Card review

Milestone Mastercard review: a $1,000 unsecured line for a credit rebuild

This is a full Mastercard built for imperfect credit. No deposit is held, and a declined application adds no hard inquiry to your report. Reviewed by InstaPayDirect.

• Line of credit up to $1,000 for approved applicants
• Unsecured, so no security deposit is held
• Monthly activity sent to Experian, Equifax and TransUnion
• A decline leaves no hard inquiry on your credit report

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Milestone's unsecured Mastercard is built for people with a short credit history or a damaged one. No refundable deposit is collected, and approved applicants receive a credit line of up to $1,000. The card is accepted wherever Mastercard is, and each month's activity goes to all three major bureaus, which means on-time payments are recorded where lenders look.

The short version

The card has a single purpose and handles it properly: a real, unsecured Mastercard for a thin or bruised credit file, with no cash required up front. Two design choices matter most. First, there is no deposit. Second, the issuer's treatment of a decline: a rejected application places no hard inquiry on your report, so the attempt itself does not move your score. For someone whose credit is still fragile, that takes the fear out of applying.

The cost is the catch. Expect a $250 annual fee in year one and $99 in later years. From the second year onward, a $19.25 monthly fee is added, which comes to $231 across a year. The purchase APR runs around 35.9%, and the card pays no rewards. Read it as a payment-history tool rather than a card for carrying debt. Small, routine purchases, paid in full each statement, are what make the bureau reporting worth having.

What happens when you apply

1. Read the terms first Start with the offer page: check the APR, the monthly fee and the annual fee first. The terms are on screen before you commit, and reading them takes a couple of minutes.
2. Send the application to the issuer Your application goes to the issuer, which can check your credit report while it decides. Approval is not certain. If the answer is no, no hard inquiry is added to your report.
3. Pay on time, every month Approved cardholders should keep spending small and pay by the due date each month. Because the account reports to all three bureaus, a steady on-time record builds month by month.

What the card costs

Milestone sets its pricing for the credit-rebuilding market, so fees sit well above what a prime card charges. The exact fee and terms shown to you depend on your credit profile, and the offer reached through this page may not match Milestone offers found elsewhere. Read the full terms on the issuer's site before you apply.

A good match, or not

Milestone, answered

The Milestone Mastercard is issued by The Bank of Missouri and serviced by Concora Credit Inc. Every application is reviewed by the issuer, a process that may include obtaining your credit report, and approval requires meeting the issuer's standards for creditworthiness, ability to pay and identity verification. Applicants who recently applied for a Milestone Mastercard, or who already hold one, may not be approved. A declined application does not place a hard inquiry on your credit report, so your score is not affected by it. The offer on this page may be unique to this link, and its terms are only assured when you apply through the link provided; other offers for the same card may carry different terms and conditions. Annual fees, APRs and credit limits differ from applicant to applicant. InstaPayDirect is a free comparison and referral service, not a lender or card issuer, and may be compensated when you apply; that compensation never changes the terms you are offered. This page is an advertisement.