) and you get the typical Pay-in-4 payment scheme whereby you pay 25% every 2 weeks with the first payment upon checkout. Sezzle has over 45,000 merchant partners (both in-store and online). Sezzle also allows you to sign up for tri-credit bureau reporting.
Arro Mastercard - One characteristic that the Arro Mastercard that it shares with Boost Platinum is that they do not rely on FICO scores to approve you and there is no hard inquiry. Unlike Boost Platinum, the Arro Mastercard requires a monthly income of at least $1,000 and a $50 positive bank balance. It is a Mastercard and can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted (which is literally everywhere). They also report to all three major credit bureaus and have a maximum credit limit of $2,500. Unlike Boost Platinum, there is a $3 monthly fee (which is very low). The Arro Mastercard is definitely a better than the Boost Platinum in terms of where you can them and also for building or rebuilding your credit.
Consumer Reviews
I applied for the card because it said that I would get an unsecured credit line of $750 (which I did). But I did not realize that I can only use it at their online store and there was nothing in the store that I wanted to buy. I tried to cancel but it took several tries before I succeeded.
The monthly fee is $14.77 and you do get a $750 limit. But the products are overpriced and you have to the pay the shipping fee before you even check out. Having said that, they report to Equifax, so I just bear with it until my credit scores improve and I can get a better hat.
They used to report to Equifax. Then I noticed that they stopped since mid 2022. It could have been earlier though.
When I was rebuilding, I got rejected by all unsecured credit cards I applied for including cards like Credit One and First Premier. But Merit Platinum approved me. It is expensive though having to pay the $14.77 monthly fee but I told myself that the $750 credit limit was worth it. On hindsight, I should have gotten a secured credit card instead. It would have been a lot cheaper.
I bought some stuff from The Horizon Outlet and it did not deliver as promised. I had such a difficult time getting through and getting my refund. I finally had to write a complaint to BBB and then it was quickly resolved.
It is very easy to get approved and I used it for over a year. My score went up over 60 points just from the Equifax reporting. But truth to be told, I did not buy anything from the online store at all. Cancelled it when I got a Capital One Mastercard with no annual fee with $500 credit limit.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does Boost Platinum report to major credit bureaus?
Does Boost Platinum report to major credit bureaus?
No, they do not. They used to prior to February 2022.
Which credit bureau does Boost Platinum pull when we apply?
Which credit bureau does Boost Platinum pull when we apply?
There are no credit pulls or hard inquiry when you apply.
When can I get a credit limit increase?
When can I get a credit limit increase?
Horizon says you will be eligible for a credit limit increase after 3 months (assuming you have been paying your membership fees on time).
How do I pay the balance on the card?
How do I pay the balance on the card?
You can pay at www.thehorizonoutlet.com.
How to Apply?
On the second page of the application form, you will be asked to fill in your "net income after spending". Basically, Boost Platinum wants to know that your monthly expenditures are less than your take home pay.
Contact Information
Mail: Horizon Card Services, P.O. Box 1275, Indiana PA 15701
