Net First Platinum
REVIEW

What is this card about?

The Net First Platinum is a store and catalog membership card which allows you to use your credit account to shop at their online store. Net First Platinum happens to be run by Horizon Gold. So their store is actually thehorizonoutlet.com (see screen shot below). They do not perform any credit checks so if your information is correct, approval is very certain.. You will also be given a $500 unsecured line of credit upon approval.

Card Details

APR : 0% - Yep, that's right. You will not be charged any interest for your purchase.

Minimum Payment : Varies with purchase. In most cases, it is 10% of outstanding balance.

Monthly Membership Fee - $24.95 a month. Once you are approved for the card, you will be automatically enrolled in a "monthly membership benefit plan". This includes a $500 Unsecured card, access to My Privacy Protection, My Universal RX, My Roadside Protect and My Legal Assistance benefits. The $24.95 benefits plan membership fee will be auto-debited monthly and will show on your bank statement as Horizon Card Services.

Late Fee $20

Credit Bureau Reporting : On their main application page, it says they will report to both TransUnion and Equifax.

Initial Credit Lines : $500

No Credit Checks : Applying for this card or account will not result in any credit checks.  

Peer Comparison

The table above compares with major shopping credit card accounts that compete with Net First Platinum. But before we do some comparisons, it is worth noting that some of these cards belong to the same company. For example, Net First Platinum is issued by Horizon Gold. So is Freedom Gold. That is why their fees are similar. Next Millennium Card and Vast Platinum are issued by Unique Card Services and as you can see in the table above, they also both have similar fees. And lastly, Fingerhut and Gettington are also part of the Bluestem Brand.

In terms of fees, I find that the most of these cards are similar (with the exception of Fingerhut and Gettington). All of them charge a $24.95 a month membership fees (which comes with a few "perks"). They all do not do any credit checks and the credit line that you will be given ranges from $500 to $1,000. And because they only accept the monthly payments by debit or credit card, I would assume that those who are in the Chex System can still get approved for this card.

However, when we compare this card to Fingerhut and Gettington, the their monthly fees start to look really expensive. You will end up paying $299.40 a year in membership fees whereas you do not pay anything with Fingerhut and Gettington (however, with Fingerhut and Gettington, you will be charged an interest on your purchases whereas with Net First Platinum, you pay 0% in terse).

Another area to highlight is how these cards report to the credit bureaus. Net First Platinum states it reports to TransUnion and Equinox. There is no indication that Vast Platinum or Next Millennium actually reports to any. Fingerhut and Gettington report to all three bureaus.
 

Verdict and Opinion

Before we come make a verdict on this card, it is worth revisiting the process of rebuilding your credit to see where this card fits into the big scheme of things. For rebuilders who have their scores in the 400 area, the first step would be to get a secured credit card. One of our recommendations is Primor because they do not perform any credit checks.

After six months to a year of using it responsibly, your scores would increase and you might be at the stage where you can get an unsecured card like Credit One. You could also add a store catalog card like Fingerhut (which has no fees).

However, sometimes, things do not go according to plan. You might get declined for all the cards you applied for, including both secured and unsecured. If you are in this situation, then you might to consider this card as a start to rebuild your credit until you reach a stage where you can get better (lower fee) Visa or MasterCard. But before you pull the trigger on this card, we suggest you check out our list of our recommended credit cards for people with bad credit first.

Application Forms

Below are screen shots of the application page (just so you can see what's going on). One of the things you have to be aware of when you apply is that they will try to upsell you a Netspend Prepaid Card. Just do not tick the check box. You will also have to agree to their privacy policy but at the same time agree to let them send you daily emails!