What Is Net Platinum and Who Is It For?
For rebuilders, this card is ideal for
- Those who cannot afford another hard inquiry - If you have been denied for either a secured or unsecured credit card and cannot afford another hard pull on your credit report, then this card will fit the bill. Since it reports to Equifax, you can start to rebuild until you can get your hands on a better credit card.
- Those who want to increase their overall credit lines and lower their credit utilization ratio - Because you can potentially get your credit limits increased up to $3,000, this is an ideal to add overall credit lines and lower your credit utilization ratio if you trouble getting new cards with decent limits or your existing cards refuse to increase your low limits (remember that most subprime cards start you off with only $300 to $500 in starting credit limits).
Card Can Be Used At Horizon Outlet
How To Pay For Your Net First Platinum Purchases?
The minimum payment you have to make is the greater of either 10% of the balance when you first made the purchase or $25. The minimum payment does not decrease over time. If your purchase is $25 or less, then you have to pay in full.
You can set up auto-payments with Net First Platinum.
Card Details
| Annual Fee | $0 |
| Regular Membership Plan | $24.95/month |
| Starter Membership Plan | $6/month |
| 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 |
| Credit Bureau Reporting | Reports to One Credit Bureau |
The Net First Platinum Card charges no annual fee. However, they do charge a monthly membership fee (which comes with certain benefits). When you get approved, you will be automatically enrolled in their membership plan for $24.95 a month. However, you can downgrade to the Starter Plan for just $6 a month.
Membership Plan Benefits
- Free roadside assistance - You will get Roadside Assistance with the following benefits and terms. You are allowed up to 3 service calls or towing requests up to 15 miles not to exceed the operator cost of $50.00. In addition there is a limit to 1 service call per month.
- My Universal RX - With this plan, you can receive up to 40% discount on prescription drugs.
- My Legal Assistance - You will get a 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).
Starter Membership Plan
You can call Net First Platinum to ask them to downgrade to the starter plan. In fact, under their terms and conditions, if you miss three payments for the regular plan, you will be automatically downgraded to the starter plan. I am not asking you to miss payments since this may impact your credit score. But you can call them up and asked to be downgraded to the cheaper plan.
How To Pay For Your Purchases
The minimum payment you have to make is the greater of either 10% of the balance when you first made the purchase or $25. The minimum payment does not decrease over time. If your purchase is $25 or less, then you have to pay in full.
You can set up auto-payments with Net First Platinum.
Competition
| Card | Monthyly Fees | Annual Fee Fee | Credit Reporting | Credit Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net First Platinum | $14.77 | $0 | Equifax | $750 |
| Principal Platinum | $14.77 | $0 | Equifax | $750 |
| Merit Platinum | $14.77 | $0 | Equifax | $750 |
| Freedom Gold Card | $14.77 | $0 | Equifax | $750 |
| Pulse Platinum | $19.95 | $0 | TransUnion | $1,000 |
| Unique Platinum | $19.95 | $0 | TransUnion | $1,000 |
| Vast Platinum | $19.95 | N.A. | TransUnion | $1,000 |
| Opensky Secured | $0 | $35 | 3 Credit Bureaus | $$200 - $2,500 |
| First Progress Secured | $0 | $29 | 3 Credit Bureaus | $200 - $2,000 |
As far as comparables go, Net First Platinum competes with other online store cards that guarantee approval. Most of them are from two issuers, Horizon Card Services (which issues Net First Platinum) and Unique Card Services. And there are also a couple of secured credit cards that do not do any hard inquiry so we are also going to compare Net First Platinum with these cards.
Compared to Other Horizon Card Services Cards
Horizon Card Services issues Net First Platinum and other cards as well. Examples of cards from Horizon Card Services include the Merit Platinum and Freedom Gold Card. If you look at the table above, you will see that they have identical features and fees. They all come with a monthly fee of $14.77 and start you off with a $750 credit line. They also report to Equifax from the 10th to 15th of each month.Compared to Cards from Unique Card Services
Horizon Card Service main competitor is Unique Card Services. I have listed several of their cards in the table above and for comparison purposes, let's compare the Net First Platinum with the Unique Platinum. The card is very identical to those from Horizon Card Services except for two things. The first is that they have a higher monthly membership fee ($19.94 vs $14.77). Furthermore, they do not have a basic starter membership so you cannot downgrade to a cheaper level. Secondly, cards from Horizon Card Services report to Equifax while cards from Unique Card Services report to TransUnion.No Credit Check Secured Credit Cards
Aside from online store credit cards, there are a couple of secured credit cards which offer guaranteed approval (ie no hard inquiries or credit checks). You do have to put down a deposit and pay an annual fee but you can use them anywhere where credit cards are accepted unlike Net First Platinum.The two examples I gave in the table above are cards from Opensky and First Progress Secured. Secured credit cards are appropriate for you if you can afford the security deposit needed to secure your credit limit.
What We Like About Net First Platinum: High Starting Credit Lines, Report to Equifax, No Hard Inquires
- 7 Day Free Trial - Net First Platinum gives you a 7 day free trial to try them out. This is extremely rare for any credit card or merchandise catalog card.
- 0% APR On Purchases - As Net First Platinum works like a "buy now pay later store", you will not be charged any interest rate on your purchases. However, as mentioned earlier, you will have to pay a minimum payment that is the greater of either 10% of the purchase price or $25. But you will not accrue interest over time so that is a good thing compared to making a purchase on a credit card and carrying a balance.
- Unsecured $750 Starting Credit Limit - When you are approved for the card, you will be given at least $750 credit line that is unsecured. However, from consumer feedback, it appears you can get up to $1,500 in starting credit lines. $500 to $1,500 is a much higher starting credit line than most subprime credit cards.
- Record of Credit Line Increases - Not only do you get a good starting credit limit, Net First Platinum also has a great record for credit line increases. It is not uncommon for people to get their credit limit increased to $1,700, $2,000 or even as high as $3,000.
- No Credit Checks or Employment Check- Guaranteed Approval - Net First Platinum does not check your credit report or your income. That means that you will not experience a hard pull. You do need a debit card or a checking account to pay your membership fees. As long as you have a debit card, you will be approved.
- Reports to Equifax between 10th and 15th Each Month - According to the terms and conditions page, Net First Platinum reports to at least one credit bureau. According to cardholders, they used to report to TransUnion. Recently, it appears that they are now reporting to Equifax. This is a very important feature for rebuilders because many other online "buy now pay later" stores that extend credit do not report to any credit bureaus and hence are not suitable from a rebuilding point of view.
- Can Downgrade $14.77/month Membership to $6/month Standard Membership - This is not a very well-known fact about Net First Platinum. The terms and conditions states that if you fail to pay the $14.77 per month membership fee for three months, you will be "downgraded" automatically to the $6/month basic membership plan. The plan is the same as the Regular Membership Plan except that it has no Roadside Assistance Plan. You can also call them to ask for a downgrade to the "basic Plan". This will save you a lot of money a year on the membership fees.
What We Don't Like About Net First Platinum - Only Be Used At TheHorizonOutlet.com
- Can Only Be Used At thehorizonoutlet.com - You can only use this card at Horizon's online store www.thehorizonoutlet.com. This is not a regular Visa or Mastercard so you cannot use this card anywhere else.
- Membership Fee - As mentioned earlier, you do have to pay a $14.77 a month membership. However, you can call Net First Platinum and ask them to downgrade you to the "basic version" for just $6 a month.
Net First Platinum Is Great For Damaged Credit and Credit Utilization Ratio
The Net First Platinum card is also great for those to need to increase their overall credit limit. Though this card starts you off with a $750 starting credit line, they have been known to increase it to $1,200, $1,700 and even up to $3,000. This is very helpful to those who are stuck with cards with $500 limits and always decline when you ask for a credit limit increase. Getting a $3,000 credit line in return for either a $14.77 or $6 monthly fee is definitely worth it for some of you.
Net First Platinum also reports to Equifax between the 10th and 15th of each month so you will definitely be able to start your rebuilding efforts with this card.
Tip
- To reduce you monthly fee, you should call Net First Platinum and ask them to downgrade you to starter member from the regular membership program. This way, you will only pay $6 a month rather than $14.77 a month in membership fees. Furthermore, you do not actually have to purchase anything from thehorizonoutlet.com. You can simply just have the card to get the credit line and let it report to Equifax. You can cancel this card once you get a couple of no annual fee credit cards with decent credit lines.Alternatives
Opensky Secured Visa Credit Card - Opensky has a $35 annual fee and a minimum deposit requirement of $200. They report to all three credit bureaus and you can use the card anywhere Visa is accepted.
Additional Reading: Opensky Credit Card Review
First Progress Secured Credit Card - First Progress is another secured credit card which does not perform a hard inquiry and you will definitely be approved. The minimum deposit required is $200 (and this becomes your credit limit). It is a Mastercard so it is accepted anywhere Mastercard is approved.
Additional Reading: First Progress Secure Credit Card Review
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.
FAQS 
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.
