By : 
Mr Credit Card
Mr Credit CardKey Takeaways
The Milestone Mastercard has very similar terms to other unsecured credit cards that have $700 credit limits. In this review, I will evaluate and compare Milestone with it's peers and also provide a couple of alternatives if your FICO score is below their approval range.
Pros and Cons
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Card Details
| Credit Limit | $700 |
| Annual Fee |
Year 1 = $175 Year 2 Onwards = $49 |
| Monthly Fee |
Year 1 = $0 Year 2 Onwards = $12.50/month ($150 annually) |
| Cash Advance Fee | Min of $5 or 5% of cash advance |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | 1% |
| Penalty Fee |
Late Payment - $41.00 Returned Payment - $41 Over-The-Credit-Limit - $41 |
| APR | 35.9% |
| Bank Issuer | Bank of Missouri |
| Serviced by | Concora Credit |
| Customer Service Phone Number | 1-800-353-5920 |
| Corresponding Address |
Concora Credit PO Box 4477, Beaverton, OR 97076-4477 |
Milestone has both annual fee and monthly fee
Annual Fee - During the first year, the annual fee is $175. From the second year onwards, the annual fee is reduced to $49. The annual fee of $175 will be charged after you are approved for the card and will appear on your first bill.Monthly Fee - There is no monthly fee during the first year. From the second year year onwards, a $12.50 monthly fee will be billed in addition to the $49 annual fee that you have to pay. This works out to $12.50 X 12 = $150 annually.
Combined Total Fees - During the first year, you will be paying a total of $175 in fees (which comprises of just the annual fee). From the second year onwards, you will be paying both the $49 annual fee and the $150 in 12 monthly fees. This works out to $49 + $150 = $199 in total fees from the second year onwards.
Has fixed $700 Credit Limit
The Milestone Mastercard will give you a credit limit of $700. This $700 limit will not change as long as you have the card. That means you will not get any further credit limit increases. Milestone used to only give cardholders a $300 credit limit but no longer offer that version.No Pre-approval Process
Unlike the previous Milestone $300 credit limit version, the Milestone Mastercard with $700 credit limit does not have a pre-approval process. That means you will face a hard inquiry on your credit report when you apply and you will know instantly whether you are approved or denied.Low Foreign Transaction Fee
The Milestone Mastercard (in fact all Concora Credit Inc credit cards) have a very low 1% foreign transaction fee. This is in contrast to most credit cards, that charge 3% on any foreign transaction or a purchase in a foreign currency.Has Mobile App and Autopay
Having a mobile app and autopay feature is a standard for most prime credit cards. However, many subprime credit cards still do not have these features. Milestone does have a mobile app (which they did not use to have) and autopay feature.Can pay with Moneygram and PayNearMe
For those of you who would like to pay your credit card bills with third party digital payment systems, Milestone allows you to pay with both MoneyGram and PayNearMe.Mastercard Benefits: $0 Liability for Unautorized Charges
The Milestone Mastercard offers $0 liability for unauthorized charges. This is a standard feature available in all Mastercard credit cards.Requirements: Credit Score and Others
Credit Score Requirements - The minimum credit score you need to apply for this card is 510 though. However, the vast majority of people who get approved for Milestone have an average score of between 560 and 640. If your credit scores are below 560 (ie low 500 level), we suggest that you should consider a no hard inquiry credit card like Arro Mastercard where the requirements are based on monthly income and bank balance.
No Delinquent Accounts - Milestone is very strict about this. That means that you should not have any charge offs on your credit report that are not PAID or SETTLED. If you have a few charge offs on your account that you are still delinquent on, you will NOT be approved for the card. In fact, it is very difficult to get approved for unsecured credit cards with bad credit if you have unsettled charge offs and collections in your credit report unless you are reaching your statutes of limitation and the amounts owed are very small. Aside from settling or paying off your charge offs or collections, you should have made on-time payments for at least a year as well.
Can be approved with discharged bankruptcy - Milestone will approve those of you with discharged bankruptcy (especially chapter 7 BKs). The reason is because your debts have been wiped clean and you are starting afresh. You are a much less risky consumer despite the fact that your credit scores may be low.
No more than 2 hard inquiries during last 6 months - Milestone does not want to see too many hard inquiries on your credit report. Max is 2 for the last 6 months. So please do not apply for this card if you have just been on an app spree.
Preferably 2 tradelines - This is not a hard and fast rule. For example, many folks who have just been discharged from their bankruptcy (especially chapter 7 bankruptcy) have gotten Milestone as their first rebuilder credit cards. But you should ideally have one or two tradelines on your credit report when you apply.
Have Driver's License and Utility Bills Handy - When you apply for Milestone or any credit card for that matter, you might be asked for documents to verify your identity and address. Having a picture of your DL and utility bills in your computer harddrive and/or mobile phone will come in handy should you be asked for these.
Analysis of Milestone Mastercard $700
During the first year, you will be charged an annual fee of $175. There is no monthly fee charged during the first year. Hence, the Total Fees to Credit Limit Ratio for the first year is $175/$700 = 25%. That means that the fees you are paying are a quarter of the credit limit you are getting. From the second year onwards, the the annual fee is reduced to $49 but a monthly fee kicks in at $12.50 a month which works out to $150 a year. Hence, from the second year onwards, the Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio is ($49 + $150)/$700 = 28.4%. (see table below)
Now that we have gotten this out of the way, let's do some competition analysis.
Competition
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Card Annual Fee (AF) Monthly Fee (MF) Program Fee (PF) Credit Limit (CL) Fees/Credit Limit Ratio (TFCL) |
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Milestone Mastercard $700 Annual Fee = Y1 = $175, Y2 = $49 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $12.50/month = $150/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $175/$700 = 25% Y2 = $(49 + 150)/$700 = 28.43% |
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Destiny Mastercard $500 Annual Fee = Y1 = $175, Y2 = $49 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $12.50/month = $150/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $175/$700 = 25% Y2 = $(49 + 150)/$700 = 28.43% |
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Indigo Mastercard $700 Annual Fee = Y1 = $175, Y2 = $49 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $12.50/month = $150/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $175/$700 = 25% Y2 = $(49 + 150)/$700 = 28.43% |
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Imagine Visa $700 Annual Fee = Y1 = $175, Y2 = $49 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $12.50/month = $150/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $175/$700 = 25% Y2 = $(49 + 150)/$700 = 28.43% |
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Fortiva Mastercard $500 Annual Fee = Y1 = $175, Y2 = $49 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $12.50/month = $150/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $175/$700 = 25% Y2 = $(49 + 150)/$700 = 28.43% |
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Aspire $700 Annual Fee = Y1 = $175, Y2 = $49 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $12.50/month = $150/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $175/$700 = 25% Y2 = $(49 + 150)/$700 = 28.43% |
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First Premier $700 Annual Fee = Y1 = $79, Y2 = $49 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $8/month ($96 annually), Y2 = $10.40/month = $124.80/Year Program Fee = $55 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $(79 + 95 + 96)/$700 = 38.57% Y2 = $(49 + 124.80)/$700 = 24.82% |
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Reflex Mastercard $750 Annual Fee = $125 Monthly Fee = $0 Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $750 $1,500 after 6 months TFCL Ratio = $125/$750 = 16.67% Y2 = $125/$1,500 = 8.33% |
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Upgrade Select $700 Annual Fee = $39 Monthly Fee = $0 Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $39/$700 = 5.57% |
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Arro Mastercard $700 Annual Fee = $36 Monthly Fee = $0 Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $700 TFCL Ratio = $36/$700 = 5.14% |
Milestone is similar to other Concora Credit Inc credit cards
Milestone is marketed and serviced by Concora Credit Inc, which has two other identical credit cards. They are the Destiny Mastercard with $700 credit limit and the Indigo Mastercard with $700 limit. For all intents and purposes, they are identical in every aspect except for their issuing banks. Tip: You can get more than one Concora credit card. However, you will need separate logins for your mobile app and online portal.Compared to cards from Atlanticus and First Premier
I am now going to compare the Milestone Mastercard with credit cards from Atlanticus and First Premier Bank.Compared to Atlanticus Credit Cards - Atlanticus has 3 credit cards, Fortiva Mastercard, Aspire Mastercard and Imagine Visa. All these cards make you go through a pre-approval process and if you get pre-approved, you will be approved for either a $350, $400, $500, $700 or $1,000 credit limit version. In this comparison, I will be focusing on the $700 limit version since the Milestone Mastercard has a $700 credit limit.
If you look at the table above, you see that all three Atlanticus credit cards have the same fees as the Milestone Mastercard. Fee and credit limit wise, they are identical. One thing that the Atlanticus credit cards have which the Milestone credit card does not is a cash back program. You can earn 3% cash back on gasoline, groceries and utilities with credit cards from Atlanticus.
Compared to First Premier Bank Credit Cards - When you apply for the First Premier Mastercard, you may get credit limits ranging from $300 to $700. We are going to compare the Milestone with the $700 credit limit version since we would be at least be comparing apples and apples. If you look at the comparison table above, you will notice that First Premier not only charges both an annual fee and a monthly fee, they also charge a one-time program fee. Furthermore, they charge a monthly fee during the first year whereas Milestone and most other credit cards do not charge any monthly fee during the first year at all but rather start charging them from the second year onwards. The Total Fee to Credit Limit ratio is 32.9% and 24.8% for the first and second year respectively. This ratio is quite similar to Milestone.
Compared to Reflex and Surge Mastercard from Continental Finance
Both the Reflex Mastercard and Surge Mastercard are from Continental Finance have higher credit limits and lower fees than Milestone. When you apply for either credit cards, you may get either a $300, $500, $750 or $1,000 starting credit limit. After 6 months of paying on time, your credit limit will automatically double. That means that if you get the $750 initial starting credit limit, it will double to $1,500 after six months of on-time payments. Both Reflex and Surge also charges an annual fee of $125 for the $750 or $1,000 limit version and no monthly fee. The Total Fee to Credit Limit ratio looks very good (8.33% vs 24.8%) compared to the Milestone Mastercard. Furthermore, Reflex and Surge allow you to go through a pre-approval process whereas there is no pre-qualification process for Milestone. But the Reflex and Surge have slightly higher FICO score requirements. Most of the Reflex and Surge cardholders have been approved with a FICO score of at least 600. In contrast the approval score range for Milestone is between 560 and 640.Compared to Upgrade Select Visa and Arro Mastercard - I want to compare both these cards with Milestone because they have both significantly lower fees. Let's first start with the Upgrade Select Visa. The annual fee is only $39. This is in contrast to Milestone, which have an annual fee of $175 during the first year and total fees of $199 from the second year onwards. The credit limit range for Upgrade Select is from $500 to $2,000. In contrast, Milestone caps you at $700. You would need a minimum FICO score of 580 to get approved for the Upgrade Select Card. But in terms of fee, the Upgrade Select Visa is so much better than Milestone.
Compared to Arro Mastercard - The Arro Mastercard is another card with lower fees than Milestone. During the first year, the fee is $1/month or $12 annually. From the second year onwards, it is $3/month or $36 annually. This is much lower than the fees you pay for Milestone. The maximum credit limit you can get with Arro is $2,500 though you may start of with $50 - $200 (depending on your bank balance). Unlike other unsecured credit cards, Arro does not rely on FICO scores, Instead, you need to meet 3 requirements. Firstly, you would need a monthly income of $1,800. Secondly, you need a consistent positive bank balance of at least $50. Thirdly, you have to be willing to connect your bank account to Arro via PLAID as this is how they evaluate and verify your income, bank balance and approve you. There is no hard inquiries from Arro.
Pros: What is good about Milestone?
- Decent Starting Credit Limit - $700 is a decent starting credit limit for a subprime credit card. This is an improvement from the $300 limits that previous Milestone credit cards has. A $700 credit limit allows a rebuilder to put more of their monthly spending on the card while rebuilding with a $300 credit card usually just involves putting your netflix on autopay and that's it!
- Reports consistently to credit bureaus - Milestone has a reputation of reporting consistently and on time to the three major credit bureaus
- Relatively Quick Credit Availability after payment - One of the biggest issues people have with subprime credit cards is that credit limit may take a few days to be available after your payment has been processed. For the milestone credit card, credit limit is normally available 24-48 hours after payment has been processed.
- Can Set Up Autopay - Milestone allows you to set up autopay from your online account. While autopay is a standard feature with mainstream issuers, not every subprime credit card issuer has it.
- Can Pay with MoneyGram and PayNearMe - Milestone allows you to pay with both MoneyGram and PayNearMe
Some Common Complaints
- Total Fees are high on an absolute basis - Though Milestone has a decent $700 credit limit, the fees that you have to pay are still high on an absolute basis. You will be paying $199 in fees from the second year onwards.
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- No Free Credit Scores - Unlike many credit cards, Milestone does not provide cardholders with free credit scores to help them monitor their rebuilding progress.
- Cannot use Debit Card for payments - Milestone does not allow you to use your debit card to make your bill payments.
Our Take: Typical Unsecured Credit Card with $700
Aside from the fees and credit limits, Milestone is particularly known for it's consistent credit bureau reporting. There is also hardly payment holds for days that are typically found in other subprime credit cards. Instead, your payments clear within 24-48 hours and are reflected in your credit limit within that time frame. Milestone also now has a mobile app and you can also set up autopay, pay via MoneyGram and PayNearMe. Most importantly, Milestone accepts and approves applicants who have just been discharged from bankruptcy.
To sum up, based on our evaluation of the Milestone Mastercard with $700 credit limit, we are giving it a 3.8 stars out of 5 for it's $700 limit, consistant credit bureau reporting, fast payment processing and modern features like mobile apps and ability to set up autopay and the fact that they approve those who have been discharged from bankruptcy. It's high fees, lack of credit limit increases and lack of pre-approval process prevents us from giving it a higher rating. If you value features like short payment processing time and consistent credit bureau reporting, if you have just been discharged from bankruptcy and you are fine with the fees, then the Milestone Mastercard with $700 limit is an ok card to get. However, you have to be aware that you would need credit scores between 560 and 640 to have a reasonable chance to get approved. If your credit scores are less than 560 or if you want a card with much lower fees and yet have the same or potential for higher credit limits, then we suggest that you consider either the Arro Mastercard (which does not perform any hard inquires) or the Upgrade Select Visa. Both these cards come with much lower fees than Milestone.
Alternatives to Milestone Mastercard in Greater Detail
If your credit score is less than 560, then consider the Arro Mastercard
As we have mentioned, the typical Milestone cardholder has FICO scores between 560 and 640. If your FICO scores are less than 560 (or even they are not), you might want to consider the Arro Card. The Arro Card charges $1/month fee during the first year ($12 annually) and $3/month from the second year onwards ($36 annually). This is significantly lower than Milestone, which has an annual fee of $175 during the first year and total fees of $199 from the second year onwards. The APR for Arro is 16% versus 35.9% and the maximum credit limit you can get is $2,500 versus $700 for Milestone. Arro also does not perform any hard inquiry. The requirements are that you need at least $1,800 in monthly income, a minimum balance of $50 in your bank account and that you link your bank account to Arro via PLAID to verify your income and bank balance and also for autopay purposes. Arro is a much better rebuilding card than Milestone.If you have at least 580 credit score
If you have at least a 580 FICO score, you might want to consider the Upgrade Select Visa. Upgrade Select has a $39 annual fee, which is much lower than the $175 annual fee for Milestone during the first year and the $199 total fees from the second year onwards. The credit limit for Upgrade Select Visa ranges from $500 to $2,500. There is a much better chance that you get a higher limit than Milestone. Upgrade also allow you to go through a pre-approval process without any impact on your credit score.How to Use the Milestone $700 Credit Card?
Since the fees that you pay increase during the second year, you may want to consider cancelling your card either before your first anniversary or even slightly after (since you will only pay a $49 annual fee from the second year onwards in addition to a $12.50 monthly fee). You should do your best to improve your credit scores to a level where you can get credit cards with better limits and much lower fees.
Some Customer Reviews
Milestone approved me when I just got discharged from chapter 7 bankruptcy. The $700 credit limit is pretty decent and the mobile app is quite good though there are areas that can be approved. For example, they could introduce biometrics and face ID for easier logins. They also report to credit bureaus consistently.
I got the Milestone before they got the mobile app. Then they rebranded from Genesis to Concora Credit and introduced their mobile app. I am so happy that they now have a mobile app. It is much easier to check your balance, manage payments etc with the app rather than on their website.
I have both the Indigo and Milestone cards. And I need a separate login to check each card in the mobile app and also on the online portal. It would be great if Concora Credit tech guys could solve this issue in their mobile app.
What I like about Milestone is that my payments clear within 24-48 hours and it is reflected in my credit line. I have read reviews elsewhere that payment holds can be as long as 14 days but that certainly wasn't my experience. Their credit reporting is also consistent and this is a big plus for me because I have other rebuilder cards that do not report consistently. As far as the mobile app goes, it is ok with the occasional glitches when they do some upgrades.
I called customer service a few times and was really frustrated because all of them were clearly from overseas and I could not understand their English. Then I read in some forum that a person who works in Concora Credit actually suggested that I ask for an American customer service rep. Sure enough they put me through one when I asked and it was so much better and my issues were resolved.
How to Apply?
