Citizens Trust Bank VISA Privilege Credit Card

Citizens Trust Bank VISA Privilege Credit Card Review

The Citizens Trust Bank VISA Privilege Credit Card is an uncomplicated low APR credit card designed for those who have hit some bumps in the road on their credit journey. The card, offered by Atlanta-based lender Citizens Trust Bank, is specially designed for those who are looking to boost their credit scores but don’t want the burden of the security deposit required for a secured credit card.

Rebuilding credit isn’t something that can be done overnight, and Citizens Trust designed its credit cards with that in mind. The Visa Privilege Card is the middle option of the bank’s products, in between the Visa Classic-Secured Card and the Visa Prestige Elite Card. As the middle card in the Citizens trifecta, the Privilege is the perfect steppingstone from the secured card towards the rewards card, allowing cardholders to graduate from secured to unsecured.

Also known as the Credit-Builder Card, the Visa Privilege benefits from a typical APR that ranges from highly competitive to satisfactory, depending on the creditworthiness of the applicant. For those with excellent credit scores, the APR will be around 13%, which is almost four-percentage points lower than the national average rate for all credit cards. For those rebuilding their credit, the rate will be much higher, but that shouldn’t be a turn-off, as rebuilding credit means paying your bills on time – something which will keep the interest rates at bay.

A Tale of Two Cards

As the APR differs significantly depending on the creditworthiness of the applicant, the Citizens Trust Bank VISA Privilege Credit Card is really two different credit cards in one. For those with a solid credit score, the low APR for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances makes the card a reliable low APR card – perfect for carrying balances.

For those rebuilding their credit score, the higher APR shouldn’t be an issue, as paying the entire statement balance each month is a good habit to learn, and one that will eliminate any concerns about interest rates.

The annual fee of $25 is also both a hindrance and a help, depending on your credit score. For those rebuilding, the annual fee of $25 isn’t extortionate, especially as many secured cards charge fees in the same range. Getting an unsecured credit card for the same rate is, therefore, a good trade-off. If, however, you already have excellent credit, there are plenty of other low APR credit cards on the market – many of which come with no annual fee and a 0% intro APR offer on balance transfers.

Should You Apply for the VISA Privilege Credit Card?

The Citizens Trust Bank VISA Privilege Credit Card seeks to serve several masters, with varying degrees of success.

The card is a great option for those who are looking to rebuild their credit – either as a current Citizens Trust Bank customer or anyone else looking to take the next step after having a secured credit card. For those individuals, the card offers basic Visa security and benefits, no foreign transaction fee, and the perks of an unsecured credit card – all for a $25 annual fee.

For those with good to excellent credit scores, however, the low APR on purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances, as well as the lack of foreign transaction fees are a nice touch, but they are let down by the $25 yearly fee – especially given that many similar card products charge no annual fee.