Online commerce platform Super has launched the SuperCash Mastercard card, offering consumers across the credit spectrum the chance to build their credit and earn top-tier rewards rates along the way. The card doesn’t require a credit check and bases your spending limit on what you deposit into the account. Here’s how to know if it’s right for you.
Key Takeaways
- Super has launched a new debit-credit card hybrid, making it possible for anyone to get approved and build their credit.
- Instead of checking your credit, the fintech company bases your spending limit on your account balance.
- Cardholders can earn up to 10% cash back on select purchases, but most will earn an impressive 2% back.
How the SuperCash Card Works
The SuperCash card isn’t a traditional credit card, but it’s not a traditional debit card either. When you set up an account, you’ll be able to add funds via bank transfer or direct deposit. Your spending limit is based on how much you deposit into the account. That said, there’s no minimum balance requirement to keep the account open or to avoid fees.
Unfortunately, there’s currently no option to deposit a check or cash, though the company plans to add that feature in the future.
You’ll use the card to make purchases as you normally would, and if you exceed your spending limit, new charges will be declined. Instead of debiting your account for each transaction like a bank account, though, Super will take payment for your purchases at the end of each billing cycle, either automatically or manually. It also reports those monthly payments to the credit bureaus, which can help you build your credit over time.
However, if you’re consistently reaching your spending limit every month, that could result in a high credit utilization rate, which can hurt your credit score.
Despite not requiring good or excellent credit, the SuperCash card offers impressive rewards:
- 10% cash back on travel booked through hotel bookings through the SuperTravel platform.
- 5% cash back on purchases made through the SuperShop portal.
- 2% cash back on all other purchases.
You can use the card anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Because you’re technically using your own funds and not borrowing money from the card issuer, MRV Banks, the SuperCash card doesn’t charge interest. It also doesn’t have an annual fee or monthly fee.
Because the funds are stored in a bank account, they’re FDIC-insured. However, there are some limitations on how much you can deposit and spend each month. You can deposit up to $5,000 per month into the account, and the most you can spend in a day or on a single point-of-sale transaction is $1,250.
Is the SuperCard Card Right for You?
The SuperCash “crebit” card can provide a unique opportunity for consumers with no credit history, a thin credit file, or even poor credit history by eliminating the Catch-22 of needing a good history with credit to qualify for credit.
It can also be a solution for people who have struggled with overspending in the past or who don’t like credit cards but still want the chance to build their credit history.
The fact that the card also offers a base rewards rate of 2% back is impressive in its own right. Most of the credit cards that are designed for consumers with subprime credit typically don’t offer rewards at all.
Finally, since there’s no credit check or annual fee, there aren’t a lot of downsides to opening an account to try it out and see if it works for you.
With no interest charges or annual fees, though, it’s unclear whether the card can sustain its rewards offerings in the long run, so keep that in mind if you have plans to use it.