Get Rewarded while Building Credit with Plastk

In the past, we have not written about secured credit cards much because our blog is focused on earning and redeeming rewards. However, unlike other secured credit cards who do not offer a reward for spending, Plastk offers a one that allows people a chance to earn rewards and build their credit.

Note that we do not endorse getting credit cards for the sake of getting one. When getting a credit card to earn rewards, our strategies only work if people are able to pay their balance in full every month. If any interest or penalties are incurred, it will nullify any rewards earned. Not to mention hurt their credit score when they cannot pay their balance in full. 

That being said, if you are someone who wants or needs to build or increase their credit score, because you cannot qualify for another credit card, this card is an option. Moreover, this card has the ability to earn points on spending.

Let’s start with the highlights of the card and go from there.

Plastk Secured Visa Credit Card

• $48 annual fee
• $6 monthly maintenance fee
• $300 minimum deposit required
• Earn 5,000 sign up bonus points (redeemable after 3 months)
• Earn 1 point for every $1 spent
• Receive free monthly credit score (through Equifax)

Annual fee

Most secure credit cards out there have an annual fee, but no option for earning rewards. Plastk has an annual fee of $48 and they have a monthly maintenance fee of $6/month Basically they collect $48 up front and then $6 x 12 months equals another $72, for a total of $120 annually. However, cardholders only pay the monthly fee only while the card is still open, but stops the month it is closed.

By contract, Capital One offers $59 and $79 annual fee cards with no rewards options. However, Plastk does come with some added benefits which help offset the fees.

Sign up bonus + Earning points

Sign up bonuses are not usually available with secured credit cards, so having the 5,000 sign up bonus points is a nice touch. Every 250 points is worth $1, so 5,000 points is worth $20.

That means that when cardholders earn 1 point per dollar, they are only earning 0.4 cents per dollar spent (or 0.4% return). That is a pretty low return, but better than nothing.

I’m still not a fan of the annual fee, but the rewards can help offset some of that fee. For example, if someone spent $10,000 per year, that would net them 10,000 points. The 10,000 points is worth $40, which essentially reduces the annual fee from $120 to $80. If you double the spending to $20,000 a year (a home renovation can do the trick), that brings home 20,000 points for $80 in value. If you factor in the sign up bonus, it makes it more interesting.

Redeem points

There points redeeming for a host of rewards such as:

• Statement Credits
• Merchandise
• Gift Cards
• Travel Rewards
• Charity Donations
• Exclusive Events

That’s a nice variety to choose from.

Vancouver Canucks Partnership

For any hockey fans out there, they have partnered with the Vancouver Canucks NHL team as the preferred secured credit card provider. In the coming weeks, look for the option to choose a Canucks branded Plastk Secured Credit card. There are plans to launch other campaigns and contests with the Canucks theme.

Equifax Partnership

The other valuable feature of this card is that they partnered with Equifax. First of all, transactions are reported to Equifax. This partnership also gives customers a Free Credit Score. That’s a nice touch considering the main purpose of this card is to help people build their credit.

There is a plan to expand this partnership, so watch out for that!

Final Thoughts

For miles and points hobbyists out there, this may not seem like an attractive card to have. But for people who cannot qualify for other credit cards, have high upcoming spending and are looking to build credit, this card is worth a look. This is especially true when factoring the information we provided regarding spending in our “Sign up bonus + Earning points” section of this post. Basically, the more someone has to spend on this card, the more valuable it becomes.

What I am looking forward to the most is how they plan to expand the features and benefits of this card!