Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card: A Credit Building Card With an Annual Fee

Improve your credit score overtime by paying your monthly bill on time.

If you have a limited credit history or poor credit but you want the chance to improve your credit score, the Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card should be on your radar. This unsecured credit card doesn’t have a lot of perks, but it does give people with less-than-perfect credit the chance to improve their credit score over time with responsible use.

There are some caveats to keep in mind, though. The card has an annual fee of $0 to $59, and you won’t know which level of annual fee you’re assigned unless you get prequalified online. You’ll likely qualify for a relatively low credit limit, but again, that depends on your current credit score and other personal details.

On the upside, the Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card doesn’t have any hidden fees like some other credit cards for bad credit. And since it’s an unsecured credit card, you won’t have to come up with a few hundred bucks to put down as collateral like you would for a secured credit card.

Ultimately, we feel the Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card is a good option for consumers who want a no-frills unsecured credit card to build credit over time. Those with a good credit score and people who want to earn rewards should look elsewhere.

Pros

Easier to get approved for than some other unsecured credit cards
Does not require a cash deposit like secured credit cards do
No hidden fees apart from an annual fee of $0 to $59

Cons

No rewards or major cardholder benefits
It has a high APR
There are foreign transaction fees

Who this card is best for

People with limited credit or lower credit scores: The Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card is for people who want to build credit through responsible credit card use but may have trouble qualifying for other cards due to their credit history. To get the best results with this card, pay your bill on time and keep your balance low.
Consumers with imperfect credit who don’t want a secured credit card: The Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card is an unsecured card, meaning it does not require a cash deposit as collateral. This means cardholders can begin building credit without having to put down a hefty deposit to get a secured card.
Anyone who wants to check their approval odds for a credit card before they apply: One major benefit of the Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card is the fact you can get prequalified online without a hard inquiry on your credit reports. This lets you check your approval odds — and what your annual fee will be — before you apply.

Who this card isn’t best for

Those with good credit who can qualify for better cards: If you have a good credit score, you can qualify for a card with rewards and a selection of cardholder perks. Some credit cards for good credit even offer 0% introductory APR on purchases, balance transfers or both for a limited time.
People who don’t want to pay an annual fee for a credit card: The Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card can charge an annual fee of up to $59. If you’re fee-averse, look for credit cards that don’t charge an annual fee at all.
Anyone who wants to carry a balance from one month to the next: If you can’t avoid carrying a balance, the Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card isn’t for you. The ongoing variable APR can be as high as 29.99%.

A closer look at the Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card

Rates and fees

The Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card comes with a variable APR of 26.99% to 29.99%, so you won’t want to carry a balance. You can also be charged an annual fee of $0 to $59, which isn’t unusual for a subprime credit card but is still an added cost some consumers might like to avoid.

Other fees to watch out for include a cash advance fee of 3% (minimum $10), a foreign transaction fee of 3% and a late payment fee of up to $35.

No security deposit needed

Where secured credit cards require a cash deposit as collateral (usually starting at $200), the Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card doesn’t require any such deposit. But given that most secured credit cards’ security deposits are refundable after a period of responsible behavior, while the Mission Lane Visa’s annual fee isn’t, you might be better off, in the long run, getting one of our best secured credit cards instead if you have some money to spare up front.

Potential credit limit increase

According to Mission Lane, the company evaluates your account in as few as seven months to see if you’re eligible for a higher credit line than you started with. Factors that can help you secure a credit limit increase include a history of on-time payments, whether you’ve maxed out your card, either currently or in the past, and whether you have sufficient income to pay for a higher credit limit.

Prequalification

Mission Lane makes it possible to get prequalified for its cards online without a hard inquiry on your credit reports. This can help you see what your card offer and annual fee will be, which could aid in your decision to move forward with a full application.

Just keep in mind getting prequalified for a card doesn’t guarantee you’ll get it. It’s a good way to check your chances of approval, but you’ll still need to submit a full application, which will result in a hard credit check. Hard checks typically will lower your credit score by a few points temporarily

Alternative cards

Petal® 1 “No Annual Fee” Visa® Credit Card

The Petal® 1 “No Annual Fee” Visa® Credit Card, issued by WebBank, is an unsecured credit card geared toward people with imperfect credit, and it comes with many of the same features as the Mission Lane Visa® Credit Card but — as the name suggests — it has no annual fee.

The Petal 1 “No Annual Fee” Credit Card comes with a low starting credit limit of $300 (maximum $5,000), but it reports to the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — to help you build credit with responsible use. You may even be able to get a credit limit increase by linking your bank account. This card also earns 2% to 10% cash back at select merchants. However, it comes with a high variable APR of 25.24% to 34.74%.

Capital One Platinum Credit Card

The Capital One Platinum Credit Card* is another no-frills unsecured credit card worth checking out. This card is available for people with fair credit, which typically includes FICO scores from 580 to 669.

While this card doesn’t offer any rewards, it does help build credit with no annual fee. Cardholders can also qualify for a credit line review (and potentially a higher credit line) in as little as six months with responsible use. This card does have a high variable APR of 29.99%, however, so you won’t want to use it to carry long-term debt.

Why you might want the Mission Lane Visa

The Mission Lane Visa is a decent card for rebuilding credit. Although it’s a no-frills credit card, it can be a fairly low-cost option if you want to avoid a security deposit.

Rates and fees: No security deposit and potential for no annual fee

The Mission Lane Visa card’s potential annual fee may put you off, but it’s relatively low for an unsecured card for people with bad credit. Plenty of unsecured cards for poor credit charge closer to $100 in annual fees, with some adding account activation fees and even higher annual or monthly fees in your second year.

Even if you’re charged an annual fee, it could be more cost-effective than the $200 minimum security deposit most secured cards require, and a secured card would require a matching deposit if you want a higher limit. Meanwhile, the Mission Lane Visa typically starts you off with at least a $300 credit line without an upfront deposit. Although many secured cards don’t have an annual fee and will refund your deposit once you’ve closed your account or upgraded to an unsecured credit line, the Mission Lane is one of the better options if you prefer a lower initial upfront cost and plan to boost your credit in a quick timeframe.

Learn more: Is paying an annual fee worth it?

Credit-building features: Chance at a credit limit increase

Though you may start with a credit limit as low as $300 on the Mission Lane Visa (common for unsecured credit-building cards), the issuer gives you a chance to earn a credit limit increase by demonstrating responsible card use. If you make your payments on time, stay under the credit limit and keep your account in good standing, Mission Lane will automatically review your account at least once within your first year and may approve you for a higher limit.

A higher limit should make it easier to keep your credit utilization ratio — the amount of money you’ve borrowed compared to your total available credit — in check. Ideally, you’ll want to keep it under 30 percent of your total limit to avoid damaging your credit score in the long run, which means spending less than $100 monthly if you get approved at the Mission Lane Visa’s starting limit.

Why you might want a different credit-building card

The Mission Lane Visa doesn’t offer much beyond its credit-building features and accessibility to people with bad or fair credit. You’ll want to look at other cards if you want extra incentives like rewards, more attractive perks or lower fees.

Rewards: No rewards program or welcome offer

This isn’t uncommon for credit-building cards, but the Mission Lane Visa card’s lack of a rewards program makes it a tough sell for long-term value. Because it also doesn’t provide an introductory APR offer or a welcome bonus offer, you won’t get much additional short-term value out of this card, either. The Mission Lane Visa card’s lack of rewards is also disappointing since several secured cards, such as the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, offer rewards with no credit history.

The likelihood of finding a card, secured or unsecured, that gives you rewards with a lower annual fee only goes up as your credit gets higher. You might qualify for unsecured cards with rewards programs if you already have fair credit.

Cardholder perks: Not much beyond basic Visa benefits

The Mission Lane card comes with basic Visa benefits like $0 fraud liability and 24-hour customer service. However, virtually all Visa credit cards come with perks like these. This doesn’t expand the card’s value, but it shouldn’t be considered a major drawback, either, since credit-building cards typically don’t offer many noteworthy benefits. Still, if you want more credit-building features like credit score monitoring, you can likely find other cards that include a few more tools.