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The Indigo Platinum Mastercard exists for one purpose: to help you build credit. However, we recommend looking elsewhere, as we’ve received numerous complaints regarding this card.
Credit Card Insider receives compensation from advertisers whose products may be mentioned on this page. Advertiser relationships do not affect card evaluations. Advertising partners do not edit or endorse our editorial content. Content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when it's published. Learn more in our Editorial Guidelines.
The information related to Discover it® Secured and Secured Mastercard® from Capital One have been collected by Credit Card Insider and have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of these products.
We gave the Indigo® Platinum Mastercard® 1 out of 5 Stars because we’ve received a number of complaints about the customer service and the turnaround time on payments being posted to accounts after they’re sent.
securely on the issuer's website
The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is designed for people with bad credit. If your FICO scores are below 600 and you’re having trouble getting approved for other cards, this card may be one way for you to build credit.
However, we do not recommend this card, since we’ve received many complaints about it.
The Indigo card doesn’t offer any rewards, like points or cash back, but it does report activity to credit bureaus so you can use it to establish a record of on-time payments on your credit reports. After you spend some time using it responsibly, you may be able to use your improved credit history to qualify for more rewarding credit cards with better benefits.
You can check to see if you prequalify for this card without impacting your credit scores (you just have to start the application process). This can give you an idea of how likely you are to be approved if you decide to actually apply.
If you’re looking to build credit, take a look at some alternatives to the Indigo card. Also check out our top picks for people with bad credit and the best secured credit cards. Or, consider a credit builder loan.
There are no rewards for using this card, like points or cash back. Instead, it’s designed to give you a way to build a good credit history, which can give you the opportunity to get better cards in the future.
There are only a few benefits that come with this card, and Celtic Bank (the issuer) doesn’t provide many details about them.
Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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24.9% Fixed | None | See Terms |
Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee |
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$0-$99 | None |
Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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See Terms | None |
Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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None | Up to $40 | Up to $40 |
Take note that you’ll probably end up with an annual fee with the Indigo, though it’s not a sure thing (it depends on your creditworthiness). It will be charged to your account as part of your statement balance.
This card will probably cost you some money and your credit limit likely won’t be very high, but that’s because it’s designed for riskier borrowers. You should use it primarily to help you build up your credit, rather than to finance a purchase and pay it off over time.
We recommend paying the statement balance in full each month (a bit ahead of time, to allow for slow processing). This will let you take advantage of your grace period to avoid paying interest, and it can be good for your credit utilization too (which can help your credit scores).
You can’t use this card for balance transfers.
You can check the terms and conditions of the Indigo Platinum Card, which has three different sections according to the annual fee levels.
The Indigo® Platinum Mastercard® is an option if you want to a simple card to build or rebuild your credit, but it has lots of customer complaints.
This card has one purpose only: to help you improve your credit by showing a record of responsible behavior. You’ll have to pay an annual fee, but if you can’t get approved for any other cards it’s a pretty small price to pay for the opportunity to build credit.
Just be sure to pay your bill on time and in full every month to avoid late payments and build good history as a borrower. If you can keep up that positive activity you may eventually be able to qualify for a better rewards card with more useful benefits.
Confused about using and paying your credit cards? Check out our guide, How Paying A Credit Card Works.
To apply now for the Indigo Platinum Mastercard, simply click the button near the card name. You’ll be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can securely input all of the required information.
You can check your pre-qualification status before applying, therefore avoiding a hard check on your credit if you won’t be approved.
The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is designed for people with poor credit.
If your FICO score falls within 300–579, or 300–649 for VantageScore, you’ll be considered to have poor credit.
However, these are more like guidelines, which means even if you have higher credit scores you may not be approved. Other factors are taken into account for credit applications, like income.
The credit limit of the Indigo Platinum Mastercard is $300.
No, this is an unsecured credit card, so it doesn’t require an upfront deposit, though it’s still designed to help build positive credit. Here are some of our top picks for secured cards.
No, you won’t be able to use this card for balance transfers.
Looking for one that does let you transfer a balance over? You can find our top choices for balance transfer cards here.
No, there aren’t any rewards associated with the Indigo Platinum Mastercard. If you’re seeking a rewards card, you can see some of our favorite rewards cards right here.
Yes, you’ll gain a few benefits from this card, including extended warranty protection, MasterRental insurance, and more.
securely on the issuer's website
The Indigo Platinum Mastercard has many bad reviews. Although it could provide a way into the world of credit for some, we recommend trying to qualify for other credit cards designed for bad or limited credit first, like the ones below.
The Discover it® Secured (Review) is our top pick when it comes to secured credit cards, because it includes a decent rewards program and has generally favorable terms.
It requires a refundable security deposit of $200–$2,500 once approved, and your credit limit will be equal to your deposit. Discover will review your account activity every eight months. If it finds that you’ve been managing your credit responsibly, not just with this card but in general, it may refund your security deposit while letting you continue to use the account. There is no program to graduate to an unsecured card.
You’ll earn 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations, on up to $1,000 spent per quarter; an excellent rate for a secured credit card. Discover will also double the rewards you earn for the first year, making it especially rewarding for a card built for poor credit.
However, you’ll only receive a very basic benefits package, even compared to the Indigo Platinum. But overall we wholeheartedly suggest going for this Discover card first.
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The information related to Discover it® Secured has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
The Secured Mastercard® from Capital One (Review) is a simple secured card without many flashy features. Its main purpose is to help you build up your credit scores.
Like most secured cards, you’ll need to pay a refundable deposit. However, what’s different with the Capital One card is, depending on your creditworthiness, you’ll be asked to pay either $49, $99, or $200. But no matter what you’re asked to pay, your starting credit limit will be $200.
You can also choose to deposit more if you want a higher credit limit. Up to $1,000 can be deposited, to get a $1,000 credit line. Deposit payments can be made in partial installments, but the full deposit must be made within 80 days of approval.
You’ll get a similar benefits package along with some nice extras, including an easier way to a higher credit line, a price matching perk, and a credit monitoring service. So Capital One’s secured card might provide a simpler way to build credit with some added perks to boot.
The information related to Secured Mastercard® from Capital One has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
The Citi® Secured Mastercard® (Review) is a basic secured card, similar to the Capital One Secured card above.
It has a fairly high potential credit limit, and requires a refundable security deposit of $200 to $2,500 when approved. Your credit limit will be equal to the amount you deposit.
Keep in mind the Citi Secured does not allow you to deposit more later on to increase your credit limit. So be sure what you put down initially (in increments of $100) will be enough to cover your needs. Citi may offer you an upgrade to an unsecured card, potentially the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card (Review), if you show responsible behavior with this card and credit in general.
Unlike other secured cards, you can qualify for this card even if you don’t have a bank account. But you’ll need to visit a Citibank location in person to provide a deposit through other means.
This card offers more protections than the Indigo Platinum, and also lets you track your progress with a credit monitoring service as you work to build up your credit.
Citi is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
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Brendan has been writing about personal finance for over eight years, and is now taking on the challenge of bringing high quality credit education to the masses. He makes sure that Credit Card Insider is covering the most important credit topics transparently and precisely, and that we have up-to-date reviews of credit cards so you can find cards that are right for you.
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