
Sign up & start saving!
Get our weekly newsletter for the latest in money news, credit card offers + more ways to save
Up to 4x
Points
$0
Annual fee
12.9% to 19.9%
Purchase APR (variable)
Annual fee | $0 |
---|---|
Welcome Offer | When you spend $15,000+ in a year, earn 3x points on every dollar spent that year |
Rewards | 2x points on all purchases. Increase to 3x points by spending $15,000 in a year or 4x for a month if you refer a friend to the card |
Purchase APR | 12.9% to 19.9% variable |
Balance transfer APR | 12.9% to 19.9% variable |
Review by
Steven Dashiell is a credit cards writer at Finder. He's worked on 250 Finder articles and counting, helping readers embrace and maximize credit cards. Backed by nearly a decade of research and reporting experience, Steve's work can be seen on Debt.com, CreditCards.com and Lifehacker.
The metal-clad X1 card sets your credit limit based on your “current and future income” rather than your credit score. It offers 2x points on all purchases which you can bump to 3x points by spending $15,000 in a year or 4x for a month if you refer a friend to the card. The card doesn’t charge late fees or foreign transaction fees, has no annual fee and comes with a variable APR of 12.9% to 19.9%
It may take a moment to wrap your head around the X1’s earning rate. A flat 2x points per dollar baseline is on par with the Citi® Double Cash Card, long seen as the watermark for flat-rate rewards cards. But then you can kick that rate up a notch to 3x and even 4x if you meet the requirements. This could lead to some big value for the adept planners out there. This is on a card with no annual fee, mind you.
The card’s big draw is in how your credit limit is determined. Rather than your credit history, X1 determines your credit limit based on your current and future income. We’re not yet clear on the exact details, but the bottom line is your limit is tied heavily to your job and can range extensively. But as your income goes up, so can your credit limit.
The result: It’s more than likely the limit you end up with on the X1 will prove higher than a traditional no-credit card that assesses your credit score when determining your credit limit.
The X1 card also comes with a few useful tools for managing your finances, like an app that tracks and lets you easily cancel subscription payments and anonymous spending capabilities. While the card isn’t available until Winter 2020, it shows a lot of promise as a great option for recent graduates, those new to the US, or anyone without an established credit history.
Check out our quick video in which we give you the rundown on the new X1 card coming to you in January — including rates, rewards and how to apply.
As of this writing, you can’t apply for the X1 Card yet. You can sign up for the waiting list by visiting the X1 Card site at x1creditcard.com and clicking Join the waitlist at the top of the home page.
It’s not entirely clear. While your credit score affects your given APR, Thrive hasn’t mentioned whether a poor credit score will disqualify you from qualifying for the card. We’ll update this section as soon as we learn more from Thrive.
The X1 Card packs a wallop for a card with no annual fee. The base rewards on the card are comparable to the Citi® Double Cash Card, a longtime market leader for flat-rate rewards. And you can push that rate even further with spending or referring a friend. Combine this with the lack of fees and potentially generous credit limits and you have a card that could very well make an impact this winter. Stay tuned for more details as we approach the final card launch.