Avant Credit Card Review: Credit Building Without Foreign Transaction Fees

Quick Review

If your credit needs work, the Avant Credit Card is worth a look. Here’s what you need to know about it:

• You don’t have to pay a deposit: The Avant Credit Card is an unsecured credit card, which means you don’t have to pay a security deposit to open it (and also means that your credit line depends on your creditworthiness—not on how large of a deposit you pay).
• It may still be pricey: The Avant Credit Card usually has an annual fee (up to $59), and there’s a high APR of 27.24% – 29.99% (variable).
• High credit limits are available: The Avant Credit Card starts you off with a reasonable credit limit of $300–$3,000, and gives you opportunities to get credit limit increases.
• It’s good for frequent travelers: The Avant Credit Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees (which are usually 3% of the transaction amount), making it a good option to take abroad or use for online purchases with non-US vendors.

The Avant Credit Card has several advantages, so it’s worth going through the pre-qualification process—since this won’t hurt your credit score—to see whether they’ll offer you a high credit limit, lower interest rates, or an inexpensive annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Who Is the Avant Credit Card Best For?

There are a couple of different types of borrowers who might be suitable candidates for the Avant Credit Card:

• Applicants who want instant approval: The Avant Credit Card promises a quick application process with a fast decision about your eligibility (which they say should take minutes).
• Borrowers who don’t want to pay a security deposit: Unlike many cards that approve people with lower credit scores or limited credit, the Avant Credit Card requires no security deposit. If your credit needs work but you’re determined not to put down a security deposit for a credit card, Avant is worth considering.

What the Crowd Says

Online reviewers and customers generally consider the Avant Credit Card to be a very basic or “barebones” credit card option. It gets medium-to-low ratings on most websites because of this and also because of the many problems cited in customer reviews.

What Major Publications Say

A lot of credit card experts describe the Avant Credit Card as “basic” or, in one case, “vanilla.” In particular, many remark on the lack of rewards and limited perks. The experts who recommend this card tend to envision it primarily as a short-term option, or a stepping stone on the way to better cards.

Some even advise you to give it a miss entirely in favor of alternatives like secured credit cards, which will allow you to pay less in fees and potentially even earn rewards.

What Cardholders Say

There are many worrying allegations among the customer reviews of this card online. For example, many cardholders say they are dissatisfied with its customer service and have had problems with fraudulent use of their card. It’s worth considering these potential downsides before you sign up for the Avant Credit Card.

Although there is some positive sentiment in customer reviews of the Avant Credit Card, there are several complaints worth consideration. Here are some of the things that cardholders say have gone wrong for them:

• Their credit limits were slashed without warning: This is the biggest complaint among cardholders, with dozens claiming that they had their credit limits reduced out of the blue and that it has caused problems for their finances and credit scores.
• Customer service is poor: This is another common complaint among customers. For example, several say that they never received their card after they were approved. And one even says that Avant Credit Card repeatedly reported their balance incorrectly and has never resolved this problem despite appeals to customer service.
• Cards have been used fraudulently: An unusually large number of customers claim that their card has been targeted for fraud. This gives the impression that the Avant Credit Card is particularly vulnerable to fraud, although it’s not clear why this might be.
• They haven’t been refunded for fraudulent transactions: More than one customer claims that Avant Credit Card made them pay for charges on a card that they’d reported stolen.

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Rates & Fees

Fees

• Annual fee: $0–$59
• Cash advance fee: $10 or 3% (whichever is greater)
• Foreign transaction fee: None
• Overlimit fee: None
• Late payment fee: Up to $39

Interest Rates

• Purchase APR: 27.24% – 29.99% (variable)
• Cash advance APR: 27.24% – 29.99% (variable)
• Penalty APR: None
• Minimum interest charge: $1

The credit card interest you’ll pay each year (unless you pay off everything as you go) depends on your credit card APR (“annual percentage rate”).

Notably, the Avant Credit Card doesn’t increase your APR if you miss payments, since it doesn’t list a penalty APR. This means your interest rate will only increase if banks make universal changes to their rates that apply to all customers.

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Rewards

Even if you have less-than-perfect credit, you can find cards with cashback programs or rewards points for your credit score range. So if earning rewards is important to you, consider looking for another credit card.

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Credit Limit

A higher credit limit can help your credit score, since your score depends partly on something called the credit utilization rate—a metric that measures how much of your available credit you’re using. The lower your credit utilization rate is, the better it is for your credit score. And the higher your credit limit is, the easier it is to maintain a low (good) credit utilization.

Credit Limit Increases

The Avant Credit Card may periodically review your account to see whether you’re eligible for a credit limit increase. You can also ask Avant for a larger credit line at any time by using the dashboard in your online account or your Avant mobile app. Alternatively, you can call them at 1-855-AVANTCARD and put in a request.

This means that you may be able to get a credit limit of more than $3,000 if you use your credit responsibly. However, you’re not guaranteed a positive response if you request a credit limit increase.

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Benefits

The Avant Credit Card guarantees zero fraud liability as one of its benefits. This means you’ll pay nothing for purchases on your card that you haven’t authorized (e.g., if your card gets lost or stolen).

The Avant Credit Card website also links to the Mastercard benefits guide online, suggesting that the card likely offers the core benefits that Mastercard outlines on its website (although this isn’t guaranteed, since not all cards include these benefits).

The core Mastercard benefits include:

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How to Get an Avant Credit Card

Credit Score Required

The Avant website doesn’t say exactly what credit score you need to qualify for the Avant Credit Card, but dubs it “a credit card for fair credit.” Fair credit encompasses the range of FICO scores from 580 to 669.

However, when we contacted Avant’s customer service team, they said that it’s also possible to qualify if you have bad credit. Bad or poor credit translates into a score of less than 580 in the FICO model, so you may still be eligible even if your score is within this range.

In addition, the Avant Credit Card is suitable for people who are new to credit as well as for people who want to rebuild their credit. This suggests that borrowers with limited credit (i.e., borrowers with short credit histories) may also be eligible.

How to Apply

You can get the Avant Credit Card by:

• Applying online: Go to the Avant Credit Card website and fill out your details to see if you prequalify.
• Responding to a pre-approval offer online: If you’ve received a preselected Avant Credit Card offer by mail, you can respond by visiting the Avant Credit Card website and providing your personal offer code along with the last four digits of your Social Security number.

When you apply for the Avant Credit Card, the issuer will consider various types of information (including your credit report), which they’ll then use to decide whether they’ll approve you. And Avant promises you’ll get a decision about your application in minutes.

Note that prequalification won’t affect your credit score. However, the next step of the Avant Credit Card application will involve a hard inquiry (also known as a hard pull or hard credit check). This is a type of credit check that shows up on your credit report whenever you apply for a line of credit, and usually knocks a few points off your credit score.

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Building Credit

Credit Reporting

Your credit report is based on the information your lenders send to the credit bureaus. So if you want to build credit, you should look for cards that offer credit reporting—ideally to all of the major credit bureaus.

Tips for Building Credit

Because the Avant Credit Card reports to all three credit bureaus, it’s great for credit building. However, you must use your card responsibly to benefit your credit score.

Here are some steps you should take:

• Keep up with your monthly payments: If you always pay on time, your credit score will benefit. If you miss payments or pay your bills late, your credit score can suffer.
• Keep your spending low: If you spend too much on your credit card, it can hurt your credit utilization rate (the metric that measures what proportion of your available credit you’re using), and this in turn can hurt your credit score.
• Ask for credit limit increases: A higher credit limit is another way to decrease your credit utilization rate and improve your credit score.

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FAQs

Which bank issues the Avant Credit Card?

The Avant Credit Card is issued by WebBank.

Is the Avant Credit Card legitimate?

Yes, Avant is a legitimate lender. However, they’ve been penalized for unfair business practices in the past, including false advertising, and they had to pay compensation to some of their customers for the subsequent harm this caused. 1

Does the Avant Credit Card have a grace period?

Yes, Avant gives you a credit card grace period of 24 days, beginning on the first day of the new billing cycle. Many credit cards give you a grace period (often around 21–30 days) that allows you time to pay off all your bills without incurring any interest charges.

If you pay off your previous balance in full by Avant’s payment due date, you won’t be charged interest on purchases you make during the 24-day grace period. However, if you carry a balance from previous billing cycles, you’ll have to pay interest on anything you buy during the grace period.

Where can I use my Avant Credit Card?

You can use your Avant Credit Card anywhere that takes Mastercard—so almost anywhere that accepts credit cards.

This includes using your Avant Credit Card abroad. In fact, it’s a great card for this purpose, as it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Does the Avant Credit Card allow cash advances?

Yes, Avant will allow you to take out credit card cash advances (when you use your credit card to withdraw money from an ATM).

However, you can only withdraw up to 25% of your credit limit in cash advances on the Avant Credit Card.

There are also fees and interest to bear in mind if you use this service. The fee for each cash advance is either $10 or 3% of the amount of each advance (whichever is greater).

And the cash advance APR is high at 27.24% – 29.99% (variable), meaning that the funds you take out at an ATM could rack up a lot of interest charges if you don’t pay your balance in full by the due date. Also note that there’s no grace period for cash advances like you get for purchases, so you’ll start accruing interest on your balance immediately when you use your credit card to withdraw cash.

Does the Avant Credit Card allow balance transfers?

No, the Avant Credit Card doesn’t offer credit card balance transfers (when you move debt from one credit card to another).

What’s the Avant Credit Card customer service number?

The Avant Credit Card customer service number is (855) 752-7012. You can also email Avant from their webpage or at [email protected].

How do I close my Avant Credit Card account?

If you wish to close your account, contact AvantCard customer service at (855) 752-7012.