If you’re looking for a card to start your credit-building journey — or get it back on track — consider the Reflex® Mastercard. While it doesn’t offer the same benefits as traditional credit cards, your activity is reported to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), increasing your credit score as you improve your credit habits.

Reflex Mastercard®

• Annual fee
  $75 to $125
• Welcome offer
  None
• Card type(s)
  Credit-builder
• Purchase APR
  35.90% fixed

• Rewards rate
  None

• Benefits
  • Initial credit limit ranges from $300 to $1,000
  • You can double your credit limit after making at least your minimum monthly payment by the due date for the first 6 months
  • Monthly reporting to all three credit bureaus and free access to your credit score

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Annual fee

For your first year, your annual fee can range from $75 to $125, then $99 to $125 after that, depending on your credit limit:

• Credit limit of $300: $75 for the first year, then $99 after that

• Credit limit of $500, $750, or $1,000: $125

Who is the Reflex Mastercard best for?

The Reflex Mastercard is ideal for those who need to build or rebuild their credit and are having difficulty qualifying for a traditional credit card. And because it reports to the three major credit bureaus, when you’re ready to make the jump to a traditional credit card, you can show potential lenders you’re creditworthy with a solid track record of making on-time payments.

Reflex Mastercard pros

Double your credit limit

When you’re initially approved for the Reflex Mastercard, you’ll have a credit limit between $300 to $1,500. Your initial credit limit will double after making your first six monthly minimum payments on time.

Bumping up your credit limit means you could increase how often you use your card. As long as you continue to at least make minimum payments each month, lenders will see your creditworthiness, increasing your chances of being approved for a traditional credit card in the future.

Reports to all three of the major credit bureaus

Reflex Mastercard reports to the major credit bureaus, which helps show future potential lenders that you’re building up responsible credit use. Remember that it’s not just your on-time payment history that's reported; if you miss or fall behind on payments, that's also reported to the credit bureaus.

Prequalification available

With Reflex Mastercard, you can see if you’re eligible without triggering a hard credit check.

Reflex Mastercard cons

Lots of fees

The annual fee is upwards of $125, which is high for cards without benefits or rewards.

Some credit-building cards charge annual fees to those with less-than-stellar credit because they’re taking a risk lending to you. But that fee, along with a monthly maintenance fee (up to $10 a month), an additional card fee ($30, if applicable), late payment, and returned payment fees ($41 each) can add up. There are plenty of other cards available that don’t come with all of these extra charges.

No rewards

Even credit-builder cards can offer welcome sign-up bonuses or rewards to entice new customers. The Reflex Mastercard doesn’t have any perks for usage. Aside from reporting to the three major credit bureaus, you don’t get much out of this card compared to similar credit-builder cards on the market right now.

High APR

The Reflex Mastercard's APR is on the high end for credit cards. That means if you can't pay off your credit card and carry the balance into the next month, you could face an additional charge along with the laundry list of fees you already have.

The lower your APR, the less you pay in interest when you carry a balance. The higher your APR, the more you’ll pay in interest on top of your principal balance. This could make it hard to stay up-to-date on payments if you’re struggling to make the minimum monthly payment every month.

Where can you use Reflex Mastercard?

You can use the Reflex Mastercard wherever Mastercard is accepted.

How to make a Reflex Mastercard payment

You can log into your account both online or through the mobile app to check your statements, make payments, and view recent transactions. Once there, you can see your due date, schedule an auto payment, or make a one-time payment on your card.

Reflex Mastercard customer service info

Continental Finance is the servicer for the Reflex Mastercard servicer. You can log into your account any time of the day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can call customer service at 1-866-449-4514. Customer care representatives are available Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to midnight, and Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. You can also contact them via mail at:
Reflex Card
P.O. Box 3220
Buffalo, NY 14240-3220
To report a lost or stolen card, call 1-800-556-5678.

Alternative cards to consider

Before you sign up for the Reflex Mastercard, there are a few other alternatives to consider. Compare the Reflex Mastercard to these and other cards on the market to see which one is best for you.

Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

• Annual fee
  $0
• Welcome offer
  None
• Card type(s)
  Secured
• Purchase APR
  29.99% variable
• Recommended credit score
  No credit history required

• Rewards rate
  None

• Benefits
  • No annual or hidden fees; see if you're approved in seconds
  • Earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you follow best practices, such as making payments on time
  • Be automatically considered for a higher credit in six months with no additional deposit

Why we like it: The Platinum Secured Credit Card from Capital One doesn’t charge an annual fee, and while there’s a security deposit, it’s refundable. You can upgrade to an unsecured card after a few months of on-time monthly payments, plus you’re automatically considered for credit line increases every six months.

One big standout is the lack of fees. There’s no annual fee, no authorized user fee, and no foreign transaction fees. Capital One also has 24/7 customer service.

Learn more

Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card

• Annual fee
  $0
• Welcome offer
  None
• Card type(s)
  Secured, Cash-back
• Purchase APR
  29.99% variable
• Recommended credit score
  Excellent, Good

• Rewards rate
  • 5% unlimited cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • 1.5% unlimited cash back on every purchase, everywhere

• Benefits
  • No annual or hidden fees; see if you're approved in seconds
  • Earn back your $200 security deposit as a statement credit when you follow card best use practices, such as making payments on time
  • Be automatically considered for a higher credit in six months with no additional deposit

Why we like it: Like the Platinum Secured, the Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards card has no annual fee, but it requires a security deposit.

One big standout feature is the 1.5% unlimited cash back on all purchases, which isn’t common on secured and credit-builder credit cards. This is a great benefit and encourages usage when users can reap the cash-back benefits.

Learn more

OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card

• Annual fee
  $35
• Card type(s)
  Secured, Credit-builder
• Ongoing Purchases APR
  25.14% (variable)
• Recommended credit score
  No credit check

• Rewards rate
  Earn up to 10% cash back through the OpenSky Rewards program

• Benefits
  • 88% average approval rate
  • $200 minimum security deposit
  • Graduate to an OpenSky Unsecured Gold Card in as little as 6 months

Why we like it: The OpenSky Secured Visa has a $35 annual fee and a $200 minimum deposit requirement. OpenSky doesn’t trigger a hard credit check when you apply, and reports to all three of the major credit bureaus regarding your payment history and usage. You can upgrade to the unsecured OpenSky Gold Card in as little as six months after showing good credit use.

Learn more

This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken

Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.