By : 
Mr Credit Card
Mr Credit CardWhat is the Freedom Gold Card?
- $0 Fees
- 0% APR
- $750 Credit Limit
- No credit checks, employment or income checks
Card Details Summary
| Annual Fee | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0 |
| Optional Membership Benefits Plan | $14.95/month |
| Regular APR | 0% |
| Minimum Payment | $25 or 10% of Balance |
The Freedom Gold Card has no fees. They do not charge any annual fee or monthly fee. The APR is also 0% so you can finance your purchase without paying any interest. The starting credit limit is $750 and the maximum limit you can get is $3,000.
Card Can Be Used At Horizon Outlet
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.
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. The Identity IQ replaces the old program Credit Hawk, which was merely a credit monitoring service.
- My Universal RX - With this plan, you can receive up to 50% discount on prescription drugs.
Are the Bundled Benefits Worth it?
To analyze the value of the roadside assistance, Universal RX , Legal Assistance and Identity IQ, we have to analze this in piecemeal and see how much it would cost to purchase these plans seperately.My Roadside Protection - The Horizon Card Service 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.
History of Fee Changes over time
24.95/monthly fee, $500 Credit Limit - Original Version
The Original Freedom Gold Card version had a $500 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, Freedom Gold Card reduced their monthly fee from $24.95/month to $14.77/month. This also happened to all other credit cards issued by Horizon Card Services. They also stopped reporting to credit bureaus.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. The benefits of roadside assistance, RX plan, prepaid legal service is now available as an optional benefit package or can be purchases on an a la carte basis.CFPB Lawsuit against Horizon Card Services
Regulation Z reguires credit card issuers not charge more than 25% of their credit limit in fees. The Freedom Gold Card original version had a credit limit of $500 and a monthly fee of $24.95 (which works out to $24.95 X 12 = $299.40). With an initial credit limit of $500, the Total Fee to Credit Limit ratio is $299.40/$500 = 59.88%, a clear violation of regulation Z. The next version of the Freedom Gold Card had their monthly fee reduced to $14.77 (which works out to $177.24 annually) and the credit limit increased to $750. This resulted in a Total Fee to Credit Limit ratio of $177.24/$750 = 23.63%, which met the regulation Z requirement. Now with no monthly fee and a credit limit of $750, the present version of the Freedom Gold Card clearly meets the regulation Z requirement.
Similar Cards Like Freedom Gold
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Card Monthly Fee (MF) Credit Limit (CL) Credit Bureau Reporting |
|---|
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Freedom Gold Card Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $750 Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A. |
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Boost Platinum Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $750 Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A. |
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Net First Platinum 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. |
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Sezzle Monthly Fee = $0 Credit Limit = Up to $2,500 Credit Bureau Reporting = 3 Major Bureaus. |
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Arro Mastercard Monthly Fee = $3 Credit Limit = Up to $2,500 Credit Bureau Reporting = 3 Major Bureaus |
The Freedom Gold Card is an online store card allows you to only shop at their outlet. They also do not check your credit so approval is easy. Freedom Gold is one of many cards issued by Horizon Card Services and hence we will compare it with other Horizon cards. We will also compare it with their main rival Unique Card Services and a couple of other no credit check credit cards.
Compared to Other Horizon Card Services Cards
Horizon Card Services issues Freedom Gold Card and other cards like Merit Platinum, < href="//www.askmrcreditcard.com/horizon/boost-platinum/">Boost Platinum, First Platinum and Group One Platinum. If you look at the table above, you will see that they have identical features and fees. They all come with no monthly fee and start you off with a $750 credit line. So for all intents and purposes, there is no difference between these cards from Horizon. However, from 25th January 2022, cards from Horizon Card Services including Freedom Gold no longer report to any credit bureaus.Compared to Cards from Unique Card Services
Horizon Card Service main competitor is Unique Card Services. The most issued card is the Unique Platinum, Deluxe Signature Card and Edge Elite Card. It is identical to those from Horizon Card Services except for two things. The first is that their credit limit ranges from $500 to $1,000 and their online store is www.myuniqueoutlet.com. Credit cards from Unique Card Services also do not report to any credit bureaus.Other Buy Now Pay Later Apps
The Freedom Gold is very similar to other Buy Now Pay Later apps because they are easy to get approved and allows you to pay over time at 0%. Most BNPL apps also have 0% APR and have a typical pay-in-4 scheme which is slightly different from the Freedom Gold Card. But the big difference between Freedom Gold and other BNPL apps is that most BNPLs have partnerships with thousands of merchants and retailers whereas you can only use the Freedom Gold Card at www.thehorizonoutlet.com.While the Freedom Gold Card no longer reports to any credit bureaus, there are some BNPLs like Sezzle and Perpay that report to all three major credit bureaus.
Compared to other no credit check unsecured credit cards
I want to take a moment to compare the Freedom Gold Card to an unsecured credit card that does not check your credit score. And that card is the Arro Mastercard. Like Freedom Gold Card, Arro does not rely on your credit score to approve you. However, they do check your monthly income (minimum of $1,000 monthly income needed) and your bank balance (minimum of $50 positive balance) via PLAID. The Arro Card is a Mastercard and you can use it anywhere (unlike Freedom Gold Card which restricts you to www.thehorizonoutlet.com) and they also report to all three major credit bureaus.Pros: What we Like About This Card
- No Fee - This card has no fees.
- 0% APR - Since this is a buy-now-pay-later store, the interest rate is 0%. But as explained earlier, there is a minimum payment and you do have to pay in full if the purchase price is $25 or less.
- No Credit Checks - There are no credit checks when you apply for the Freedom Gold. So you will be approved as long as you have a debit card.
- Starting $750 Unsecured Credit Limit - You get a starting credit limit is $750. This is higher than most unsecured subprime credit cards.
Cons: What We Don't Like About This Card
- Can Only Be Used At thehorizonoutlet.com - This card is not a regular Visa or Mastercard and can only be used at their online store.
- No Credit Reporting - As of 25th January 2022, the Freedom Gold Card (as with all Horizon Gold Card has stopped reporting to credit bureaus).
Our Take
To sum up, based on our evaluation and review of the Freedom Gold Card, we are giving it a 3 stars out of 5 rating for it's absence of fees, 0% APR on purchase financing, easy of approval and decent $750 starting credit limit. The restriction on only be able to use it at one online store and lack of credit bureau reporting prevents us from giving it a higher rating.
While Freedom Gold Card is attractive in some ways, you should also realize that most modern Buy Now Pay Later apps also offer features that Freedom Gold Card offers like 0% APR and no fees. But they have thousands of retail and merchant partners and you have a much wider range of places where you can buy a wider variety of products. Some like Sezzle and Perpay also report to all three credit bureaus which Freedom Gold Card does not.
Alternatives
Sezzle - Sezzle is a Buy Now Pay Later that like Freedom Gold Card offers 0% APR through their payy-in-4 scheme. Sezzle has over 45,000 partmers including Target, Amazon and Nike and you can finance your purchases at these stores. Sezzle also reports to all three major credit bureaus and helps you to build or rebuild your credit with timely payments. Like Freedom Gold Card, Sezzle has no fees and is easy to get. We highly recommend Sezzle.
Perpay - Perpay is another Buy Now Pay Later app that has their own Perpay marketplace. The Perpay market has much more products (especially branded products which My Horizon Outlet lacks). Perpay also reports to all three credit bureaus whereas Freedom Gold Card does not. One of the unique features of Perpay is that you have to enroll Perpay with your payroll such that a certain portion of your payroll will be used to directly pay Perpay for your monthly installments. This prevents you from ever getting into late payments and default.
Arro Mastercard - The Arro Mastercard is another great alternative to Freedom Gold Card because they do not check your credit (just like Freedom Gold Card), but more importantly, it is a Mastercard that can be used anywhere and they also report to all three major credit bureaus. The Arro Mastercard is a great alternative to the Freedom Gold Card for those with bad credit and looking for a no credit check credit card.
Cardholder Reviews and Complaints
Freedom Gold Card used to report to Equifax. But I think they stopped somewhere during 2022 and now I do not see them on my credit report. I have since cancelled the card before credit reporting was the only reason I got it. It did increase my score by 60 points though.
I got attracted to the $750 unsecured credit line and 0% APR. What I did not realize was that I could only use it to shop at their online store. I browsed around as much as I could but really did not find anything good to buy. I cancelled my card though they tried their best to keep me by reducing my monthly fee and even increasing my credit limit. But I did not budge.
The store is just full of overpriced products. They also never waive the shipping fee and you have to pay the shipping fee first before you even checkout. Stay clear of this card.
I got the card and requested a refund after the 7-day trial ended. I did not realize that I can only use the card at their store and there was nothing that I wanted to buy.
I got the Freedom Gold with a $500 and had to pay $24+ a month. They came with some benefits like roadside assistance and RX prescription discounts which I did not use at all. In fact, I did not even buy anything my the horizon outlet. But they did report to Equifax and it helped my credit score a lot because I was denied for every credit card I applied for after my score tanked. I tried to cancel a few times but each time, they offered to increase my credit limit and once even reduced my fee. I eneded up with $3,000 in credit lines and a $6 reduced monthly fee. I eventually cancelled once I could get regular credit cards.
They do report to Equifax and it has helped my credit. But otherwise, it is an expensive card with overpriced products at their store.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does Freedom Gold Report to Major Credit Bureaus?
Does Freedom Gold Report to Major Credit Bureaus?
At this moment, Freedom Gold Card does not report to any credit bureau. They used to report to Equifax.
Which credit report does Freedom Gold pull when we apply?
Which credit report does Freedom Gold pull when we apply?
There is no hard inquiries. Every applicant is approved for an unsecured $500 credit line.
When can I get a credit line increase?
When can I get a credit line increase?
You can be eligible for a credit line increase after three months. You should be on time in your monthly membership fee payment.
When will I get my card after I get approved?
When will I get my card after I get approved?
Normally within 7 business days.
What is the minimum payment?
What is the minimum payment?
You either have to pay $25 a month or 10% of the balance.
Customer Service Information
P.O. Box 1275
Indiana, PA 15701
Customer Advocacy
1-800-837-49975 days a week from 8:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m
Cancel Membership
1-800-251-6144Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST (excluding holidays)
Or online at www.memberbenefitaccess.com.
Application Page
On the next page, you will have to fill in your name, address, phone number, monthly pay, how often you are paid, your next pay date, your credit score range and whether you receive direct deposit. Once you submit this information, you will get the offer and confirmation. You will be instantly approved (within 60 seconds) once you submit your online application.
