Credit Cards Cash-Back Credit Cards

Credit One Platinum Premier Visa Review 2023

overall rating
2.7

High rewards rates but costly fees

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Finding a rewards card offering more than 1% cash back can be challenging for people with average credit. With the Credit One Platinum Premier Visa card, cardholders can earn up to 5% cash back on the first $5,000 spent on select purchases, and an unlimited 1% cash back on everything else. However, they will pay an annual fee.

Credit One Platinum Rewards Visa

Overall Rating
2.7
Credit One Platinum Rewards Visa
On Credit One Bank's Secured Site.
Recommended Credit
Score Our recommended ranges are based off of the FICO® Score 8 credit-scoring model. Credit score is one of the many factors lenders review in considering your application.
350 579
580 669
670 739
740 799
800 850
Fair - Excellent
Regular APR (%) 28.74% variable
Annual Fee $95
Rewards Earning Rate 5.0% Cash Back Rewards on eligible gas, groceries, mobile phone service, internet service, and cable & satellite TV services purchases for the first $5,000 per year, and then 1.0% thereafter. Plus 1.0% cash back rewards on all other purchases.
how this card stacks up
When compared among all low cost cards in our database:
Low Fees
Security/Customer Experience
Low Interest
Rewards
Benefits
worst best

The Credit One Platinum Premier Visa is not one of our top rated cash back credit cards. You can review our list of the best cash back credit cards for what we think are better options.

Full Review of Credit One Platinum Premier Visa

Pros
  • High rewards rate on select purchases

  • Available to applicants with average credit

Cons
  • Limited reward redemption options

  • Costly fees

  • Few card benefits

Pros Explained

  • Rewards Rate: The Credit One Platinum Premier Visa offers 5% cash back on the first $5,000 spent on eligible gas, grocery, internet, cable, satellite television, and mobile phone service purchases. After that cap is reached, and for all other purchases, you’ll earn 1% cash back. Rewards cards for people with average credit can be minimal, so the ability to earn more than 1%—even on just the first $5,000 spent for certain purchases—is a nice benefit. 
  • Card Availability: Many rewards credit cards require applicants to have good to excellent credit. But this card is available to those with average credit, which Credit One Bank defines as having some established credit history with limited payment issues. 

Cons Explained

  • Limited Redemption Options: The Platinum Premier Visa card has one redemption option. Cash back is awarded automatically as a statement credit as long as you made at least one qualifying purchase during the statement period. If you’d prefer to get rewards in another way, such as gift cards or travel, you’ll need to apply for another credit card. The QuicksilverOne card from Capital One offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase. You can redeem rewards for statement credits, paper checks, and gift cards, or as cash back to cover recent purchases. 
  • Costly Fees: Before applying for this card, you should be aware of some costly fees:
  • Annual fee: It has a $95 annual fee, which is deducted from your available credit. For example, if you’re approved for a $500 credit line, the annual fee would reduce your initial credit line to $405, limiting your spending power. 
  • Foreign transaction fee: There is a foreign transaction fee whenever you use this card outside of the United States. You’ll pay $1 or 3% of each purchase in U.S. dollars, whichever is greater. 
  • Cash advance fee: If you use your card to take out a cash advance, you’ll pay either $10 or 5% of the amount of each Cash Advance, whichever is greater. If you took out a $200 cash advance, you’d pay $10 in fees.  
  • Penalty fees: If a payment is late or returned to you, you’ll pay up to $39. 

Fees cut into a card’s value. If you’re looking for a lower-cost option appropriate for average credit, consider the Petal card. It has no fees whatsoever—no annual fees, foreign transaction fees, or late fees—and you can earn up to 1.5% cash back on every purchase. 

  • Few Card Benefits: While credit cards for people with average credit tend to be fairly basic, the Credit One Platinum Premier Visa has only standard benefits like zero liability protection and access to your credit score. Another card offering more robust benefits for people with average credit is the Platinum credit card from Capital One. It has no annual fee or foreign transaction fees and offers more features such as Capital One's Eno and ATM location services.

Who This Card Is Best For

If you’ve struggled to get approved for a rewards card because your credit is only average and not good to excellent, the Credit One Platinum Premier Visa may be a solid option. You’ll earn 5% cash back on the first $5,000 you spend on eligible gas, grocery, internet, cable, satellite television, and mobile phone service purchases. On all other purchases, you’ll earn 1% cash back. 

You don’t have to activate spending categories to earn the higher rewards rate like with other cards, making it a good choice if you want a simple, easy-to-use card. 

Rewards Earning Details

With this card, you’ll earn: 

  • 5% cash back on the first $5,000 spent on eligible gas, grocery, internet, cable, satellite TV, and mobile phone service purchases. Once you reach the $5,000 threshold, you’ll earn 1% cash back on those purchases. 
  • 1% cash back on all other purchases 

Credit One Bank does partner with select retailers to offer special deals. When you shop at a partner retailer, you can earn up to 10% cash back. 

Rewards Redemption Details

This card has one redemption option: If you make at least one qualifying purchase, your cash back rewards will be automatically redeemed as an account credit on your next statement. The statement credit will reduce your card balance but doesn’t count as a payment. You’re still required to make at least the minimum payment by the due date. 

How to Maximize Your Rewards

To earn the maximum amount of rewards, use the Credit One Platinum Premier Visa to pay for all eligible gas, groceries, internet, cable, satellite TV, and mobile phone service purchases. You’ll earn 5% cash back on the first $5,000 spent and then 1% cash back on those purchases over that threshold. 

For perspective on how spending can add up, consider that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average consumer spent $2,148 on gas and $5,259 on groceries in 2021.

If you spent these average amounts, you’d charge $7,407 per year to this card. You’d earn 5% cash back on the first $5,000 spent, for $250 in rewards. On the remaining $2,407, you’d earn 1% cash back, for an additional $24.07. In total, you’d get $274.07 in cash back rewards, more than enough to justify its $95 annual fee. 

Standard Benefits

The Credit One Platinum Premier Visa offers only basic benefits:

  • Zero liability protection
  • Mobile app access
  • Online Experian credit score access

Cardholder Experience

As a cardholder, you may need to contact a credit card issuer when you have issues with your account. Whether your card is stolen or you need to dispute a transaction, customer service is important. That’s why you should know that Credit One Bank’s reputation for customer satisfaction is lackluster. 

Credit One Bank ranked last out of 11 national card issuers and scored below average by a large margin in J.D. Power's 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study.

Credit One Bank’s customer service team has limited availability. While it does have an automated line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you can only reach a live representative via the phone during certain hours: 

  • Monday through Friday: 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. PT
  • Saturday and Sunday: 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT

You can contact customer support by calling 877-825-3242. 

Security Features

This card has standard security features typical of any credit card, including zero liability protection, fraud alerts, and credit score access.

Final Verdict

If you have average credit and are looking for a no-frills rewards card, the Credit One Platinum Premier Visa allows you to earn up to 5% cash back on up to $5,000 spent in select categories. However, other benefits are sparse, it has some costly fees, including a $95 annual fee, and Credit One Bank has a poor ranking for customer service. 

The QuicksilverOne from Capital One is an alternative option for both earning rewards and getting access to valuable benefits that the Credit One Platinum Premier Visa lacks. It has a $39 annual fee but doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, and you’ll earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase and have more redemption options.

Since the Credit One Platinum card from Visa is available to users with average credit, it can help you build a more robust credit history. You will build better credit if you pay off your balance monthly, keep your credit utilization low (don't max out your card), and keep the card active for several years once you open the account, even if you don't use it frequently.

The starting credit limit for the Credit One Platinum card is $300. If you qualify for this card, you will get a credit limit of at least that much. Applicants with a better credit history or higher incomes may qualify for a higher limit. Once your account is open, it will be reviewed regularly to see if you qualify for a higher credit limit.

Because this card is available to users with average credit, it is easier to get approved for than many cash-back or rewards credit cards. If you have some credit history and minimal repayment issues—meaning you have generally paid at last the minimum amount due on all your debts—you are eligible for approval, even if your credit score is on the lower side.

Credit One Bank states that they review accounts "regularly" to see if they qualify for a higher credit limit. For most banks, this happens every six to twelve months. If you think you qualify for a higher credit limit than you currently have, for example if your income has increased, you can always contact the bank directly and request a higher limit.

Next Steps
For Credit One Platinum Rewards Visa
on Credit One Bank's Secured Site.
Compare This Card
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CURRENT CARD
Credit One Platinum Rewards Visa
overall rating
2.7
Recommended Credit
Score Our recommended ranges are based off of the FICO® Score 8 credit-scoring model. Credit score is one of the many factors lenders review in considering your application.
350 579
580 669
670 739
740 799
800 850
Fair - Excellent
Regular APR (%) 28.74% variable
Annual Fee $95
Rewards Earning Rate 5.0% Cash Back Rewards on eligible gas, groceries, mobile phone service, internet service, and cable & satellite TV services purchases for the first $5,000 per year, and then 1.0% thereafter. Plus 1.0% cash back rewards on all other purchases.
Investopedia Credit Card Rating Methodology
Investopedia is committed to delivering the best credit card recommendations in the industry. We’ll tell you when a card is good, we’ll tell you when a card is bad, and we’ll only call a card the best if we would recommend it to our friends or family members.
Overall Star Rating Explained
To rate credit cards we objectively assess, score and weight nearly 100 individual card features which roll up into five major feature sets: fees, interest, rewards, benefits and security/customer service. Here’s how we weighted those feature sets for the overall star rating of a card:
We have applied our proprietary rating methodology to every generally-accepted credit card in the U.S. domestic market to allow consumers to make fully informed choices. It’s important to note that for our overall score that we make a number of assumptions about how you would be using your credit card:
  1. While we make no assumption as to whether balances are carried on a given card we do assign varying weights to all credit cards’ introductory APR (if present) in addition to the regular, long term purchase and balance transfer interest rates.
  2. We utilize BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) income and average category spending data to calculate annual earnings rates for rewards cards that offer cash back, points or miles rewards at a set rate on all spending or in consideration of bonus rewards for certain spending categories, like gasoline, groceries, restaurants or travel.
  3. We determine the maximum points value of rewards cards by dividing the points, cash back or miles required to exchange for the retail price of the most valuable redemption option (for example, in the case of a card that offers a domestic roundtrip airline ticket as a redemption option vs. another redemption option of lesser value that requires the same amount of points or miles to acquire, we would base the rewards value on the airline ticket).
  • Cards that are selected best overall in their respective categories generally feature most if not all of the following attributes:
  • Low or Reasonable Fees Credit card fees come in many forms but the primary ones involve those for annual card membership and balance transfer. There are a myriad of reward and non-reward card options that charge no annual fee but for the many that do assess an annual fee the cost is often justified by their lucrative ongoing rewards and initial signup bonuses. Balance transfer fees are occasionally waived during introductory periods with certain cards, a factor which is heavily and positively weighted in our scoring model for cards offering this benefit. When charged, balance transfer fees range between 3% - 5%, which we grade accordingly. Other standard fees can generally be avoided, such as those for paying late or taking cash advances but we rate those relative to other cards in the market for reference, though with less weight assigned
  • Competitive Interest Many cards offer 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for varying lengths and then revert to a permanent or regular APR (based on a variable rate tied to the prime rate) that applies to any balances not paid in full. We rate both introductory APR percentage and length (in months) along with the midpoint of the variable regular APR interest rate range.
  • Valuable Rewards Credit card reward programs can be based on cash back, points or travel rewards (which can be generic or travel partner-specific, as with airline and hotel co-brand card programs). For cards that offer rewards we determine the value per dollar spent along with average redemption values and assign more favorable ratings to cards that offer superior consumer value. We also assign value to sign-up bonus offers and their initial spending requirements, when present.
  • Excellent Benefits Credit card benefits cover a range of offerings like concierge service, TSA Pre-check, auto rental coverage, travel accident insurance, lost luggage assistance and free credit scores. We rate cards on the number and level of over a dozen standard and upscale benefits and provide extra weighting emphasis for those travel-related perks that apply to premium travel cards when present.
  • Solid Security/Customer Service Security and customer service features like lost or stolen card replacement, being able to lock one’s card from an issuer app and 24 hour customer support are becoming more standard across the card market and we provide a significant amount of weighting to features in this area.
  • You can also read the full version of our methodology for a more in-depth look at how we assess cards and award them the best in various categories.