The Destiny™ Mastercard® is an unsecured credit card for people with bad to fair credit. Potential applicants are prompted to prequalify to see whether they may be approved for the card. This step doesn’t impact your credit score. Once you have the card, the Destiny™ Mastercard® reports your transaction history monthly to all three major credit bureaus.
Depending on which version you qualify for, the Destiny™ Mastercard® has a $59 to $99 annual fee and 24.9% annual percentage rate, or APR. Mastercard benefits, including identity theft protection and zero liability protection for unauthorized purchases, are available to cardholders.
- Issuer NameGenesis FS Card Services
- Credit NeededBad/Fair
- Annual FeeSee Terms*
- APRSee Terms*
- Penalty APR29.90% (Fixed)
- Balance Transfer FeeSee Terms
- Cash Advance Fee$0 during the first year; after the first year, either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater (not to exceed $100)
- Foreign Transaction Fee1% of each transaction in U.S. dollars.
- Have bad credit or went through bankruptcy and want to improve your creditworthiness.
- Don’t need to make balance transfers.
- Don’t want to use a secured credit card.
The Destiny™ Mastercard® is an unsecured credit card for people with bad credit. It can be a good choice if you’re recovering from bankruptcy or prefer to avoid secured credit cards that require a security deposit.
Prequalifying for this card is a wise move, as you can find out whether you’re likely to be approved for the card before applying. It doesn’t affect your credit score when you prequalify, but applying triggers a hard credit inquiry that can temporarily ding your credit score, so it’s good to feel confident about your approval odds before you commit to applying.
While you won’t pay a security deposit to hold this card, you will pay an annual fee of at least $59. It may not make sense to keep this card long term and continue paying the annual fee after you’ve improved your credit.
Editor’s Take
The Destiny™ Mastercard® can make sense if you’re unable to get approved for other cards, but there are better options for improving your credit history. If you’re struggling with bad credit, you should look for a card you can responsibly use long term with low costs – ideally, with no annual fee.
Opening a credit card and keeping it open indefinitely with on-time payment history is a great way to improve your credit score. But with an annual fee and no appeal beyond fairly easy approval, the Destiny™ Mastercard® is not a card you should plan to keep open for years.
While you might hesitate to take on a secured credit card with a security deposit, a security deposit is refundable, while an annual fee is not. If you’re struggling to get approved for an unsecured credit card with no annual fee, it could make sense to look for a no-annual-fee secured credit card such as the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card.
Jessica MerrittContributor
The Destiny™ Mastercard® doesn’t offer a welcome bonus.
The Destiny™ Mastercard® doesn’t offer rewards.
U.S. News rates credit cards by analyzing factors including fees, interest rates and benefits, each weighed against their importance to determine an overall score for each credit card. Consumers can rely on these ratings to provide objective, accurate assessments of credit card choices.
