Credit Score: 550 Credit Limit: 1500 Age: 45-54

Posted 04/06 2021

Guy below who writes that he presented an ID using an old address and not a current address, and that it didn't match his utility bill or other documents - there is your problem right there. YOU not having a valid current ID, the problem is NOT the credit card company. I've had no problems with First Progress, but you have to have a CURRENT valid legal ID - not one with some old address you don't even live at. That is NOT a valid ID.

 

Credit Score: 550 Credit Limit: 1500 Age: 45-54

Posted 04/06 2021

Guy below who writes that he presented an ID using an old address and not a current address, and that it didn't match his utility bill or other documents - there is your problem right there. YOU not having a valid current ID, the problem is NOT the credit card company. I've had no problems with First Progress, but you have to have a CURRENT valid legal ID - not one with some old address you don't even live at. That is NOT a valid ID.

 

Credit Score: 525 Credit Limit: 1200 Age: 35-44

Posted 04/06 2021

The review by Kira below is unbelievable. The credit card company tells you to mail something via the MAIL, and you think it's ok to fax it? Then you're surprised when things don't work out for you. I have news for you. Grow up. Follow directions. And get a valid ID (any police officer will tell you a license with a wrong address or an old address is NOT valid ID. Seriously.

 

Credit Score: 630 Credit Limit: 350 Age: 25-34

Posted 11/19 2020

If I could give this company less than a star I would. I am completely livid right now. This will be a rather long read, but all these parts are important.

So let’s start with when I first signed up for the card. I passed through most of it just fine until I got to a portion about needing to verify my address. Alright, totally fine, all well and good and completely normal. They needed my ID and a utility bill. Now, keep in mind, My ID shows an old address, but generally this has never been an issue before when showing my utility bill that has the right address and my name attached to it to show that the identity is valid and that the CURRENT utility bill is to the correct address. My verification was denied. So I said ‘okay, let me just /contact/ someone’ something that should be the easiest thing in the world with most companies in this day and age. I went to their contact page which requires you to /mail/ anything to them. Physical mail. And refused to put their customer service number on the page. So already this is feeling really scammy to me, but I search up their phone number through another site because I refuse to give up so easily, and, as with most americans right now, I’m struggling credit-wise so I need this. I manage to get in contact with someone and they tell me that the reason it was denied was because of my ID and I inform that with literally EVERYTHING else, I have never had this issue before, but the only way to fix it was to get a new ID and again, /mail/ it to them. So I decide, you know what? Mailing is a hassle, especially in 2020 when my stuff is WAY too likely to get lost in the mail and mailing is slow. So I try to cancel my application. Not possible. There’s no way to cancel it without mailing them, once again. So I decide to go to my own bank and reverse it.

Low and behold, I end up getting accepted for the card. So I’m thinkin ‘cool, guess they ended up accepting it’, and I start using it. Everything is great and dandy for about a month, though I still find myself annoyed with their ‘payment’ system. Once again, you can either pay through your bank if you have a bank that sends payments, or mail it yourself. Well fortunately for me, I do still have a bank that sends payments, unfortunately, they do it through physical mail because that’s what First Progress has set up with my bank, which is a big name bank, for whatever reason, so my payment doesn’t end up going through on /first progress’s/ side into my account until after my payment date, even though my bank shows that the money /had/ been processed. I kinda take a moment here to reflect on how MESSED UP this system they have in place in, and how it’s set up for you to fail and not pay on time so you wrack up fees.

So after they /show/ my payment in there system (after I had to do another call to /make/ them have it in their system) I then get hit with a letter stating, once again, that I needed to verify my address. So I call them once again about this, since /now/ I’m allowed to have the /privilege/ of calling them. I’m told I need to send them my ID and my utility bill to confirm address, and I’m given 15 days… from the /postage/ date which was already, at that point, 13 days ago. But during this SAME call, I’m told that my bank did reverse the deposit. So I do talk to them about that and told them about the issues in the beginning and he tells me that I just need to send in my bank statement that shows my deposit and that part will get squared away and that this is more important to get in sooner than even the address stuff. But I’m cautious so I ask if I can still send in both and he says yes. Then I ask him, VERY specifically, can I fax in the statement to get the deposit squared away. He tells me to hold one moment and leaves for a moment before coming back and says /yes/ I can fax in the /statement/ to prove the deposit and fax in the other information. ‘Cool’, I’m thinking, ‘I just need to replace my ID(which I’m not thrilled about, but whatever) and then fax in all this info.’ So I send two separate faxes with cover pages saying what they were for. This is around mid to late october. I pay attention to my account and see the deposit is put back into it. Cool.

November 17th, I receive a letter stating they needed my bank statement showing my deposit, post marked on the 27th of /october/, once again stating I only had FIFTEEN days to respond. Again, reminder, this is 2020 and the mail is awful right now. There’s no way they can expect this information so quickly, especially when I didn’t even receive their letter until /after/ the 15 days. Well I didn’t see the letter until after 5pm on the 17th and I’m a student so I was doing school the entire day of the 18th. So I call on the 19th to talk about the letter. I’m told that my account was then /closed/ and I’ll be receiving my deposit back. ‘Well wait’, I say, absolutely confused, ‘I was told about this before this letter was even postmarked and took care of this in the exact way I was instructed’. Well, unfortunately, they’re now telling me they’re /unable/ to reactivate my account but will be sending me my deposit back. Apparently in the new letter, it says they’re ‘unable to accept faxes’ for this. Hm, well, that’s funny, because I was told VERY SPECIFICALLY that my bank statement showing the deposit COULD be accepted by fax. So the rep I talk to, I let him know that I understand this was not his fault, he’s only just learning about this, but I need to speak to a manager because my account should not have been closed when I followed every instruction I was given in the most timely manner I was able to.

So I get on the phone with the manager and tell him the whole situation. He tries to tell me he thinks I was ‘mistaken’ in how I ‘interpreted’ the instructions given to me. No. There was no ‘interpretation’ to ‘mistake’. I was told, point blank, yes. It was okay to send my bank statement as a fax. And he kept trying to say that because the first phone call was about the first letter, that was fine for that one, but they should have received the deposit after the second letter, again. Once more, no. I was told about this issue before the second letter was even sent out. This should not have been an issue in the first place. He kept trying to go in this circle and gas light me into believing in a different situation that happened and kept trying to tell me ‘the deposit was never discussed before the second letter’ when, guess what? It was. Why ELSE would I have faxed my bank statement? Please, indulge me. It got to a point where I told him he needed to relisten to that call and re-evaluate how he talks to customers, but I was gonna hang up. And so I did.

First Progress sets you up to fail. Between their terrible ‘address confirmation’ that literally any other company would have taken, to their ‘payment’ system that you can’t even pay on their site to MAKE SURE that your payment is in ON TIME so you don’t face a hit to your credit, to even the fact that they refuse to email or call you, instead choosing to only go through the physical mail system, that, even if we weren’t in 2020 where it’s messed up, would STILL be difficult to make sure things get to you on time.

If you are considering any sort of ‘starter’ credit card, please, for the love of GOD or whoever you might believe in or not, DO NOT go through first progress. Their score on the better business bureau and any other source tHat has a good amount of reviews is proof enough that they are not a good company to work with and your credit will NOT be helped by them.

I will never work with them again, and I will warn EVERYONE away from them. They are predatory and no one should have to go through this madness.

 

Credit Score: 0 Credit Limit: 200 Age: 25-34

Posted 07/11 2020

I have not recieve my card and i apply june 11th

 

Credit Score: 539 Credit Limit: 500 Age: 35-44

Posted 09/04 2017

I applied for this card to rebuild my credit. When I applied, I chose the fund later option but when I checked my credit score a few days later, I found that they already "reported" and my score jumped 60 points! Overall, I would say this is a good card but for a few things. So let's get this out of the way.

I do not think they put a phone number on their site. But it is on your card! Customer service is inconsistent. Sometimes, they answer the phone after only 3 rings while at other times, it seems you have to leave a message. I also have had payment hold for 10 days. The card also took quite a while to arrive. The website and your 'statements' can look confusing at times.

But other than that, this card has been great. I have never been rejected at a store. I have used it at the pump and to rent cars, all with no problems. Most importantly, my score has steadily increased with using this card. So it does serve it's purpose and I would recommend it.

 

Credit Score: 465 Credit Limit: 400 Age: 25-34

Posted 07/26 2017

I applied for this card and opted for the expedited route ($20 charge) and it was delivered within a week. There is a hard pull (some folks think there is no hard pull). I put $400 as deposit.

They do report to all three bureaus and like many here, I noticed a bump in my scores not long after I got the card. I have no problems using this card and unlike others, I have never faced a long 10-day hold on my payments. A couple of days tops.

 

Credit Score: 556 Credit Limit: 300 Age: 35-44

Posted 06/17 2017

I applied for the expedited process and got my card within 10 days. I started off with a $300 deposit and limit. So far so good as far as the card is concerned.

 

Credit Score: 485 Credit Limit: 300 Age: 25-34

Posted 03/02 2017

Here is a very important tip. Do not use a forwarding address. I applied for the card and put in my forwarding address. I was told I was accepted but I did not receive my card for a very long time. I finally managed to reach customer service and they told me the reason was that they do not send to forwarding addresses. Many folks complain about not receiving their card and I believe this is perhaps the culprit.

 

Credit Score: 504 Credit Limit: 500 Age: 35-44

Posted 02/21 2017

I got this card as part of my rebuilding process. I went through the normal application and did not opt for "expedited". Took about 3 to 4 weeks from application to getting the card.

One of the reasons I got this card was you can use it to rent a car and I managed to do that twice with no problem. It does not have the auto insurance features that many credit cards have so I had to pay collision damage insurance and rely on my own auto insurance as well. I have also used this at a few different gas stations with no problems at all.

My credit scores have improved by over 100 points over a period of a year and a half.

The only thing I do not like is that the website and transactions posted there needs improvement. Sometimes, I think it is not accurate and I have to call customer service to verify and they always have the correct info.

 

Credit Score: 503 Credit Limit: 300 Age: 25-34

Posted 10/03 2016

This card was easy to get approved. After using it for just 4 months, my score jumped 70 points. All I did was spend $40 a month on the card and pay it off earlier. It is quite frustrating that there is a 10 day hold on your payments. But as long as you do not go anywhere close to your limit, you should be fine. But this card has definitely helped my score so I'll live with that.

 

Credit Score: 558 Credit Limit: 300 Age: 25-34

Posted 07/27 2016

I have had this card for over a year. My made some mistakes in college and got this card to rebuild. I deposited just $300 and used about $70 a month - stuff like gas and eating out. I always pay it off in full at the end of my billing cycle.

My credit is now great and I have this card to thank for. Some folks have some complaints but for me, this card worked out well.

 

Credit Score: 495 Credit Limit: 300 Age: 35-44

Posted 06/19 2016

I have had this card for over 2 years. I started out with a $300 deposit and put about $50 a month on the card with stuff like gas, netflix etc. I always paid ahead of time and in full. After 6 months, my score improved by about 80 points.

My score has been steadily improving over the last 2 years and it is now in the 700s. Everything has worked out well with this card except the following. When I finally cancelled the card, it took them 70 days to refund my deposit. That is a pretty long time if you asked me. Still I would recommend this card if you are looking to rebuild.

 

Credit Score: 470 Credit Limit: 400 Age: 35-44

Posted 03/13 2016

I damaged my credit because of my business and had to rebuild. I got my card when my score was 470 and put $400 as deposit. I chose the "fund later" option and it turns out that even if I have not deposited the money, First Progress reported it to the credit bureaus and my score increased 50 points after the first month! I also found out that it reported as "credit card" and not "secured". I was also able to rent a car with this card. This is quite important to me as I also had a card (continental finance matrix) which I had difficulty using it to rent a car. I would certainly recommend this card.

 

Credit Score: 529 Credit Limit: 300 Age: 25-34

Posted 01/31 2016

The reason I got this card was simply to rebuild my credit. I was approved and deposited $300 to fund the account. Once the deposit cleared, my score went up 60 points! I have been using it every month and paying it off in full. When I pay my bills, I notice that it takes 2 days to clear. I also found out that on my credit report, it reports as "credit card" and not as secured. For those of you who are picky over this, then you will be glad to learn First Progress reports as a regular credit card.

 

Credit Score: 495 Credit Limit: 500 Age: 25-34

Posted 11/04 2015

When I got this card, my score was 495. I put a $500 deposit. I did not choose the fund later option but instead I funded immediately. As far as using this card is concerned, it is very good. I have never been turned down anywhere. I have used it at gas stations, to rent a car and do online purchases and never had a problem.

The other nice thing about this card is that they report as a regular credit card and not secured. I also found out that you can fund your account with a credit card. I did it when I increased my limit and deposit and earned some points!

Customer service however, is a little sketchy. It was hard to find any email and the phone answering is kind of amateurish. The website is not exactly intuitive. But I give this a 4-star rating because it does what it is supposed to do - which is to help you rebuild your credit.