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The Prosper® Card is a good option for building your credit if you have a bad or fair credit score. It has a $39 annual fee that can be waived for the first year and doesn’t require a security deposit. But if you qualify, there are better credit card options available that offer rewards and don’t have annual fees.
Check out our Prosper credit card review to see the Prosper Card’s benefits and drawbacks and whether it makes sense for you.
Build Credit Without a Security Deposit
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Prosper® Card
Current Offer
Build credit without a required security deposit
Annual Fee
$39
Who should get the Prosper Card?
The Prosper Card could make sense if you want to build your credit and can’t qualify for a more appealing rewards credit card. This credit card doesn’t require a security deposit, but it has a $39 annual fee (possible to avoid this for the first year) and your purchases won’t earn points, miles, or cash back.
The main draw of the Prosper Card is that you don’t need a good or excellent credit score to qualify. Qualifying for the card ultimately depends on different factors and the card issuer, but it’s possible to qualify with a fair or bad credit score.
Card basics
| Credit card issuer | Coastal Community Bank |
| Credit card network | Mastercard |
| Annual fee | $39 |
| Intro bonus | Build credit without a required security deposit |
| Recommended credit score | Fair, Bad |
| Foreign transaction fee | 1% |
Prosper Card benefits and perks
- Qualify without hurting your credit score: Checking to see whether you qualify for the Prosper Card during the application process won’t affect your credit score in any way. This is similar to how certain credit card companies provide pre-approval tools. If you qualify, you’ll receive an estimated interest rate and credit line amount. Completing the process of becoming a Prosper Card cardholder will show up on your credit report and affect your credit score.
- No security deposit: Many credit cards geared toward building credit are secured credit cards and require a security deposit. Your available credit is typically attached to how much of a security deposit you put down. The Prosper Card is an unsecured credit card and doesn’t require a security deposit.
- Build credit: Responsibly using the Prosper Card can help you build your credit score. This could include using your credit card to make purchases, making on-time credit card payments, and not carrying a balance. The Prosper Card reports account activity to the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion).
- Waive the first-year annual fee: Prosper will waive the $39 annual fee for the first year if you’re approved and sign up for AutoPay before your first statement is issued.
- Up to $3,000 credit limit: Receive an initial line of credit of up to $3,000 upon approval.
- Automatic credit line reviews: Your credit card account is automatically reviewed for credit line adjustments. This could include receiving automatic credit line increases (or decreases or no changes at all) depending on your payment history and eligibility.
- No fees for ATM cash withdrawals: Skip ATM cash withdrawal fees from Prosper. Keep in mind that you could still be on the hook for any fees from the ATM owner. Although there is no cash advance fee, Prosper Card cash advances are also subject to a 35.24% cash advance APR.
Drawbacks to the Prosper Card
- $39 annual fee: You don’t have to worry about a security deposit, but the Prosper Card still has a $39 annual fee.
- No rewards: The Prosper Card doesn’t offer any earning potential. This might not matter to you if your primary goal is to build your credit score. But there are options for building your credit score while earning rewards at the same time. Visit our dedicated page of credit card offers to compare credit cards that offer rewards.
- No intro APR offer: The Prosper Card has no introductory APR offers on purchases or balance transfers. In fact, the Prosper Card can’t be used for balance transfers at all. For better options, check out our list of the best 0% APR credit cards.
Prosper Card FAQs
Is Prosper a loan or a credit card?
Prosper isn’t a loan or a credit card, but rather a financial institution that opened as a peer-to-peer lending marketplace in 2005. Some of Prosper’s available financial products include loans and a credit card. Here’s a full list of what Prosper offers:
- Personal loans
- Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs)
- Prosper® Card
- Investments
What is the interest rate on a Prosper Card?
The interest rate on a Prosper Card is 24.24% to 35.24% (variable). Similar to other credit cards, the Prosper Card has a variable APR because it depends on your creditworthiness and other factors when you first open your account.
As with most credit cards, you can avoid paying most interest charges if you make your monthly payments by the due date. Cash advances are an exception, though, and start accruing interest right away at an interest rate of 35.24%.
What is the minimum credit score for a Prosper Card?
The minimum credit score for a Prosper Card isn’t officially published, but you can typically qualify with poor or fair credit. The FICO scoring model lists these ranges for poor and fair credit scores:
- Poor credit score: 300 to 579
- Fair credit score: 580 to 669
What bank issues Prosper credit card?
Coastal Community Bank issues the Prosper credit card. Coastal Community Bank opened in 1997 and is based out of Everett, Washington. Other Coastal products include checking and savings accounts, loans, investment accounts, and more. Coastal has online banking options as well as in-person branches. Coastal Community Bank is a member of the FDIC.
Other cards to consider
The Prosper Card is a good option if you have a less-than-perfect credit score and want to rebuild your credit without worrying about a security deposit. But if the Prosper Card isn’t the best credit card for you, you can explore our list of the best credit cards for bad credit.
You can also consider other card alternatives, such as the Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card and Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card
The Petal 2 has a $0 annual fee and offers unlimited 1% cash back on eligible purchases; after 6 on-time payments, earn 1.25% cash back; after 12 on-time payments, earn 1.5% cash back.
Compare this with the $39 annual fee and no opportunities to earn rewards with the Prosper Card. Additionally, the Petal 2 also has no foreign transaction fees and it’s possible to qualify with limited or no credit history.
Check out our Petal Visa credit cards review to learn more about this card.
Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One QuicksilverOne has a $39 annual fee and offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase; plus 5% unlimited cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
This is similar to the $39 annual fee on the Prosper Card, but the Prosper Card doesn’t offer any earning potential. The QuicksilverOne also has no foreign transaction fees and it’s possible to qualify with a fair credit score.
Read our Capital One QuicksilverOne review for more information.
Build Credit Without a Security Deposit
Prosper® Card
Why We Like It
Build credit without a required security deposit
See how these cards compare:
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Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card
- Earn 1.5% unlimited cash back on all eligible purchases after 12 on-time payments
- 2% to 10% cash back on select merchants
- Great for those with little to no credit history
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fee
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Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
- 1.5% unlimited cash back on every purchase, every day
- Plus earn unlimited 5% unlimited cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Consideration for a higher credit line as quickly as 6 months after account opening
- Unlimited access to CreditWise: a free monitoring tool that won't damage your score