Nova Platinum Merchandise Card Review with $1,000 Credit Limit
REVIEW

The Nova Platinum Merchandise credit card is the latest offering from Unique Card Services. It is a merchandise catalog card that extends you credit and allows you to buy products from their online store www.myuniqueoutlet.com. It requires a monthly membership fee of $19.95 to access their online store and also comes with benefits like roadside assistance, Universal RX, Legal Services and other reward programs. The unique features of this card is that when you make a purchase from their online store and choose to carry a balance, the APR is 0%. There is also no credit checks or employment checks so you will definitely be approved if you have a debit card to pay your monthly membership fee.

You are probably here reading this review because you got a mail offer from Nova Platinum offering you an unsecured $1,000 credit line with no credit checks and are wondering if this card is legit. Well, the Nova Platinum is legit in that you are given a $1,000 credit line that you can purchase products at www.myuniqueoutlet.com and the APR is 0% should you choose to carry a balance. However, Nova Platinum does not report to any credit bureau so from a rebuilding perspective, it is not a legit rebuilding card at all.

Having said that, having a membership with Nova Platinum has some benefits that may appeal to you despite it not reporting to any credit bureau. In this review, we will analyze and dissect this card in greater detail.

How does the Nova Platinum Work?

The Nova Platinum is a membership online merchandise credit card that has a $19.95 monthly fee. During the application process, you have to enter your debit or credit card number to pay the first $19.95 monthly membership fee. Once it has been paid, you will be approved. The membership in Unique Card Services allows you to use your Nova Platinum to purchases goods from www.myuniqueoutlet.com. Nova Platinum offers 0% financing to those who which to buy now and pay later.

Buying Merch from My Unique Outlet

Though www.myuniqueoutlet.com is an online store that only Nova Platinum card members can make purchases, it works a little differently from a normal online store in the following ways.

• Credit Line does not apply to shipping cost and handling fees - Though you are offered a $1,000 credit line, you have to pay for your shipping cost and a processing fee charge and any sales taxes upfront in FULL. It is also not refundable if you decide to return your product after you buy it. Many cardholders are confused by this and decide to cancel their card because of this practice.


• Minimum payment is the greater of 15% of account balance or $25 - If you decide not to pay in full, you would have to pay the minumum payment. It is the greater of $25 or 15% of your total account balance. For example, if you purchase a product that is less than $25, you would have to pay in full regardless. If your account balance is between $25 and $166.73, your minimum payment would still be $25 because it is greater than 15% of that account balance.


• Your order must be shipped to the address you gave when you signed up for this card - Essentially, you can only ship to your own address. This is unlike most other online stores where you can ship any purchase to whatever address you enter when you check out. Not many people are aware of this and get upset when they find out about this little known fact.


• You have to pay their return cost - If you decide to return a merchandise that you bought, you may have to pay the return shipping fee. This varies by product and how far the shipment is.

Paying for Your Purchases and Monthly Fee

There are various ways to pay for your merchandise purchases and monthly fee. When you applied for the Nova Platinum card, you would already have entered either your debit card number or a credit card number to pay for your monthly $19.95 fee. I suggest that you actually use a debit card rather than a credit card because the way Unique Card Services process the credit card payment is as though it is a cash advance and you will be charged interest immediately. You can also set up autopay as well.

As far as payment for your merchandise goes, you can pay using the following ways.

• Snail Mail You can pay Nova Platinum through the mail with either a check or money order


• Via Web - You can pay online via your online portal which can be accessed from the My Unique Outlet site.


• Phone - You can also pay via phone by calling 1-888-805-7648. You MAY be charged a processing fee and also a fee if you speak to a representative for expedited one day payment.


• Via ACH from your bank account - You can also pay your bills directly from your bank account.

Where can I use Nova Platinum? MyUniqueOutlet.com

The Nova Platinum Merchandise card can only be used at at their online store www.myuniqueoutlet.com. My Unique Outlet sells merchandise in various categories. These include accessories, automotive, computers, electronics, health and beauty, home and office, jewelry, kids and even squishmallow!

As far as product variety is concerned, I would say that the store is not exactly an Amazon.com or any big retail stores. The number of products and sku is relatively small and they do not stock any branded goods. The only branded stuff I see in the store are Men's and Women's Eu De Toilette and perfumes by Aramis, Boss, Bvlgari etc.

Below is a screenshot of a product page from the myuniqueoutlet.com store.

Other Membership Benefits: What $19.95 a month gets you?

Aside from being able to shop at myuniqueoutlet.com and get 0% APR financing on all purchases, membership also comes with the following benefits:

• Roadside Assistance - The Roadside Assistance Plan includes but are not limited to Towing, Jump Start, Tire Change, Fuel Delivery, Winching, and Basic Locksmith Services. Towing will be provided at no charge to members if it is less than 15 miles. The Maximum Benefit Allowed (MBA) is $50 per towing service. You can use the service up to 3 times a year but not more than once during a 7-day period.


• Unique RX - The Unique RX is a RX plan from Unique Card Services that allows you to shop for prescription plans and get savings of up to 90%. To access the service, you need to download the SparkPX app which is available on both Android and IOS. The app allows you to compare prescription drug prices at various pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS etc and find the cheapest one.


• Family Legal Plan - Another interest benefit is that Unique Card Services (and hence Nova Platinum) allows you to access a Family Legal Plan that is run by the Legal Club of America. The plan provides for some free legal service and some paid ones at a discounted rate.


• Unique Rewards Reward Program - Nova Platinum has a rewards program called Unique Platinum whereby you you will receive reward dollars every month in your account. You can use these reward dollars for online shopping, local shopping, dining and gift cards. You can check out the details of the Unique Rewards Program here.

Analysis of Nova Platinum Benefits

We are going to analyse the Nova Platinum in three aspects, the credit rebuilding aspect, MyUniqueOutlet as an online store and the bundled benefits of roadside assistance, Unique RX, Family Legal Plan and the Unique Rewards program.

Credit Rebuilding Aspect

Nova Platinum is one of the many store credit cards offered by Unique Card Services. In the past, these credit cards reported to TransUnion and this made it very attractive for rebuildings because you get guaranteed approval (because there are no credit checks) and an unsecured $1,000 credit line with 0% APR. However, Unique Card Services no longer reports to any credit bureau and the Nova Platinum does not as well. Hence, from a credit building perspective, the Nova Platinum is of no help at all.

My Unique Outlet as an online store

My impression of the My Unique Outlet online store is that their product range is extremely limited. You will hardly find any branded stuff to purchases. Most of the products in the electronics section for example consists of brands that I have never heard of. So from a product line up perspective, I think it is not good. Furthermore, unlike Amazon.com and other online stores, there is always a charge for shipping cost and returns are most of the time not free because you will most likely have to pay the return shipping cost. Yes, you can get 0% APR financing but you still end up paying more than from a regular online store because you have to pay shipping cost and processing cost as well.

Bundled Benefits

Analyzing the bundled benefits of the roadside assistance, RX Plan and what is essentially a prepaid legal assistance service is a little more interesting.

Roadside Assistance - The roadside assistance plan offered by Unique Card Services provides you to up to 3 calls a year and waives the first $50 charges. Many other roadside assistance offer 4 free calls a year and waives the first $50 in charges. AAA's basic roadside assistance has this plan and their first year offer works out to about $70 a year.

RX Spark - The are many RX available for anyone who wants to get discounts on their prescription. a typical prices for an individual RX plan would be $10 a month and $19.95 for a family plan.

Family Legal Plan - The Family Legal Plan from Unique Card Services is essentially a prepaid legal plan, which there are quite a few around. A typical prepaid legal plan goes for about $25 a month.

From a cost perspective, the bundle of roadside assistance, RX Sparks and Prepaid Legal Plan from Unique Card Services is cheaper at $19.95 a month than if you were to get each of these services separately. So if you do need these three services, the Nova Platinum does offer such a bundled benefit at $19.95 a month.

Competition

Nova Platinum is one of many credit cards from Unique Card Services. So I will use a couple of their cards for comparison, specially Unique Platinum and YesCard. The main competition for Nova Platinum and Unique Card Services come from a rival called Horizon Card Services who also issues several merchandise cards that are very similar. Examples include the Merit Platinum, Freedom Gold Card and Net First Platinum. The table below highlights these cards and compares their features.

Card Monthly Fee (MF) Credit Limit (CL) Fees/Credit Limit Ratio (TFCL) Credit Bureau Reporting
Nova Platinum Monthly Fee = $19.95 Credit Limit = $1,000 TFCL = $(19.95 X 12)/$1,000 = 23.94% Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A.
YesCard Monthly Fee = $19.95 Credit Limit = $1,000 TFCL = $(19.95 X 12)/$1,000 = 23.94% Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A.
Unique Platinum Monthly Fee = $19.95 Credit Limit = $1,000 TFCL = $(19.95 X 12)/$1,000 = 23.94% Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A.
Merit Platinum Monthly Fee = $14.77 Credit Limit = $750 TFCL = $(14.77 X 12)/$750 = 23.63% Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A.
Net First Platinum Monthly Fee = $14.77 Credit Limit = $750 TFCL = $(14.77 X 12)/$750 = 23.63% Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A.
Freedom Gold Card Monthly Fee = $14.77 Credit Limit = $750 TFCL = $(14.77 X 12)/$750 = 23.63% Credit Bureau Reporting = N.A.
Extra Debit Card Monthly Fee = $20 Credit Limit = Depends on your checking account TFCL = $(20 X 12)/$1,000 = 24% Credit Bureau Reporting = Equifax and Experian

Nova Platinum vs Cards from Horizon Card Services

As you can see from the table above, the Nova Platinum is exactly identical to other cards issued by Unique Card Services like the Unique Platinum credit card and the YesCard. It is also very similar to cards by it's competitor Horizon Card Services. Let's use the Merit Platinum credit card as an example. The starting credit limit for the Merit Platinum is lower at $750 versus $1,000 for the Nova Platinum. The monthly fee is also lower for the Merit Platinum at $14.77 vs $19.95 for Nova Platinum. The bundled benefits are quite identical except for one aspect. Both Unique Card Services and Horizon Card Services have roadside assistance, RX plan, prepaid legal plan as their bundled benefits. Cards from Horizon Card Services have a credit monitoring service called Credit Hawk whereas cards from Unique Card Services have their Unique Rewards Program.

Both cards from these two companies used to report to one credit bureau. Horizon Card Services used to report to Equifax and Unique Card Services used to report to TransUnion. But they both do not report to any credit bureaus anymore so from a credit building perspective, all of these cards do not help you at all.

Nova Platinum vs Extra Debit Card

I wanted to compare Nova Platinum with a debit card called the Extra because even though it is a debit card and not a credit card, it has similar monthly fee as the Nova Platinum. However, unlike the Nova Platinum credit card, it is a Mastercard and can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Unlike Nova Platinum, it also reports to Equifax and Experian and helps you to build or rebuild your credit. Like Nova Platinum, there are no credit checks and you will be approved as long as you link your Extra Debit Card to your bank account. This is a great alternative for rebuilders who are disappointed to find out that Nova Platinum does not report to any credit bureaus.

Pros: What We Like

• No Credit Checks - There is no hard inquiry when you apply for the Nova Platinum. The only requirements are that you provide either a debit card or credit card number to pay your monthly fee.


• Unsecured $1,000 Credit Line - The starting credit limit of $1,000 is actually very generous for a store merchandise credit card and especially if you have bad credit.


• 0% APR - If you decide to carry a balance when you buy a product from myuniqueoutlet.com, there is no interest charge though you have to meet the minimum payment requirements.


• Bundled Benefits - Nova Platinum offers a bundle of benefits like roadside assistance, RX, prepaid legal service and a reward program. The bundled benefits at a cost of $19.95 is cheaper than if you were to buy these services separately.

Drawbacks of This Card

• Does Not Report to Credit Bureaus - Cards from Unique Card Services like Nova Platinum used to report to TransUnion. They no longer report to any credit bureaus.


• Can only be used at www.myuniqueoutlet.com - Nova Platinum is a merchandise credit card and can only be used at My Unique Outlet, which is their online store.


• Have to pay shipping and processing fees and taxes - You have to pay in full any shipping and handling cost and taxes at checkout.


• May have to pay return shipping cost - Unlike retail stores like Amazon, you may have to pay for the return shipping cost if you decide to return a product that you bought.


• Can only ship to address that you registered the card - Again, unlike other online retail stores, you can only ship to the address that you gave during your application.

Nova Platinum Does Not Build Your Credit

Many of you are reading this review because you probably have got a mail offer highlighting the fact that Nova Platinum does not do any credit checks and that you will be approved for a $1,000 credit line. You might be tempted to respond to the offer thinking that it helps you to rebuild your credit. The offer about the lack of credit checks and guaranteed $1,000 unsecured credit line is correct. BUT, you probabably have not read the fineprints or the mail offer does not contain enough information about the card.

I hope that this review would have shed for light for you about the Nova Platinum. It is an online merchandise credit card that does not check your credit and will definitely approve you of a $1,000 unsecured credit limit as long as you have a debit card to pay your monthly fee. The APR is 0% and you will be able to carry a balance on the account and pay no interest as long as you pay the minimum amount. In this aspect, it is better than most Buy Now Pay Later offers because of the 0% APR.

While these features are attractive, there are many drawbacks about this merchandise membership card. Firstly, the products and SKU in the myuniqueoutlet.com online store is quite limited and there are hardly any branded products. Shipping fees will never be waived and you might have to pay it twice if you return a product. You can also ship to the address of your account. But more importantly, Nova Platinum does not report to any credit bureau so this card will do nothing for rebuilders.

The question then becomes: If you cannot rebuild your credit with Nova Platinum, then is it still worth getting for the membership benefits like roadside assistance, RX plan and prepaid legal plan. At $19.50 a month, it is definitely cheaper to get get the "bundle" of these plans together with Nova Platinum than to buy each plan separately. Having said that, most consumers would rather get a roadside assistance plan from say AAA than Nova Platinum. There are also more well-known RX than the one from Nova Platinum as well. However, I doubt if anyone of you reading this are really interested in any of these benefits. But if you really are interested in all three benefits, then $19.95 a month is actually a good deal rather than getting each service separately.

To sum up, based on our review and evaluation, we give the Nova Platinum Merchandise Card a 3 star out of 5 rating for it's generous $1,000 unsecured credit line that requires no credit checks and it's $19.95 a month bundled benefits of roadside assistance, RX Plan and prepaid legal service. It's limited online store products, lack of free shipping, the fact that Nova Platinum can only be used at myuniqueoutlet.com and most importantly, the lack of credit bureau reporting prevents us from giving this card a higher rating. If you have bad credit and are looking for an unsecured line, avoid this card and do not respond to any offers you get in the mail.

Credit Building Alternatives

Since we have determined that the Nova Platinum merchandise credit card does not report to any credit bureau and hence does not build credit, here are a couple of alternative credit rebuilding credit cards that are suitable for those of you with bad credit and like Nova Platinum, also does not perform any credit checks.

Alternative 1: Traditional Secured Credit Card - No Credit Check

For beginer rebuilders, we recommend the Opensky Plus Secured Visa Credit Card because it has great features that rebuilders look for in a card. Firstly, there is no annual fee. There are also no credit checks or hard inquiry so you will definitely be approved. You simply have to fund your security deposit (minimum of $300) to get the card. It also offers a path of graduation to the an unsecured credit card after paying on time for six months.

Alternative 2: Debit Card that Reports to Credit Bureaus

Another rebuilder card recommend is the Extra Debit Card which reports to both Equifax and Experian. Unlike Nova Platinum, it is a Mastercard and can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted (which is practically everywhere). There are also no checks and all you have to do is to link the debit card to your checking or bank account. The credit limit is whatever amount you have in your checking account. There is a $20 month fee which is almost the same as the $19.95 monthly fee of the Nova Platinum.

Alterntive 3: Credit Builder Loan

Another alternative to the Nova Platinum for credit rebuilding purpose is to get the credit builder loan. One of the most popular one is the Self Credit Builder and Secured Visa, which allows you to build your credit while you save for a security deposit on a secured credit card.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I use the Nova Platinum Card?

Where can I use the Nova Platinum Card?

You can use it only at www.myuniqueoutlet.com

You can use it only at www.myuniqueoutlet.com

What is the maximum credit limit I can get?

What is the maximum credit limit I can get?

Can I get cash advance with Nova Platinum?

Can I get cash advance with Nova Platinum?

When did Unique Card Services stop reporting to credit bureaus?

When did Unique Card Services stop reporting to credit bureaus?

Contact Information

Mail: Unique Card Services, 1165 National Pike, Uniontown, PA 15401

Email: memberservices@uniquecardservices.com

Phone: 1-888-805-7648

How to Apply?

The online application form is pretty straight forward. On the first page, you have to enter your email. Then on the second page, you simply fill in the usual information like your name, address, email, phone numbers. After that, you have to wade through a couple of upsells. You are automatically "checked" for a Brinks Debit Card and you simply have to exit and close those tabs. You will get to a page where it says that you are approved and final step is to simply fill in your debit or credit card number to pay your monthly fee. The screen shots below the application pages and what to expect when you apply.