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Milestone® Gold Mastercard® review
If you're looking for a basic card to get with less than perfect credit, this card could help.
It offers simple benefits like 24/7 access to online accounts and Mastercard services like Global Service, price protection and travel assistance. But take care with potentially steep interest rates and fees.
N/A
Rewards
$35 to $99
Annual fee
24.9% fixed
Purchase APR
300
Minimum Credit Score
Review by
Megan Horner
megan.horner@finder.comMegan Horner is the banking and credit cards Group Publisher at Finder. She's passionate about helping you find the best credit cards and bank accounts to meet your financial needs — whether that's earning great rewards or improving your credit score. Megan's expertise has been spotlighted on Lifehacker, CreditCards.com, American Banker and featured on news broadcasts across the country. Before working at Finder, Megan worked at Credit Karma and QuinStreet.
Expert review
The Milestone® Gold Mastercard® comes with an annual fee between $35 and $99, depending on your credit score. It also has a one-time account opening fee of $25 and a fixed APR of 24.9%. This may seem expensive, but considering this is an unsecured card for building credit, it’s actually not that bad.
As far as benefits go, the Milestone® Gold Mastercard® is relatively light. But it offers 24/7 online access to your account and the advantages that come with owning a Mastercard. And if you’re trying to build your credit, you’ll appreciate regular reports of your responsible spending to all three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Overall, if you’re looking to build credit with an unsecured credit card, the Milestone® Gold Mastercard® could be an option worth considering.
How to prequalify for the Milestone® Gold Mastercard®?
To prequalify for the Milestone® Gold Mastercard®, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States.
- Select Apply now.
- Complete the prequalification form with your name, address, Social Security number, birthdate and phone number.
- Read the privacy policy and Consent to Electronic Communications disclosure, and then click the box saying you’ve read each.
- Click the green Pre-Qualify Now button.
How long will it take to receive a response?
You’ll likely receive a decision immediately after you submit the prequalification form. If there are issues with your form, however, you may have to wait up to a few weeks for a decision.
Milestone® Gold Mastercard® benefits
- Prequalify without affecting your credit. Most cards require a hard pull on your credit. But prequalification for the Milestone® Gold Mastercard® comes with no impact on your credit.
- 24/7 access to account and bill pay. Manage your account and pay your statements online whenever you’d like.
- Mastercard Gold benefits. Access the Mastercard suite of benefits that include Global Service, price protection and travel assistance.
- Reports payment history to credit bureaus. Build your credit through everyday spending, with your payment history reported to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
- Optional over-limit protection. Pay a fee for coverage that prevents declined transactions if you exceed your account balance.
Milestone® Gold Mastercard® drawbacks
- No credit limit increases. In multiple reviews, customers have complained that the card doesn’t offer any credit limit increases, so they were stuck with their original $300 credit limit — not including the annual fee.
- Penalty APR. If you make a late payment, your purchase APR may be increased to a higher penalty APR. For your APR to be reverted to the original rate, you’ll need to pay six consecutive monthly minimum payments on time.
- Annual fee. There are three tiers for annual fees depending on credit score, ranging from $35 annually up to $99 depending on your creditworthiness.
- Authorized user fee. If you want to add another user who is authorized to make charges to your account, you’ll need to pay a fee.
- Late payment fee. You will be charged up to $40 for late payments.
- Returned payment fee. You’ll pay a fee of up to $40 for returned payments.
- Documentation fee. If you’d like to receive an old statement, you’ll be charged per statement. If you’d like to receive copies of sales tickets, you’ll be charged $10 per ticket.
- No grace period on cash advances. Be careful with cash advances — they begin accruing interest right away.
- No balance transfers. The Milestone® Gold Mastercard® won’t allow you to transfer or consolidate debt from other cards.
Compare other credit cards
Compare other credit cards on the market if the OakStone Platinum Secured Mastercard® isn’t right for you. Consider factors such as the card’s annual fee, APR and rewards structure.
Milestone® Gold Mastercard® reviews and complaints
Customer reviews for the Milestone® Gold Mastercard® vary drastically online. Among the more positive reviews, people have cited how it’s an easy card to get if you have poor credit. In order to get the most out of the card, they report how they keep a low balance on it and pay it off on time every month in order to hopefully upgrade to a better card later on down the road after they’ve built up their credit history.
However, others complain about high APRs and annual fees, as well as no credit increases. Some customers were unhappy with how long it took them to actually get the card after they’d completed the required forms — with many saying it took over two months to receive the card in the mail. There are also multiple reports of poor customer service — whether it’s calling them to ask when they’ll receive their card, or having an issue closing their account down. You should also be wary of getting billed for extra charges, with one reviewer stating they were charged an over-limit fee even though they never signed up for the over-limit coverage.
The Genesis FS Card Services, Milestone® Gold Mastercard®‘s card issuer, is rated A- by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) where it’s been accredited since 2014. As of October 2020, more than 300 complaints have been resolved out of 1,000.
I got the card. Now what?
- Make on-time payments each month. Pay your bill every month online, or sign up for automatic payments.
- Avoid late and returned payment fees. Try to pay your bill on time in order to avoid late and returned payment fees that could be as high as $40, as well as potentially having your APR increased to a fixed 29.9% fixed.
- Customer service. If you have any questions about your bill, contact the customer service department seven days a week by calling 1-866-453-2636 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time.
Bottom line
If you have less than perfect credit and have found it hard to get other credit cards, then the Milestone® Gold Mastercard® may be an option for you. However, with an annual fee, high APR and expensive late and returned payment fees, this credit card could easily become more money than it’s worth. Also keep in mind that customers have cited being stuck with its original minimum credit limit of just $300 and have complained about poor customer service, too. As always, you should consider your different options and your financial situation before you choose a credit card.
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