Jasper Mastercard Adding Rewards Program: 1% Back on All Purchases
UPDATE: As of Feb. 9, 2021, the Jasper Mastercard® added the ability to boost your rewards rate, up to 6% back, by referring friends. The card's base rewards rate is still 1% back. Terms apply.
The Jasper Mastercard® — an alternative credit card for those with no credit — will soon offer 1% cash back on all purchases for all cardholders.
Starting Oct. 28, 2020, the card, issued by WebBank, will earn rewards that redeem automatically every month as a statement credit to cardholders’ accounts. There will be no minimum redemption threshold; cash back will redeem at any amount.
Terms will apply. For example, accounts must be active and in good standing to qualify for rewards.
Aside from the new rewards benefit, other card features will remain the same. Cardholders can continue to expect:
$0* annual fee.
No security deposit.
No upfront Social Security number requirement for international professionals (though those applicants will eventually have to report one to the company).
A credit limit of up to $5,000.
Payments reported to two of the three major U.S. credit bureaus: TransUnion and Equifax.
The ongoing APR is 15.49% - 24.99% Variable.
Nerd tip: Jasper started shipping credit cards to qualified customers in January 2018, when it was operating under the name CreditStacks. The card initially was designed for working professionals who were new to the U.S. As part of its rebranding in May 2020, however, the Jasper Mastercard® now targets all working professionals who are new to credit, not just those who are also new to the country.
A good starter-card option gets better
Not all starter credit cards earn rewards, so 1% is a solid rate among products in this class.
But even beyond rewards, the Jasper Mastercard® offers a lot of positives for those seeking to establish a credit history in the U.S. For starters, Jasper doesn’t rely solely on traditional factors (like credit scores or histories) when determining creditworthiness. It can instead use an alternative credit scoring model that looks at over 360 data points to evaluate an applicant. Among those data points are online presence, debt-to-income ratio and a secured job offer from an employer.
Plus, the Jasper Mastercard® is one of the few products on the market that doesn't require a Social Security number upfront when you apply. (It allows cardholders 60 days to report a Social Security number after card activation.)
Also, while other credit card issuers tend to require you to be already working in the U.S. before you apply for their products, the Jasper Mastercard® accepts applications up to 60 days before starting a new job in the U.S.
Still, if you're new to credit, it's worth exploring other starter products and alternative credit cards. Some of them may have more to offer in the form of better rewards, higher possible credit limits, and payments that are reported to all three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.
A report to all three bureaus is ideal because you don't know which bureau a future prospective lender will use to look up your credit history.
