Milestone® Mastercard® – 1.5% Cashback Rewards Credit Card
An unsecured credit card built for people with fair or rebuilding credit, offering flat 1.5% cash back on purchases. Approval is possible without a deposit, but high fees and APR make it a costly option if you carry a balance.
Card Details
- Card Type: Unsecured credit-building card with rewards (no deposit required)
- Rewards: Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, credited monthly as a statement credit
- Annual Fee: $175 first year; $49 thereafter
- Monthly Fee: $0 first year; $12.50/month from year two ($150 annually)
- APR: 35.9% on purchases and cash advances
- Other Fees: Cash advance $5 or 5% (max $100); 1% foreign transaction; penalty fees up to $40
- Credit Limit: $700 guaranteed starting limit (about $525 available after first-year fees are applied)
- Pre-Qualification: Online pre-qualification available with no hard credit inquiry if declined
- Credit Reporting: Reports monthly to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
- Issuer: The Bank of Missouri; serviced by Concora Credit Inc.
About The Card
The Milestone® Mastercard® with 1.5% Cashback Rewards is one of the few subprime credit cards that combines credit-building access with rewards. You’re guaranteed a $700 initial credit line, and you earn a flat 1.5% back on all purchases as a statement credit. Pre-qualification is offered without impacting your credit score, which makes it easier to test your approval odds before applying.
This card is issued by The Bank of Missouri and serviced by Concora Credit Inc., a company specializing in products for people with less-than-perfect credit. All activity is reported to all three credit bureaus, so on-time payments can gradually improve your credit history.
The trade-off is cost. Between the upfront $175 fee, ongoing monthly fees after the first year, and high APR, carrying a balance is very expensive. Rewards help offset a little of the cost, but the card is best used for credit building and paid-in-full purchases only.
Pros
- 1.5% cash back on every purchase – rare for a credit-builder card
- No security deposit required – unsecured approval possible with poor to fair credit
- Guaranteed $700 starting credit limit (though reduced by upfront fee)
- Reports monthly to all three credit bureaus to build history
- Pre-qualification tool lets you check without hurting your score
- Standard Mastercard protections, including $0 fraud liability and broad acceptance
Cons
- Very high APR – carrying a balance is costly
- Heavy fees: $175 first-year fee, then $49 annual plus $150 in monthly fees = $199 yearly
- Rewards are only applied as statement credits, not cash payouts
- Upfront fees immediately reduce available credit to about $525
- Limited growth – no clear path to higher limits or product upgrades
- Competing secured cards may offer lower overall costs and rewards
Is this card for me?
The Milestone® Mastercard® – 1.5% Cashback Rewards is best for someone rebuilding or starting out who wants unsecured credit access without a deposit, and who will always pay balances in full. The rewards make it more appealing than many subprime cards, but the ongoing costs are steep.
If your main goal is credit building and you can afford to put down a deposit, a secured card with no annual fee may be a cheaper long-term option. If you specifically want an unsecured card with guaranteed approval odds and flat cash-back, Milestone provides that path — just be sure you understand the fees and plan to use it only as a temporary stepping-stone.
