Indigo® Mastercard® Credit Card
REVIEW

• Annual Fee = $0 or $59 or $75 for 1st year, then $99
• No monthly fee or application fee
• Get pre-approved without any impact on credit
• No security deposit needed
• Reports to 3 major credit bureaus

Pros	Cons
No Annual Fee Possible	Credit limit capped at $300
No monthly fee	No mobile app
Reports accurately and time to 3 major bureaus
Soft pull pre-approval

At A Glance

The Indigo Mastercard is a card for rebuilders who have been rebuilding for at least 2 years and have a couple of years of track record of timely payments on their existing credit lines. They do not not charge any monthly fee or processing fee but do charge an annual fee that ranges from $0 to $99. Card members will get a $300 credit limit. This card is ideal for folks who have had secured credit cards and are looking to move up to an unsecured credit card without paying too much fees or for rebuilders who want to rebuild with secured credit cards. It is one of the most reputable cards in terms of reporting timely and accurately to the 3 major credit bureaus.

Requirements

• 550-650 credit score
• at least 2 trade lines in credit report
• on-time payments for at least a year (with no recent delinquencies) - this is a major reason why folks get denied this cared
• Not more than 2 hard inquires in the last 6 months - this is the most common reason for declines
• Not more than $20,000 in credit card debt
• No pending bankruptcy - BK must be discharged
• No existing tax liens
• Checking Account required

Card Details

Annual Fee	$35, $59 or $75 1st Year, then $99
Application Fee	N.A.
Monthly Fee	N.A.
APR	24.9%
Intro APR	N.A.
Grace Period	25 Days
Late Fee	Up to $40
Over-the-Limit Fee	Up to $40
Penalty	29.9%
Foreign Transaction Fee	1%
Cash Advance APR	29.9%

Annual Fee - There are three levels of annual fee. You might get a card with no annual fee, a card with a $59 annual fee or one with a first year annual fee of $75 and then $99 from the second year onwards. The annual fee that will be assigned to your card depends on Indigo's assessment of your credit worthiness.

Regular APR - The regular APR is 24.9% regardless of what your annual fee is.

Credit Limit - Your starting credit limit is $300 and that will remain your credit limit as long as have the Indigo credit card as they do not increase your credit limit.

Soft Pull Pre-approval Process - Indigo requires that applicants go through a pre-approval process which results in only a soft pull and have no impact on one's credit score. If you are pre-approved, you can then process to apply (which requires a hard pull or inquiry).

Different Indigo Mastercard Designs

If you get approved for this card, you have the various designs to choose from.

Competition

Card	Annual Fee	Upfront Fee	Monthly Fee	APR	Starting Limit
Milestone Mastercard	$35 to $99	N.A.	N.A.	24.90%	$300
Indigo Mastercard	$0 to $99	N.A.	N.A.	24.90%	$300
Destiny Mastercard	$59 to $99	N.A.	N.A.	24.90%	$300
Merrick Bank Double Your Line	$59	N.A.	N.A.	29.99%	$550 - $1,350
Credit One Visa	$0-$99	N.A.	N.A.	19.49% to 25.49%	$300
Mission Lane	$59			26.99% - 29.99%	$300 - $750

One of the key feature of the Indigo Mastercard is that they only charge an annual and does not charge any monthly fee or one-time application/processing fee. Hence, we will compare it with similar credit cards. These cards also have similar application criteria in that they require applicants to be on the higher-end of the credit score spectrum (around 600).

Compared to other cards with no monthly fee or application fees

There are three cards that I want to highlight to compare against Indigo. The first is Merrick Bank Double Your Line Visa. Like the Indigo, Merrick Bank is targeting the same customer profile. As far as comparison goes, the annual fee is quite similar. Merrick Bank's ranges from $0-72 whilst Indigo has 3 tiers, $0, $59, $75 for 1st year, then $99. The main difference between the two cards is that whilst Indigo's credit limit is fixed at $300, Merrick Bank starts you off between $550 and $1,250. If you pay on time for 7 consecutive months, your credit limit will double. That means after 7 months, your credit limit will be between $1,100 and $2,700. Furthermore, Merrick Bank has a track record of a credit limit increase even after this one time doubling of credit lines. Like Indigo, Merrick Bank also requires that you go through a pre-approval process. One can actually try to get pre-approved for both and see which cards pre-approves you. From a credit line perspective, Merrick Bank appears to be more attractive.

Another card that I want to compare the Indigo card to is the Mission Lane Visa. Mission Lane Visa has a $59 annual fee. Like the Indigo credit card, Mission Lane does not charge any monthly fee or processing fee. Mission Lane is better than Indigo in the area of credit limits. People have reported starting credit limits ranging anywhere from $300 to $750. After 7 months, your credit limit will evaluated for an increase. Hence, unlike Indigo, Mission Lane has a track record of credit limit increases.

Another card to compare with is the Credit One Platinum Rewards Visa. It comes with a $95 annual fee and lets you earn 5% cash back rewards on the first $5,000 of eligible purchases on gas, grocery, and internet, cable, satellite TV and mobile phone services each year. For those of you with at least a 620 credit score, this card provides stiff competition to the Indigo Mastercard.

Other cards by Concora Credit Inc

The Indigo Mastercard is marketed by Concora Credit Inc and they have two other cards that are quite similar to Indigo. The first is the the Milestone Gold Mastercard. Milestone has annual fee ranging from $35, $59 and $75 for 1st year then $99. The Destiny Mastercard is another card from Genesis Financial. Their annual fee is either $59 or $75 for the 1st year, then $99. Aside from the annual fee, they have identical features. All have $300 credit limit that does not increase and the same APR. The Indigo credit card is better than Milestone and Destiny in that you have a chance to get a no annual fee version of the card. With Milestone and Destiny, you will definitely have to pay an annual fee.

Pros: What We Like

• Possible to get no annual fee card - With the Indigo card, you could get a no annual fee version (which is always great news for a rebuilder).


• No monthly fee and application fee - Unlike many other cards in this space, Indigo does not charge any monthly fee and application fee.


• Reports Accurately to three major credit bureaus - Indigo reports accurately and on-time to Experian, TransUnion and Equifax


• Soft Pull Pre-approval process - Indigo requires you to go through a pre-approval process. It only involves a soft pull with no impact on your credit score. If you are not pre-approved, your scores will not be impacted. If you are pre-approved and decide to proceed with the actual application, then there will be a hard pull but your chances of approval increase significantly if you are pre-approved (though it is not guaranteed).


• Can pay with moneygram - You can pay your bills with moneygram or money order.

Cons: What We Do Not Like

• Credit Limit Does Not Increase - Indigo starts you off with a $300 credit limit and that does not increase. That means you will have a $300 limit as long as you have this card


• No Mobile App - Indigo has no mobile app at the moment. However, you can manage your account online through their online web portal.

Our Take: No Credit Limit Increase but Reports accurately and on-time

The Indigo Mastercard is a card is that ideal for a rebuilder who has been repairing their credit for a couple of years and is looking for an unsecured credit card with a reasonble annual fee. Perhaps, you have already have a couple of secured credit cards and are looking for a move into the unsecured territory. If this describes you, then the Indigo Mastercard could be the card you are looking for and you might even be approved for a no annual fee version.

There are a couple of things that you have to be aware of. The first is that the initial credit limit of $300 will not increase over time. That may or may not be an issue for you. But with such a limit, you have to be mindful of what you charge to the card if you want to control your credit utilization ratio. They have no mobile app and you have to manage your account online. Having said that, Indigo is known for prompt reporting to the three major credit bureaus. They are reliable on this front (which is probably the most important issue for rebuilders like you). This is an email I got from a reader that pretty much sums up this card.

Hi Mr Credit Card, I wanted to write my little review on the Indigo credit card because there is just so much negative and false reviews across the internet. I got this card when my score was 580 and it came with a $300 limit that will NEVER grow. My annual fee was $75 for the first year and $99 after that. I PIF between the end of statement and due date every month and my payment clears in 2 days. I also fount out that it reports more reliably than my other rebuilder cards. Although every card says they report to all three major bureaus, some miss one of two on some months and some do not report on the same date every month. Indigo is so reliable on this front. They have no mobile app and their website is clunky and customer service reps are out-sourced. I use this card strictly to rebuild and I look at the $75 annual fee as just a fee I pay for accurate reporting. I cancelled my card after 11 months before the next annual fee was up. By that time, my score has improved about 85 points and I managed to get a Capital One card with $1,500 in limit. Use this card wisely and responsibly and it will serve it's purpose.

To sum up, after reviewing and evaluating the Indigo Mastercard, we give it a 3.8/5 star rating. This reflects it's reasonable annual fee and absence of monthly fees and one-time application fees and accurate and timely credit bureau reporting. The ratings is held back by it's small credit limit (which does not increase) and lack of features like mobile app. Nevertheless, this is a very decent unsecured credit card for rebuilders.

For those of you who want a card with a large (or potential larger credit limit), then you would have to consider a card like the Merrick Bank Double Your Line Visa, which will double your credit line after 7 months of on-time payments. In fact, you could go through the pre-approval process for both card and see which one you get pre-approved for (since there is only soft inquiry in the pre-approval process).

How To Apply?

To get the Indigo Mastercard, you first have to pre-qualify. As mentioned earlier, pre-qualification and pre-approval involves only a soft pull and has no impact on your credit score.

As a recap, to increase your chances of getting pre-approved and approved when you actually apply, you should meet most if not all of the following criteria.

• at least 600 credit score
• at least 2 trade lines in credit report
• on-time payments for at least a year (with no recent delinquencies) - this is a major reason why folks get denied this cared
• Not more than 2 hard inquires in the last 6 months - this is the most common reason for declines
• Not more than $20,000 in credit card debt
• No pending bankruptcy - BK must be discharged
• No existing tax liens
• Monthly Debt Payment to Monthly Income Ratio of not more than 30%
• Checking Account required

Below is a screenshot of the pre-approval or pre-qualification page. You simply have to fill in your name, physical address, email address, phone number, date of birth and social security number.



If you get pre-approved, you will see an offer with terms and conditions on the next page. If you do not get an offer from Indigo, you will be presented with a secured credit card offer. The card is Opensky Secured Visa. I suggest that if you get denied, you come back to this site and read our review of the Opensky Secured Visa.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Contact Information

Phone: 866-946-9545

FAX: 503-268-4711

Correspondence address: Genesis FS Card Services, PO Box 4477, Beaverton, OR 97076-4477