Is the Fortiva Credit Card worth it?
Whether the Fortiva® Mastercard® Credit Card is worth it or not depends on your financial situation and future goals. With that in mind, those who need to build or rebuild credit may find the Fortiva Mastercard a tempting choice because it’s unsecured, but this credit card has high fees that may not make it worth opening an account in the long run.
At the end of the day, you know your financial situation best, so it’s up to you to look at the advantages and disadvantages of this credit card and make a decision that fits your needs.
Consider these pros and cons before signing up for Fortiva if you receive a mail offer to open an online account with this credit card.
Learn more about the Fortiva Mastercard
Fortiva Credit Card rewards
Though this Mastercard has no reward program that lets you collect miles or points, the Fortiva card does feature a rewards program that provides cash back on purchases. For grocery, gas and utility purchases, you earn 3% cash back, then 1% cash back for other eligible purchases.
Keep in mind that this cash-back credit card pays these rewards only for purchases and not transactions like interest or fees, cash advances or balance transfers, and it only pays on completed transactions, not pending ones. So long as you keep your account in good standing, you get your accrued rewards back as a statement credit against the balance of your purchases on the month of your account opening anniversary.
Note that not all Fortiva card holders qualify for the credit card rewards program, nor is participation guaranteed when you open an account.
Fortiva Credit Card benefits
While there might be less expensive options out there for building and rebuilding credit, this Mastercard from Fortiva provides you with a number of benefits.
This credit card has a simple application process that gives you an instant decision, and when you prequalify, you have the choice to accept or not before the company does a hard pull on your credit report.
Other benefits associated with the Fortiva Mastercard include:
Fortiva Credit Card fees, rates & limit
Opening a credit card account is a big decision, so it helps to understand all the terms and conditions before you commit.
Though there are benefits to opening a Fortiva account, this Mastercard also has a variety of fees in addition to higher-than-average interest rates and lower credit limits than other cards offer. This credit card also has lower-than-average opening credit limits, but it may raise them as you develop an excellent payment history with the company.
Let’s take a closer look at this information.
Fortiva Credit Card fees
One drawback of this Mastercard from Fortiva is the high fees it charges its customers, though some decrease over time as your creditworthiness improves.
These high costs include an annual fee ranging from $49 to $175, depending on your credit score, then $0 to $49 every year thereafter.
In addition to the annual fees, this Mastercard also charges an annual maintenance fee from $60 to $159, which it bills every month after the first year at a rate of $5 to $12.50 monthly. Adding an authorized user to your account incurs a $25 annual fee, and balance transfers run 3% of each transfer amount.
Other fees include 3% foreign transaction fees and the greater of $5 or 5% of each cash advance. Penalty fees for late and returned payments are $40 or the maximum fee currently permitted via Section 12 C. F. R. 1026.52(b)(1)(ii).
Fortiva Credit Card interest rates
The Fortiva interest rates are displayed in the table below.
| APR Type |
APR Percentage |
| Regular APR |
Variable APR of 22.74% to 36% |
| Purchase Intro APR |
N/A |
| Balance Transfer Intro APR |
Variable APR of 25.74% to 36% |
| Cash Advance APR |
Variable APR of 25.74% to 36% |
Read more about how credit card interest works.
Fortiva Credit Card limit
Your initial credit limit when you open a Mastercard account with Fortiva ranges between $350 and $1,000, depending on your credit score. As you build up a dependable payment history, the company may raise your credit limit to $2,000.
Though the company doesn’t allow requests for raises in your credit, it does offer them to customers in good standing, usually at six to 12-month intervals.
How the Fortiva Credit Card compares to other cards
Fortiva’s Mastercard comes up short compared to other credit options, including many secured cards.
This is because, by the time you add up all the fees plus the higher-than-average regular APR, you typically pay less for secured credit due to retaining the balance of your security account.
Worse still, the opaque rewards program doesn’t balance out the high costs of carrying the Fortiva card in your wallet.
Check out our reviews of other credit cards that may help you rebuild your credit:
Should I get the Fortiva Credit Card?
Unless you desperately need credit, you probably shouldn’t get a Fortiva Mastercard, even if you get a mail offer that says you prequalify.
This credit card might come in handy if you have emergencies or want to build or rebuild credit with no thought to the cost, but unless bad credit means you don’t qualify for better cards, this option from Fortiva doesn’t make sense if you have a fair or better credit history.
If you’re unsure about the Fortiva credit card, check out these reviews to see if another card may be a better fit for helping you build or establish credit:
Fortiva Credit Card application: How do I become a member?
There are two ways to become a member of the Fortiva credit card family — receiving a mail offer or signing up online to prequalify.
Because this Mastercard is designed to help people build or rebuild credit, Fortiva is likely to approve your application even if you have a credit history that’s poor to fair.
This credit card doesn’t require a security deposit, making it an attractive option for those who want a new account but don’t want to deposit money upfront to get a secured credit card account.
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