What Is Coastal Group Financial institution, and Are Its Credit score Playing cards Proper for You? – NerdWallet

Coastal Group Financial institution — based in 1997 and headquartered in Everett, Washington — serves companies and people within the Puget Sound space. Coastal Group Financial institution additionally points a handful of non-public and enterprise bank cards. An eclectic group to make certain, Coastal Group Financial institution’s portfolio encompasses a number of credit-builder playing cards, a top-notch cash-back card and a bank card/HELOC hybrid.

The financial institution points the next bank cards:

Generally, these bank cards are area of interest merchandise supposed for a particular buyer. For many who fall exterior of the goal demographic, the broader bank card market has greater than sufficient serviceable choices.

Right here’s a sampling of a number of the distinctive playing cards issued by Coastal Group Financial institution.

The Aven card is a sort of asset-secured card — one which’s secured by one thing aside from a money deposit, resembling jewellery or a car. Within the case of the Aven card, the collateral securing the credit score line is your own home’s fairness. In case you have a variety of fairness, you may get entry to a excessive credit score restrict — however securing a bank card with your own home is a doubtlessly harmful proposition. The consequence of defaulting, or failing to make a fee for greater than 180 days, can embrace shedding your own home if the issuer decides to make use of it to repay your excellent money owed. Sure, the cardboard earns a limiteless 2% on each buy, has a $0 annual payment and a comparatively low APR, however for most individuals, these advantages gained’t outweigh the large danger inherent within the Aven card.

If it’s an enormous credit score restrict you’re after, strive requesting a credit score restrict improve on bank cards you have already got. When you’ve got a number of bank cards from the identical issuer, you might also ask to have a number of the obtainable credit score on one card transferred to a different.

At first look, the Kikoff card is a perfect choice for individuals who need to construct or rebuild credit score: There’s no annual payment, late payment or overseas transaction payment, and no minimal safety deposit requirement. The Kikoff card even earns rewards on purchases at choose retailers. Nonetheless, to qualify for the cardboard, you want a Kikoff Premium ($20/month) or Final ($35/month) subscription. Each subscriptions supply a lease reporting service the place on-time lease funds are reported to the credit score bureau Equifax. Nonetheless, non-renters may have little use for a Kikoff subscription. In that case, contemplate a secured card that basically has no such extraneous charges, such because the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Money Rewards Credit score Card. It has a $0 annual payment, doesn’t require a paid subscription and earns a limiteless 1.5% money again on each buy.

For individuals who balk at placing up a number of hundred {dollars} in a safety deposit for a bank card, the Prosper® Card is a lovely choice. Prosper cardholders can get credit score strains from $500 to $3,000, no safety deposit required. Prosper additionally robotically critiques accounts periodically to find out eligibility for credit score restrict will increase. The rub is the cardboard’s $39 annual payment, however that’s waived for the primary yr should you join autopay earlier than your first bank card assertion is issued.

That is a comparatively low annual payment for playing cards on this class. However should you’d reasonably not pay an annual payment in any respect (or fund a safety deposit), a card just like the Mission Lane Visa® Credit score Card ticks each of these bins.

All the things concerning the Robinhood bank card screams “unique.” First, “Gold” is correct there in its official identify, and naturally, the cardboard is gold-colored. It’s additionally manufactured from steel — 17 grams of stainless-steel, to be precise. And as of November 2024, the cardboard is offered by invitation solely. If you need the cardboard, you’ll have so as to add your identify to the waitlist. The Robinhood Gold Card may very well be definitely worth the wait, although. For no annual payment, it earns a limiteless 3% money again on all purchases apart from journey booked by means of the Robinhood Journey portal, which earns 5% again. Different perks embrace journey interruption reimbursement and rental automobile collision harm waiver.

Nonetheless, the Robinhood Gold card loses a little bit of its luster whenever you study that it’s not truly free. To get the cardboard, you need to have a Robinhood Gold membership, which prices $5 per 30 days, or $50 if paid for unexpectedly. You additionally want a Robinhood brokerage account to redeem rewards earned with the cardboard.