What is the Merit Platinum Card?
Card Details
Annual Fee : $0
Monthly MembershipFee : $24.95
Interest Rate (Regular APR) : 0%
Minimum Payment : $25 or 10% of balance.
Late Fee : $20
Outlet Store Delivery Signature Verification: $3.50
Outlet Store Residential Delivery : $2.00
As you can see from the details above, you have to pay some fees to join the Merit Platinum membership shopping portal. For the fees that you pay, you get benefits like
- Free roadside assistance - Benefit coverage begins following a 5-day waiting period from date of enrollment or reinstatement. You are allowed up to 3 service calls or towing requests up to 15 miles not to exceed the operator cost of $50.00. You have to pay for any additional mileage and associated towing costs at the time of service. In addition there is a limit to 1 service call per month.
-
My Universal RX - You can receive up to 40% discount on prescription drugs.
- My Legal Assistance - Free 30 minute consultation with legal professional in your area (it does not include criminal defense).
- My Privacy Protection - You can get a free credit report with this program (and you can access it any time).
Competition
| Card | Details |
|---|---|
| Merit Platinum |
Monthly Fee=$24.95 Upfront Fee=N.A. APR=0% No Credit Check Reports to 1 Credit Bureau Starting Limit=$750 |
| Net First Platinum |
Monthly Fee=$24.95 Upfront Fee=N.A. APR=0% No Credit Check Reports to 1 Credit Bureau Starting Limit=$750 |
| Freedom Gold Card |
Monthly Fee=$24.95 Upfront Fee=N.A. APR=0% No Credit Check Reports to 1 Credit Bureau Starting Limit=$750 |
| Horizon Gold Card |
Monthly Fee=$24.95 Upfront Fee=N.A. APR=0% No Credit Check Reports to 1 Credit Bureau Starting Limit=$500 |
| Unique Platinum |
Monthly Fee=$19.95 Upfront Fee=N.A. APR=0% No Credit Check Reports to 1 Credit Bureau Starting Limit=$1,000 |
| Fingerhut |
Monthly Fee=$0 Upfront Fee=N.A. APR=See Website* Credit Checks Reports to 3 Major Bureaus Starting Limit=$200-$1,000 |
We mentioned right at the beginning of the review that Merit Platinum is issued by Horizon Card Services and since Horizon has a few other cards, they are all similar with the same fees and rates. If you look at the comparison table above you can compare and see that teh Merit Platinum has the same features and fees as the Net First Platinum and the Freedom Gold CardM (two other cards issued by Horizon Gold). Their closest competitors is Unique Card Services, who also has their line up of catalog cards. In the table above, we used Unique Platinum Card as an example. The main differences are the monthly fee and the fact that Unique Platinum gives a higher limit ($1,000 vs $750).
The Merit Platinum also competes with other online store cards like Fingerhut. Online store cards like Fingerhut do not charge any annual fee or membership fees. But, although it is very easy to get the Fingerhut credit account, your credit report will experience a hard pull during the application process whereas Merit Platinum does not perform any credit checks or employment checks.
Our Take: Merit Platinum Is For Those Who Have Been Denied Every Card
A catalog card like Merit can potentially offer someone a route back to his or her credit rebuilding efforts. They do not perform any credit checks or employment checks. So approval is almost guaranteed. Though there is no annual fee, there is a monthly fee though there are some benefits that comes with the membership fee. You also get a $500 starting credit line which is really decent when you have bad credit.
But the most important thing is that this card reports to at least one credit bureau and this will help to rebuild your credit or at least give it an initial boost. My advice for those thinking of getting this card is to use it for maybe a year and then try getting a secured credit card or an unsecured credit card.
