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The Aspire Cashback Rewards Card markets itself to people looking to build or repair their credit. Its main benefits are the lack of security deposit and the ability to earn cash back on gas, groceries, utilities, and more. But there are some significant drawbacks to be aware of.
We took an in-depth look at the pros and cons to help you determine if it’s a good fit for your financial situation.
Key takeaway: The Aspire Cashback Card is best for those rebuilding their credit, offering cash back and the ability to prequalify without a hard credit pull. But, the high annual and add-on card fees make it less ideal than other cash back cards.
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How the Aspire Cashback Card works
The Aspire Cashback Rewards Card is issued by the Bank of Missouri. It’s designed to help people with no credit or bad credit to build or improve their credit history. Once approved, you can access a credit limit of up to $1,000, depending on your creditworthiness.
As you use your card and make on-time payments every month, this activity gets reported to the major credit bureaus. Over time, responsible use can contribute to improving your credit scores.
Bank of Missouri also offers the Aspire Credit Card, which offers similar features and fees without the cash back rewards.
Rewards and perks
In addition to its credit-building perks, the Aspire card lets you earn cash back:
- 3% cash back on gas, groceries, and utility payments
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Cash back is issued as a statement credit, so the rewards work like a discount off your balance each billing cycle.
Most cash back cards offer lower earning rates on gas and groceries or have monthly or annual spending limits. The Aspire Cashback card has no restrictions on earning cash back, making it a great option to earn rewards on your everyday purchases. Plus, few cards offer cash back rewards on utility bills, something the Aspire Cashback card offers.
The other key benefits of the Aspire Cashback card include:
- No security deposit: The Aspire Cashback Rewards card doesn’t require a security deposit to open the account. This makes it more accessible for people with poor credit than other secured credit cards requiring an upfront deposit. Secured cards require deposits typically starting around $200. The Aspire card eliminates this barrier to entry.
- Higher credit limit: Depending on your score, you can access a credit limit of up to $1,000. Aspire also may raise your credit limit after six months of on-time payments.
- Prequalify to check approval odds: The ability to prequalify for the Aspire card is a nice perk. Prequalification allows you to check eligibility through a soft credit pull that doesn’t affect your credit score. You can proceed with the full application if the initial check looks good.
Drawbacks and limitations
This card’s perks come with major trade-offs in the form of high fees.
The Aspire Cashback card comes with an annual fee of $49-175 for your first year, depending on factors like your credit limit and score at approval. After that introductory period, the fee drops to $0-49 annually.
There are also maintenance fees to contend with. You’ll get billed between $60-$159 for the first year, then monthly fees between $5-$12.50 after the first year.
Paying an annual fee for a starter credit card is unusual. Paying a maintenance fee on a credit card is also rare.
There are also fees for balance transfers, cash advances, foreign transactions, and late or returned payments. The Aspire Cashback card also has a high variable APR — so if you carry a balance, you could quickly rack up debt.
While the card offers enticing cash back, the fees can affect your rewards unless you spend substantially in bonus categories. You should run the numbers based on your monthly spending to see if the rewards outweigh the fees.
Who should get the Aspire Cashback Card?
The Aspire card fills a unique niche as a cash back card for people building their credit. It does get some things right, including prequalification for approval odds and no security deposit.
But the fees outweigh most of the benefits. With the Aspire Cashback card, you could pay a $175 annual fee and a $159 initial maintenance fee — $334 just in the first year.
With so many no-fee starter cards on the market, most people are better off looking elsewhere for a card to help them build their credit. Some alternative options offer cash back rewards, too.
Alternatives to the Aspire Cashback Card
Here are a few potential alternatives worth considering before applying for the Aspire card:
- Capital One Platinum Credit Card: Like Aspire, the Capital One Platinum card is designed for building credit, with no security deposit required. It offers access to a revolving credit line even for poor credit or limited history. Instead of cash back, it offers a higher initial credit limit of up to $3,000. While the Platinum card has no rewards program, its lack of an annual fee is a leg up over the Aspire costs.
- Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa Credit Card: This card has no annual fee or late fees and offers up to 1.5% unlimited cash back after making 12 on-time monthly payments. Perks like credit limit increases and other credit-building tools. There’s also no credit score needed to apply.
- OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card: If your credit score needs rehab, OpenSky offers a secured card with no credit check and reports payments to all three bureaus. With responsible usage over time, you can graduate to other rewards cards as your credit score improves.
When choosing a card, review interest rates, fees, limitations, and how on-time payments get reported to credit bureaus. Read the fine print to ensure you understand the card, which prevents unwelcome surprises down the road.
Bottom line
The Aspire Cashback Reward Card lives up to its premise of offering cash back with no security deposit. The 3% back on gas and groceries is a nice perk you typically won’t find with starter cards.
But don’t forget about the fees before opening an Aspire card — especially over the long term. Consider the Aspire card as a stepping stone on your journey towards financial freedom, not necessarily a forever card. Use it smartly to build a credit history and transition to cards with better rates and perks in the future.
Opinions expressed are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included in the post.