Surge Credit Card Review: Its Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Diving into the world of credit cards can be a whirlwind of decisions. For those navigating the choppy waters of credit repair or building, the Surge Mastercard surfaces as a potential beacon.

But amidst its appeal for those with less-than-ideal credit, the card comes with its share of shadows—cue, fees. 

To navigate this financial relationship, you must balance the pros and cons while considering suitable alternatives. 

Strap in—it’s time for an honest encounter with the Surge Mastercard.

Read more:

• FIT Credit Card Review: An Honest Look at FIT Mastercard®
• Reflex® Platinum Mastercard® Review: A Credit Building Option
• Chime Credit Card Review: Top Secured Credit Builder Option
• First Digital Credit Card Review: Is It Worth Considering?

Surge Credit Card at a Glance

Full name: Surge® Platinum Mastercard®

Best for: Those wanting to build or rebuild credit

Issuer: Celtic Bank

Credit score needed: All are welcome to apply

Network: Mastercard

Serviced by: Continental Finance Company

Who’s the Surge Credit Card Best For?

The Surge Mastercard is cool with folks who don’t have the best credit history. It reports to the big three credit bureaus, which can help pull up your score over time.

Keep your eyes wide open, though. They do like their fees. So, treat it more like a stepping stone to better credit rather than a long-term financial partner. 

As with any credit card, remember to pay on time and—better yet—in full to dodge the interest.

Surge Credit Card: Overall Card Review

Surge Platinum Mastercard: Pros & Cons

Let’s dive straight into the pros and cons of the Surge Platinum Mastercard:

Pros

Cons

Pros—What We Like

Accessible to those with fair or poor credit

This card isn’t picky. Even if you’ve had some dings on your credit history, you could still get approved.

Reports to all three major credit bureaus

This means on-time payments can boost your score with not just one, but all three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax).

Read more:

• Build Credit With a Credit Card
• Build Credit Without a Credit Card
• How To Increase Your Credit Score Quickly

Pre-qualify without harm to your scores

One additional advantage of the Surge Mastercard is that you can pre-qualify for it without any impact to your credit scores. 

This is because the issuer performs a “soft pull” on your credit report during prequalification, which doesn’t affect your scores.

If you’re uncertain about your chances of getting approved or just want to gauge where you stand, this feature can be a real stress reliever. 

It gives you a chance to see if you’re likely to qualify before you go through the formal application process—which does involve a “hard pull” that can temporarily lower your scores.

Offers an option for a secured version

If you’re having trouble qualifying for the unsecured version or want a lower APR, you can opt for the secured card instead. You’ll just need to pay a security deposit.

Credit limit increases possible with responsible usage

Show them you’re trustworthy by making payments on time, and they might hike up your credit limit. They advertise the option of doubling your credit limit after you pay on time six months in a row.

Cons—Things To Think Over

High annual fee

Unlike some other cards for building credit, the Surge Mastercard comes with a hefty annual fee. Make sure you’re okay with that before applying.

The fee is between $99 and $125. If your creditworthiness is good enough, you may be eligible for a $75 fee for the first year of using the card.

Above average APR

It has a relatively high APR, which means carrying a balance can get costly fast. It’s best to pay off your balance in full each month.

No reward/benefit program

Don’t expect a ton of fancy perks. It’s pretty bare-bones, but that’s not what it’s designed for—it’s about building credit.

No balance transfers or cash advances available during the first year

This isn’t a deal-breaker, but worth noting if you’re thinking of moving debt onto this card or need cash advances.

Read more:

• 16 Best Credit Cards for Bad Credit in 2023
• Best Unsecured Credit Cards for Bad Credit

Key Surge Credit Card Fees & Rates

*Starting year two

Things to Know About the Surge Card

What’s the Surge Mastercard credit limit?

The card’s credit limit starts between $300 and $1,000. The exact amount hangs on your credit score and other financial details.

While this may seem like pocket change compared to some posher cards, don’t forget that the Surge Mastercard is a buddy for people fixing up their credit or starting from scratch.

Plus, here’s a sweet deal: If you make your payments on time, you could see your credit limit rise.

If you want a higher starting limit, check out the Petal 2 card.

Surge card credit limit increases

The Surge card offers an interesting and potentially beneficial advantage—the possibility to increase your initial credit limit. 

Here’s what you need to know:

• The increase doesn’t just happen automatically. It’s dependent on consistent and timely payments made on your end, showing your financial responsibility and reliability. 
• A higher credit limit isn’t just about having more accessible funds. It positively impacts your credit score. How? It lowers your credit utilization ratio. This ratio is a measure of the amount you owe vis-à-vis your total credit limit.
• Remember, having a lower credit utilization ratio is generally seen as positive and indicating less risk by lenders.

Alternatives: How Does Surge Compare to Other Credit Cards for Bad Credit?

The sad truth is—the lower your credit score, the worse your credit card will be.

Read more:

• FIT Credit Card Review
• Cerulean Credit Card Review
• Reflex® Platinum Mastercard® Review
• First Digital Credit Card Review
• Destiny™ Mastercard® Review

Credit-Building Alternatives That Won’t Kill Your Budget

If you’re in the market for a credit card that can help build credit, but looking for alternatives better than the Surge Mastercard, then here are a few worthy cards to check out. 

All of them are secured and require a one-time security deposit, but for our money—it’s a fair trade. Security deposits are usually one-time-only, and you get them back.

Big annual fees are basically lost the second the money leaves your account.

1. Discover it® Secured

This card offers a way to build or rebuild credit, while earning cashback on purchases—a rare perk for secured cards. And it has no annual fee.

It reports to all three credit bureaus and automatically reviews your account for possible upgrade to an unsecured card.

And Discover will match all the cashback you’ve earned at the end of your first year.

2. Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

With no annual fee and a $49, $99 or $200 minimum refundable deposit, Capital One Platinum Secured is another solid alternative to the Surge card.

The amount you deposit becomes your credit limit, and you can decide on how much you want it to be. The minimum amount is $49 and the maximum is $1,000.

3. OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card

This card doesn’t require a credit check for approval, making it accessible to those with severely damaged credit. While it does have an annual fee of $35, it’s much lower than that of the Surge Mastercard. 

These cards may give you a more affordable way to build credit, with the added bonuses of cashback, lower fees, or flexible deposit requirements.

Oftentimes people who apply for a credit card encounter a “Catch-22” scenario in which they cannot secure a credit card to build their credit enough to be approved for one, and in this circumstance it is a good idea to apply for a secured credit card.

Read more:

• Chime Credit Card Review: Top Secured Credit Builder Option
• Capital One Platinum Card Review: Mastercard Credit Builder

Useful Links

Pre-qualify for a Continental Finance Surge card with no harm to your score.

Apply for the Surge credit card here.

Contact Continental Finance customer service here.

Click here for the Surge credit card login page.

Download the Surge mobile app for iOS or Android.

Get more information on owning a credit card, your rights, and more at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website.

Get your free credit score report.

Download our free credit card payoff calculator.

The Actual Consumer Reviews of the Surge Mastercard

There’s 10,542 reviews of the card (mostly about customer service) on Trustpilot, and an astounding 93% of them are five-star-reviews. 

Let’s see some of them—

“Great service, always a pleasure to call. The customer service team provides a 5-star experience.”

“My credit score has continued to go up. They raised my card limit pretty quickly. I wasn’t expecting it so soon. Which was fantastic! Be careful though—Surge gives nice raises. And that means your monthly interest is going to go up. It might be a little bit, to what may seem like a lot more, depending on how much you spend.”

The 2% of 1-star-reviews don’t seem significant, but let’s look at some of them, too—

“Would give 0 stars if I could. Worst customer service department ever. They don’t want to answer questions that you have. It has been a month and still no card. I asked where it is being shipped from, and I was told they don’t have that info.”

But then, the reviews of the card itself might be some food for thought—

“Took this card on due to stating 1,000 limit doubles after 6 mos paid on time that was false I’ve paid on time and paid extra payments, mine only went up 300, so I feel it’s falsely advertised, but that is my opinion I wouldn’t recommend based solely off that. I will be paying off and will discontinue using [it].”

“Payments are not being taken out of my account in a timely fashion on scheduled dates. This causes many problems and confusions with my bank and myself as well.”

And—

“Ordered a replacement card over a month and a half ago and still haven’t got my card can’t even pay the bill without my card they only offer bank draft pay option they need to get up to date they’re messing up my 100% pay on my credit. I’m thinking about canceling them all together. Oh, and has the nerve to charge me a late fee for a card they haven’t sent me.”

“I got my card and was never able to log in to the online access. I called customer service and tech support 3 times to get it fixed. I finally got so frustrated I cancelled both cards issued to me through Celtic Bank. Now they want to charge me $5.95 to make a payment over the phone with my debit card. Terrible customer service.”i

Is Surge Credit Card Good for Me?

The Surge Mastercard might be a good option for you, if—

1. You have less than awesome credit score and want to build it back up.
2. You don’t plan on using the card much and won’t be dragged down by the high interest rate.
3. You can’t get your hands on a better credit card just yet.
4. You can pay the card off on time and have less than 30% of credit utilization ratio.

If these points don’t describe you, you can check out our review of the Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa®.