The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is a credit card targeted to bad credit customers and sometimes customers with no credit history. Most potential cardholders will probably be those who’ve had credit in the past and whose poor history makes it difficult to get an unsecured credit card from a major credit card issuer.
If you have bad credit, you probably already know that most credit cards offered to people like you come with less-than-ideal terms — higher interest, lower credit lines, and annual fees. The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is no exception. This is not so much a strike against it as it is an acknowledgment that Indigo is serving customers that the major card issuers don’t trust due to past credit problems (or possibly no credit history at all). Those with bad credit essentially have to pay more as they try to re-establish themselves as worthy credit customers.
Credit Card Features
The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is a no frills, no rewards unsecured credit card. It may offer different interest, fee, and credit line amounts depending on how bad your credit history is. If you are charged an annual fee (and you probably will be), that fee will immediately come out of your credit line as a new cardholder. In other words, if you are offered a card with a $59 annual fee and a $300 credit line, you will begin with $241 in available credit and a $59 charge on your first card statement. If the annual fee is $75 in the first year, you’ll start with $225 in available credit and a $75 charge on your first statement.
Pre-Qualification
Indigo offers a pre-qualification tool on its website that you can use to get an idea of what you might qualify for. While it’s a good idea to use this tool, be aware that “pre-qualify” does not mean “guarantee.” You could still be rejected when you actually go through with the full application. However, the pre-qualification will probably show you what you can expect in terms of fees & rates.
Genesis FS Card Services
The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is marketed by Genesis FS Card Services, with Celtic Bank being the actual bank issuer of the card. Genesis is fairly small in the credit card industry as a whole, but it is an established name in the bad credit/no credit section of the industry.
Consider A Secured Credit Card Instead
While the Indigo credit card is “OK” when compared to similar credit cards in the unsecured bad credit market, you might want to choose a secured credit card instead, preferably one issued by a major bank as you look to build or rebuild your credit.
Secured credit cards do require a deposit, usually in the $200-$500 range, but it is a refundable deposit that eventually comes back to you if you’ve used the card wisely and paid off your balances. Secured cards often have low or no annual fees, and many can lead to an upgraded, unsecured credit card after you’ve established a good track record. See our list of the best secured credit cards.
Indigo Is Fine For What It Is
Some people are unwilling to go the secured card route. If this is true of you, the Indigo Platinum Mastercard is a fine choice for what it is. It can help you build credit if you use it wisely (it reports to the three major credit reporting agencies), and its fees and interest, though fairly high, are in line with those of many other issuers that specialize in cards for people with bad credit.
Author: Adam Jusko