Surge Mastercard® Review: Easy Approval with High Fees

Is the Surge Mastercard® Worth It?

Unfortunately, the Surge Mastercard® isn’t worth it for most borrowers.

The Surge Mastercard®’s main selling point is that it’s an unsecured credit card that’s available to people with lackluster credit. As an unsecured card, it doesn’t require a credit card security deposit, but its high fees largely cancel out this advantage.

Here’s what you can expect from the Surge Mastercard®:

• Steep fees: The Surge Mastercard® comes with an annual fee of $99, and you might have to pay a monthly maintenance fee of $10 as well. This makes it very expensive for what you’re getting.
• Credit-building opportunities: Your Surge Mastercard® account activity will be reported to all three credit bureaus, making it effective for building credit. You’ll also get free access to your credit score each month so you can track your progress.
• Potential to double your credit limit: You’ll get an initial credit limit of $300–$1,000, depending on your creditworthiness. After 6 months, you’ll have the opportunity to double it up to a maximum of $2,000.

Ultimately, none of the Surge Mastercard®’s features justify its fees. It just isn’t worth getting when there are other, similar cards that are significantly cheaper.

Pros & Cons

Who Is the Surge Mastercard® Best For?

The Surge Mastercard® is meant for the following types of borrowers:

• Credit rebuilders: If you want to rebuild your credit with an unsecured credit card, you can do that with the Surge Mastercard®. It isn’t the best card for this purpose, but it’ll get the job done, especially if you’ve had trouble qualifying for other cards.
• High earners: If you have cash to spare but a bad credit score, this card’s fees will be a less serious concern for you, and you can use the card to build your way to better credit.

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What the Crowd Says

The Surge Mastercard® isn’t a very well-known credit card, but it’s somewhat popular in its niche as an unsecured card for bad credit. Most reviews assume that you’ll use this card for a year or two to build your credit and then trade it in for a better one once your credit score improves.

Here’s a roundup of the Surge Mastercard®’s online reviews:

What Major Publications Say

There’s a definite theme to the Surge Mastercard®’s reviews: larger websites, such as Bankrate and Investopedia, rate it very poorly, while smaller websites are more positive.

The reviews that criticize it focus on its high APR and sky-high annual and monthly fees, which can reach $219 per year. Reviewers from smaller websites, such as CardRates, also acknowledge that this is a pricey credit card, but seem to see that as a less serious downside.

According to the reviews, the main selling point of the Surge Mastercard® is its accessibility—you can get it even with a bad credit score. However, several reviews also note that there are other cards that are just as accessible, most of which are much cheaper and which are just as effective for building credit.

What Cardholders Say

Cardholders don’t recommend the Surge Mastercard®. They say it’s much too expensive, even for a card meant for bad-credit borrowers, and it has notoriously poor customer service. Here are some of the pros and cons cardholders claim to have experienced with the card:

Because this is a relatively niche credit card, there isn’t much buzz about it online. However, the consumers who’ve commented on it largely echo the negative reviews from major publications, pointing out the card has astronomically high fees considering what you’re getting, with one commenter even referring to its terms as “predatory.”

Additionally, many customer reviews of this card make troubling allegations. Cardholders claim that:

• After being approved, it took them weeks or months to receive their card
• The credit card company didn’t honor their promise to increase their credit limit after 6 months of responsible card use
• Their payments on the Surge card sometimes took an unreasonably long time to go through (upwards of a week)
• When their card was lost, stolen, or used fraudulently, customer service was hard to reach and unhelpful

Almost all credit cards receive at least a few negative reviews, but the sheer number of complaints about the Surge Mastercard® is concerning. If customer reviews are anything to go by, you use this card at your own risk.

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Rates & Fees

Fees

• Annual fee: $75–$99 for the first year, then $99
• Monthly fee: $0 for the first year, then $0–$10 (depending on your creditworthiness)
• Cash advance fee: $10 or 3% (whichever is greater)
• Foreign transaction fee: 3%
• Late fee: Up to $41
• Returned payment fee: Up to $41

Interest Rates

• Purchase APR: 24.99% – 29.99% (variable)
• Cash advance APR: 24.99% – 29.99% (variable)
• Minimum interest charge: None

The APR on a credit card is the yearly rate of interest you’ll be charged if you carry a balance on it from month to month.

You can avoid paying any interest on your Surge Mastercard® account by paying your credit card bill in full by the payment due date each month (and by refraining from taking out cash advances, since those begin accumulating interest right away).

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Rewards

Most credit cards that are available to people with poor credit don’t offer rewards (such as cash back), but a few of them do. If rewards are important to you, spend some time shopping around for a card that will allow you to earn points or cash back on everyday purchases.

You’ll have an easier time if you’re willing to consider a secured card for bad credit. These are more likely to feature rewards than unsecured cards for bad credit, such as the Surge Mastercard®.

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Credit Limit

In addition to determining how much you can spend on your card, your credit limit also affects your credit score. That’s because your credit utilization ratio, the amount of your available credit that you’re using, is a major component in the calculation of your credit score.

To maintain a healthy score, you should keep your credit utilization as low as possible (under 10% if possible). This means a higher credit limit is better for your score, since it lets you spend more without spiking your credit utilization.

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Benefits

The Surge Mastercard® offers several basic benefits:

Benefits like these are very common, so while they’re nice to have, they’re not a significant selling point for the Surge Mastercard®.

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How to Get the Surge Mastercard®

One of the major benefits of the Surge Mastercard® is the easy application process and high approval rate. Most people who apply are instantly approved.

Credit Score Required

There’s no set minimum credit score required to get the Surge Mastercard®. Continental Finance describes this card as suitable for people with less-than-perfect credit, and you can qualify for it even if you have a bad credit score, aka a FICO score under 580.

Other Requirements

Even though you can qualify for the Surge Mastercard® with bad credit, you’ll still need to meet the card issuer’s other criteria. You need to have a checking account, and you may need to meet certain income requirements to show that you can pay your bills.

When applying for a Surge credit card, you’ll also need to provide the following information:

• Full name as it appears on government documents
• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Physical address (P.O. boxes will not be accepted)

How to Apply

You can get the Surge Mastercard® by either responding to a pre-approval offer letter in the mail or applying by yourself.

There are three ways you can apply for the Surge Mastercard®:

• Online: Go to the Surge card website and fill out the online application form
• By phone: Call (866) 513-4598
• By mail: Return the acceptance certificate from the preselected offer you received in the mail

If you qualify, you’ll probably be approved within seconds. However, if Celtic Bank (the card issuer) has trouble verifying your identity, your application may take up to 30 days to get approved.

Upon approval, your card will be mailed to you within 3 business days.

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Building Credit

Credit Reporting

If you want to build your credit, it’s important to get a card that reports to all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You have a separate set of credit scores with each, and you can only develop a well-rounded credit profile by using a card that reports to all of them.

Be aware that comprehensive credit reporting can either help or harm you. If you pay your bills on the Surge Mastercard® responsibly, your score with each bureau will steadily improve, but if you overspend or make late payments, you’ll damage all of your scores instead.

Tips for Building Credit

If you decide to get the Surge Mastercard®, follow the tips below to protect and improve your credit:

• Pay your bills on time: The most important thing you can do for your credit is always send in the minimum payment by your payment due date. This will establish a good payment history and ensure you’re eligible to have your credit limit doubled after you’ve had your Surge Mastercard® for 6 months.
• Keep your balance low: As you know, keeping a low balance relative to your credit limit will benefit your score. Spend modestly and pay off your balance as promptly as you can.
• Make more than the minimum payment: The Surge Mastercard® has a relatively high APR, and you’ll accumulate a lot of interest if you allow a balance to roll over from one month to the next. This will also cause your credit utilization to grow. Always pay your balance down as much as possible to keep your debt low.

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FAQs

What bank issues the Surge Mastercard®?

The Surge Mastercard® is issued by Celtic Bank. The card is serviced by Continental Finance, and it operates on the Mastercard® network.

Does the Surge Mastercard® have a grace period?

Yes, the Surge credit card comes with a 25-day grace period, beginning the first day of the billing cycle. The grace period on a credit card gives you time to pay your balance before interest begins accruing.

Your payment due date marks the end of your grace period. As long as you pay your Surge Mastercard® bill in full by the due date, you won’t have to pay any interest on your purchases. On the other hand, if you carry a balance from the previous billing cycle, it’ll begin accumulating interest at an APR of 24.99% – 29.99% (variable).

Does the Surge Mastercard® allow cash advances?

You can use the Surge Mastercard® to get a credit card cash advance (i.e., use your card to withdraw cash at an ATM). However, you can only do so after you’ve had the card for at least 95 days.

Cash advances on the Surge Mastercard® are subject to a cash advance fee of $10 or 3% of the transaction amount (whichever is higher). Moreover, interest will begin accruing on your cash advance immediately (starting from the day you first withdrew the cash). Always repay the amount you borrowed as soon as possible.

How do you contact Surge Mastercard® customer service?

If you have further questions about the Surge Mastercard® or you need help with your application, you can contact the Continental Finance customer service team using the contact details below.

Phone number: (866) 449-4514

Mailing address:

Surge Card

P.O. Box 3220

Buffalo, NY 14240-3220