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Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card: Credit Limit Increase After 7 Months of Timely Payments
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Advertiser Disclosure
Picture of Mission Lane Visa®
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  • Annual Fee = $0 - $59
  • APR = 26.99% - 29.99%
  • See if you qualify instantly without harming your credit score.
  • Get a higher credit line if you're in good standing after making your first 7 payments on time.
  • Free, online credit score access for cardholders.
  • Instant decision on your application.
  • No interest on purchases when you pay in full and on time each month.
  • No security deposit required – get started today!
  • Enjoy coverage from Visa®.
  • Access your account anytime, anywhere with our mobile app.


Pros Cons
Low Annual Fee High APR
No monthly fee or one-time processing fee Cannot transfer funds via
Credit Limit Increase After 7 Months Cannot be added to Digital Wallets
Pre-Qualify with No Impact on Credit Score  
Free Credit Score  

At A Glance

The Mission Lane Visa is one of the best credit cards available to those with poor to fair credit because it only charges a very reasonable annual fee between $0 and $59 and does not charge any monthly fee or one-time processing fee. You will also be evaluated for a credit limit increase after on-time payments for the first seven billing cycles and statements. You can go through a pre-qualification process with no impact on your credit score so there is no risk to see if you get pre-approved before proceeding to apply. Those of you who have credit scores between 580 and 650 should consider this card if you are looking for an unsecured credit card.


Requirements

Below are the requirements you need to have the best chances of approval for Mission Lane. In particular they pay a lot of attention to the total amount of debt you have.
  • Credit Scores from 580 to 650 (subprime territory)
  • If you have a mortgage, your totol mortgage debt plus any installment or credit card debt must be less than $80,000
  • If you only have credit card tradelines in your credit report, it must be less than $20,000
  • On-time payments for the last year
  • Not more than 2 hard inquiries during the last six months


Card Details

Annual Fee $0 to $59
APR 26.99% to 29.99%
Grace Period 23 Days
Late Fee Up to $35
Foreign Transaction Fee 3%
Cash Advance APR 29.99%
Cash Advance Fee Greater of $10 or 3% of cash advance amount


Annual Fee: The annual fee varies between $0 to $59.

Regular APR: 26.99% to 29.99%. This is rather high but normal for such a card. We recommend you pay your bills in full rather than carry a balance.

Evaluation for credit line increase: They key feature of this card is that if you pay your bills on time for the first seven months, you will be evaluated for a credit limit increase and many folks do get their increase when they meet this criteria.

Cash Advance Checks Available: You can choose to receive your cash advance in the form of a check. However, as the rate is quite high, we would advise against it.

Prequalification process with no impact on credit score - Mission Lane allows you to go through a pre-qualification process with no impact on your credit score. If you pre-qualify and decide to proceed with the application, only then will there be a hard inquiry on your credit report.

Free credit score - Card holders will be provided with a free credit score.


Competition

There are two features of the Mission Lane Visa which stands out. The first is that they only charge an annual fee and does not have any monthly fee or one-time application fee on top the annual fee. The second key feature is that after the first seven months of timely payments, your card will be considered for credit limit increase. Hence, in this section, we will compare the Mission Lane credit card with other similar cards that only charge an annual fee and also one particular card that has a track record of credit line increases after a few months of timely payments.

Card Annual Fee Upfront Fee Monthly Fee APR Starting Limit
Mission Lane $0 - $59     26.99% - 29.99% $300 - $1,000
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
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


The first card that I want to compare to is the Merrick Bank Double Your Line Visa. Merrick Bank's annual fee ranges from $0 to $72 vs $0 to $59 for Mission Lane Visa. Both cards also have similar credit limit increase policy. With the Merrick Bank Visa, your credit line will double after paying on time for the first 7 months. The starting credit limit for Merrick Bank is between $550 and $1,350. So after 7 months of on-time payments, a cardholders limit will increase to between $1,100 and $2,700. In contrast, Mission Lane will start you off with a credit limit of between $300 and $1,000. After the first 6 months of on-time payments, you will be evaluated for a credit limit increase (whereas Merrick Bank guarantees that your credit line doubles if you pay your first 7 payments on time). So from a credit limit perspective, the Merrick Bank is slightly better, though you could potentially get a lower annual fee with Mission Lane.

Another competitor to Mission Lane are credit cards from Credit One Bank. Their annual fee ranges from $0 to $99. Like Mission Lane, Credit One Bank has a track record of credit line increases. However, they do not specifically tell you when you are eligible for credit line increase. Instead, Credit One says that they will automatically review your account periodically to see if you are eligible for a credit line increase.

Mission Lane also competes with credit cards from Genesis Financial Card Services. These include cards like Indigo Mastercard, Milestone Mastercard and Destiny Mastercard. All have fees ranging from $0 to $99. However, these cards come with a starting credit limit of $300 which stays the same through the time you have these cards. So from a credit limit perspective, Mission Lane is superior to these cards.


Pros: What We Like

  • Reasonable Annual Fee - Mission Lane's annual fee is very reasonable for a credit card targeting those with poor/fair credit.

  • No Monthly Fee/No Application Fee - Mission Lane (unlike many other subprime credit cards) does not charge any monthly fee or one-time application fee.

  • Approves Those with Discharged Bankruptcy - Cardholders who have just emerged from bankruptcy have reported approvals from Mission Lane

  • Credit Limit Increase after seven on-time payments - Mission Lane will evaluate your card account for a credit limit increase after six on-time payments.

  • Cash Advance Checks - Mission Lane offers cash advances that are availabel in the form of checks.

  • Reports to three major credit bureaus - Mission Lane reports to TransUnion, Experian and Equifax.

  • Pre-approval process - no impact on credit score - Mission Lane allows you to go through a pre-approval or pre-qualification process with just a soft pull and no impact on your credit score.


  • High APR - The 26.99% to 29.99% APR is high but not uncommon for such cards. At askmrcreditcard.com, we recommend that you pay your bills in full every month rather than carry a balance.


Our Take: Great Card for Rebuilding

The Mission Lane Visa credit card is one of the best unsecured credit cards to rebuild your credit because of it's reasonable annual fee and it's track record of credit limit increase. You could get an annual fee ranging from $0 to $59 so there is a chance you will end up with a no annual card. It's key feature is that if you pay your bills on time for the first seven months, you will be eligible for credit limit increase. In fact, many cardholders have gotten more than one credit limit increase. Here are some cardholders reviews:

"I have had the card about 10 months, started with a $300 credit limit. I have seen my credit limit increased twice automatically and it is now $1,000. Online payment post with in a day or 2."



"I filed and was discharged from bankruptcy with a FICO score of 520. I was surprised that I got approved for the Mission Lane card. I have had it for about a year. Though I stared off with $500 in credit limit, it is now $1900."



"I've had thus card for about a year. I started out with a 1500 credit line I was recently upgraded to 2500. I would recommend this card to anyone who wants to rebuild their credit. I have used this card for car rentals as well with no problems at all. Payments post in 3-5 days."



As far as credit line increases go, only the Merrick Bank Double Your Line Visa is slightly better in that they will double your credit line after timely payments for the first 7 months.

To sum up, after reviewing and evaluating this card, we give the Mission Lane Visa a 4/5 star rating because of it's reasonable annual fee (and possibility of having to pay no annual fee), lack of other fees like monthly fees and one-time application fee and their track record of credit line increases. In our opinion credit line increases are a very important feature of rebuilder cards because most come with low limits that makes it difficult to have a low credit utilization ratio which is so vital for improving your credit score. Having a card like the Mission Lane Visa certainly helps. We would recommend the Mission Lane Visa to rebuilders who meet their approval criteria (their total debt criteria is very important).


How to apply?

Before I describe the application process, I just want to revisit the requirements for this card. The credit score sweet spot is between 580 and 650. However, Mission Lane cares a lot about the total debt you have. If you only have credit card debt, you cannot have more than $20,000 in total credit card debt. If you have a mortgage, you cannot have more than $80,000 in combined debt. This is the main reason why folks get denied or get a small credit limit or no credit limit increases even if they have a relatively good score. If your total debt is significantly higher than Mission Lane's threshold, then you are likely to get denied.

Now that we have got that out of the way, let's get back to the application process. Mission Lane allows you to pre-qualify without any impact on your credit score. It is really easy and just involves filling in the following information. If you pre-qualify, you will then have to complete the application. Since you would have provided most of the information, they will be pre-filled in your application form.

  • Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Social Security Number
  • Address
  • Whether you rent or own a home or neither?
  • Your monthly rent or mortgage
  • Your employment status - options include student, employed, unemployed, self-employed, retired
  • Total annual income
  • Type of bank account you have? checking, savings, both or none
  • Whether you are interested in receiving checks for cash advance?
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Whether you want to receive e-statements


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Once you submit your information, you will be asked to verify your information again and given the chance to correct any mistatkes.

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Then on the next page, you are simply presented with the terms and conditions and you have to check off the boxes stating that you agree to the terms and conditions and you will find out if you are approved instantly.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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How long does payment take to post?

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How long does payment take to post?

According to cardholders, it takes between 2-5 days for payments to post.

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Are you guaranteed a credit line increase?

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Are you guaranteed a credit line increase?

No you are not. If your overall debt is too high or if your monthly debt payment to monthly income ratio is too high, you may not get any credit limit increase.

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Does Mission Lane have autopay?

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Does Mission Lane have autopay?

Yes they do.

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Does Mission Lane have a mobile app?

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Does Mission Lane have a mobile app?

Yes, they do.


Contact Information

Mail:
Mission Lane LLC
P.O. Box 105286
Atlanta, GA 30348

Payment Address:
Mission Lane LLC
PO Box 4517
Carol Stream, IL 60197-4517

Overnight Payment Address:
FIS
Attn: Mission Lane
270 Remington Blvd Suite B
Bolingbrook, IL 60440

Phone: 855-790-8860