Fortiva® Credit Card Review: Unsecured Card with Rewards and a Bad Reputation

Quick Review

The Fortiva® Credit Card isn’t the first card we’d recommend to new borrowers or those trying to raise their credit scores. While its rewards are a huge bonus, you need to earn a lot to make up for the high fees, and its high interest rate can make for expensive charges. Here’s what you need to know about the Fortiva® Credit Card:

• It’s unsecured: Many cards designed for improving your credit are secured credit cards, meaning that you have to put down a security deposit. However, the Fortiva® Credit Card is unsecured, meaning there’s no deposit requirement and your credit line depends on your creditworthiness rather than the deposit you pay.
• It can cost a lot in fees: You’ll normally have to pay an annual fee ($0–$175 in the first year, then $0–$49) and then, after the first year, monthly account maintenance fees of $60–$159. That means you could pay as much as $208 a year in fees starting in your second year of borrowing. There’s also indicators that you’ll be charged a $25 program fee upon signing up for the card.
• Interest rates can be very high: The card’s interest rates range between 22.74% – 36.00% (variable). Getting a rate on the high end could mean exorbitant interest charges on your balances.
• Cashback rewards: On the plus side, the Fortiva® Credit Card offers cashback rewards on your purchases. You can earn 3% back when you use your card for eligible gas, grocery, and utilities purchases, and 1% back on all other eligible purchases.

Pros & Cons

Who Is This Card Best For?

• Borrowers who want rewards without a security deposit: The Fortiva® Credit Card is an unsecured credit card—meaning you don’t need to pay a security deposit. If you have a low credit score, most credit cards that offer rewards are secured, meaning they do require a deposit. If you’re looking for cash back but don’t want to pay money upfront, this might be the right option for you.
• Holders of lower credit scores who want a credit boost: The main advantage of the Fortiva® Credit Card is that it’s available to people with imperfect credit. If you have bad credit and you’ve been rejected for other cards, you may still qualify for the Fortiva® Credit Card. If you do, you can use it to start improving your credit score by paying your monthly bills on time and borrowing responsibly.

---

What the Crowd Says

While some expert reviewers gave positive ratings to the Fortiva® Credit Card, overall, the online sentiment toward the card is overwhelmingly negative, especially among actual cardholders.

What Major Publications Say

Expert reviewers agree that unsecured credit cards for bad credit are rare, especially one that offers all the functionality of a typical credit card (e.g., cash advances, balance transfers, foreign transactions). However, most reviews point to this card’s high cost, jaw-dropping interest rates, and low credit limits as deterrents to applying.

Note that some reviews also list the annual fee as being “as low as $85,” which conflicts with the cardholder agreement that’s available online.

What Cardholders Say

While some reviewers play nice with the Fortiva® Credit Card, forgiving its high price and potential interest charges, cardholders aren’t so generous. In fact, the average rating for the Fortiva® Credit Card across the top consumer sites is only 1.5 out of 5 stars.

Consumers levy concerning accusations against the Fortiva® Credit Card, and list a small smattering of positives. Here are the pros and cons actual ​​Fortiva® Credit Card users have expressed:

---

Rates & Fees

Fees

• Annual fee: $49–$175 in the first year; $0–$49 after that
• Monthly fees: None for the first year; $5–$12.50 per month ($60–$159 per year) after that
• Program fee: $25
• Cash advance fee: $5 or 5% (whichever is greater)
• Balance transfer fee: None in the first year; 3% after that
• Foreign transaction fee: 3%
• Authorized user fee: $19+ (one-time)
• Late payment fee: Up to $41

Interest Rates

• Purchase APR: 22.74% – 36.00% (variable)
• Cash advance APR: 25.74% – 36.00% (variable)
• Balance transfer APR: 25.74% – 36.00% (variable)
• Penalty APR: None

---

Rewards

Here’s how the Fortiva® Credit Card’s rewards program works:

• 3% back on gas
• 3% back on groceries
• 3% back on utilities bills
• 1% back on everything else

We’ve compiled government data on the average American’s monthly spending and used those estimates to determine your potential to earn rewards. You can use the table below to assess what you might earn back on the card or adjust according to your own spending.

Depending on how you use the card, the rewards you earn may or may be enough to make up for the cost of the annual and monthly fees.

---

Credit Limit

We can’t say what the exact credit limit range is on the Fortiva® Credit Card, but it’s advertised as offering initial credit limits up to $1,000. Unfortunately, this limit doesn’t leave you a lot of room for spending, especially if you’re trying to keep your credit utilization rate (the proportion of credit you’re using) down for the sake of your credit score.

Credit Limit Increases

The process for credit limit increases on the Fortiva® Credit Card is unclear. The issuer may review your account and offer increases periodically, but they do not accept requests for credit limit increases.

---

Benefits

The Fortiva® Credit Card has a fairly standard set of benefits that you can find across most Visa and Mastercard credit cards. They include:

---

How to Get a Fortiva® Credit Card

Credit Score Requirements

The Fortiva® Credit Card website says that the card is suitable for holders of less-than-perfect credit. This means that you may be eligible if you have poor, fair, or limited credit (a FICO score between 300–669 or a thin credit file).

Application and Approval

You can apply for a Fortiva® Credit Card if you’ve already received a preselected Fortiva® Credit Card offer by mail, or you can go through a pre-qualification process online. To accept a pre-approval offer, visit the Fortiva® Credit Card website and enter your acceptance code.

Note that your pre-approval offer won’t have any effect on your credit score, but the next step of the Fortiva® Credit Card application will probably involve a hard inquiry. A hard inquiry, also known as a hard pull or hard credit check, appears on your credit report whenever you apply for a line of credit, and it usually knocks a few points off your credit score.

To request pre-qualification online, you’ll be required to enter the following information:

• Personal details
• Contact details
• Residential information
• Employment information (including income)

---

Building Credit

Credit Reporting

If your credit is on the poor side or relatively unestablished, it’s important to get a credit card that reports to the three major credit bureaus. The bureaus use the information reported to them to update your credit reports and corresponding credit scores.

However, this can be a negative feature if you don’t use your card responsibly, as late payments and maxed out balances will also be reported.

Tips for Building Credit

To build credit with the Fortiva® Credit Card, keep these tips in mind:

1. Pay on time: No matter if you have a perfect credit score or are just starting out, making on-time payments is the most important part of keeping a healthy borrowing history. Missing payments or paying late will earn you negative marks on your credit report and halt your credit-building progress in its tracks.
2. Don’t borrow too much: Your credit score calculator is partially based on how much credit you borrow at a time. Borrow only a small portion of your total available credit to make your credit report more attractive and raise your credit score.
3. Stay in the know: The Fortiva® Credit Card comes with free monthly credit scores. Don’t overlook this benefit, as tracking your credit score can be crucial to maximizing your credit-building progress.

---

FAQs

Who issues the Fortiva® Credit Card?

The Fortiva® Credit Card is issued by the Bank of Missouri.

Can I take out cash advances with the Fortiva® Credit Card?

A cash advance is when you use your credit card to take money out from an ATM or to make another cash-equivalent transaction. Cash advances are allowed on the Fortiva® Credit Card.

The cash advance fee is either $5 or 5% of the amount of each advance—whichever is greater. The cash advance APR is potentially higher than the purchase APR at 25.74% – 36.00% (variable).

Because the cash advance APR is so high, ATM withdrawals on this card can rack up a lot of interest charges if you don’t pay your balance in full by the due date. This, combined with the fees, make cash advances expensive. Only use them in case of emergency.

Can I make a balance transfer on the Fortiva® Credit Card?

A balance transfer is when you move debt from one credit card to another (which is a common form of debt consolidation). The Fortiva® Credit Card allows balance transfers, with a balance transfer APR of 25.74% – 36.00% (variable).

There are also balance transfer fees. However, you don’t have to pay any balance transfer fees in the first year. After the first year, the fees are equivalent to 3% of the transfer amount.

As the balance transfer APR is quite high for the Fortiva® Credit Card, we don’t recommend using this card to consolidate credit card balances. Instead, look for a card with a low introductory balance transfer APR.

Does the Fortiva® Credit Card have a grace period?

The Fortiva® Credit Card gives you a 25-day credit card grace period (beginning on the first day of the new billing cycle). The grace period gives you time to pay your bills in full without racking up interest charges.

If you pay your previous balance in full by the due date, your credit card purchases during the grace period won’t accumulate interest. However, if you carry a balance from previous billing cycles, you’ll be charged interest on purchases you make during the grace period.

Can I add an authorized user to the Fortiva® Credit Card?

Yes, you can add an authorized user to the Fortiva® Credit Card. However, you’ll be asked to pay a one-time additional card fee, which will be determined by the card issuer upon your authorized user request. Reports online indicate this is likely a $19 fee.

Be careful when adding authorized users to your account, as only you (the primary cardholder) are liable for paying the card’s bills on time.

How can I contact customer service for the Fortiva® Credit Card?

If you need help with your Fortiva® Credit Card, you can call customer service at (800) 245-7741, or you can write to them at:

Fortiva

P.O.Box 105555

Atlanta, GA 30348-5555