The Chime Metal Card is one of many credit cards on the market. But what makes it unique, and do you need one?
The Chime Metal Card is a secured credit card designed to help you build credit. It is a fully-metal card with a metallic emerald green finish. It comes with all the basic features you expect from a secured card. It is worth noting that to get the metal card, you must first have the traditional Chime Credit Builder Card.
Take a closer look at the Chime metal card and the Chime Credit Builder card to discover if it is right for you and how to get one.
The Chime Credit Builder Metal Card is a variation of the traditional Chime Credit Builder Card. Both cards are for people looking to build their credit, and they are secured cards. The metal card simply has a more appealing appearance.
As mentioned, the Chime Credit Builder Metal Card works just like the Chime Credit Builder Card. The differences come down to the material and appearance. Specifically, the metal card is made of edge-to-edge metal. It has a metallic emerald green finish and raised varnish branding.
By contrast, the regular Credit Builder card is a traditional plastic credit card. It is also green, but the branding is not raised and is plain white.
To get a Chime Metal Card, you must first have a Chime Credit Builder Card and meet some minimum requirements. You have to wait until you get an email from Chime announcing the metal card. Then, you have 60 days to make at least 40 transactions, each of which must be at least $1. Only five transactions can qualify per day.
If you make enough qualifying purchases, you will get a Metal Card in the mail. Chime will ship it within about ten business days and take up to 14 days to arrive. You will receive an email when Chime ships the card, so you know what to expect.
Keep in mind that your 40 transactions must qualify. The following are not qualifying transactions:
So, most of the daily purchases that you make with your Credit Builder card will count toward the total.
Whether you have the Chime Credit Builder Card or the Chime Metal Credit Builder Card, it will function the same exact way.
As this credit card is a Visa, you can use it anywhere that Visas are accepted.
Most importantly, this is a secured credit card. So, you make a deposit, and that deposit becomes the limit of your credit card. There is no minimum security deposit.
One very important thing to keep in mind about the Chime Credit Building card is that it works together with your Chime Checking Account. This means that you need to have a Chime Checking Account in order to qualify for the Chime Credit Builder card. Additionally, the account will need to have at least $200 of direct deposits made within the last 365 days.
For some people, this means they will need to first open a Chime Checking Account before they can apply for the Credit Builder card. The good news is that they can apply for a Chime Checking Account in less than two minutes.
There are no annual fees for using the Chime Credit Builder Card. There is also no interest, so you don’t have to worry about a high APR. As well, there are zero fees for replacing your card.
That said, Chime does charge a fee for using an out-of-network ATM. But there are more than 60,000 ATMs in Chime’s fee-free network, so this is easy to avoid.
Because this is a secured credit card, Chime doesn’t check your credit score as part of the application process. This means that having a bad score or no credit history won’t affect your ability to get the card. It also means that you won’t have a hard credit check that temporarily lowers your score like you would with most traditional credit cards.
You can turn on the feature called Safer Credit Building to set up automatic payments from your deposit. This simply uses the deposit you moved into your Chime Credit Builder account to pay for your balance when it is due. It saves you the hassle of having to remember to pay while giving you the benefits of paying on time and having that reported to the credit bureaus.
Keep in mind that if this feature is enabled, the balance in your Chime Credit Builder account will be lower the following month. As such, your credit limit will also be lower, as that limit equals your deposit/balance.
It is worth noting that this is a unique feature. While some other secured credit cards let you use your deposit to pay off the monthly balance, most do not. As such, this feature can add a great deal of convenience.
You can instantly disable your Chime credit card if you lose it or it gets stolen. This helps prevent fraudulent activities.
You can easily file a dispute if you notice a transaction that you didn’t make on your card. You can do so via the mobile app, via email, or by calling Chime. Chime will start investigating the dispute immediately. Depending on how long your dispute takes, you may be eligible for provisional credit. For disputes regarding ATMs, ACH, or Pay Anyone, expect a Final Determination within 45 days (calendar days) after you file the dispute. For any other card transaction dispute, the process can take up to 90 calendar days.
The Chime Credit Builder card lives up to its reputation of helping build your credit. One way it does so is by reporting your payments to all three major credit bureaus. According to Chime, members’ credit scores increase by an average of 30 points.
Keep in mind that Chime only reports your payment history to the credit bureaus. It doesn’t report your credit utilization because of the way the card is set up. As a secured credit card with your limit as the balance in your Credit Builder account, many Chime cardholders would have a high credit utilization rate. Since the goal of Chime is to build your credit score, the card doesn’t report it. Chime also couldn’t report the utilization if it wanted to because the limit is not preset.
It is worth noting that using the Chime Credit Builder card doesn’t accumulate any rewards. This is fairly common among secured cards and those for people with bad credit, but there are some alternatives that offer rewards.
Another thing to keep in mind about the Chime credit card is that there isn’t an upgrade path available. For example, some card issuers offer a variety of credit cards for people of all credit scores. If you start with a secured card but make on-time payments for a certain amount of time, those cards may let you upgrade to an unsecured card with a low limit. From there, responsible use can continue to let you upgrade.
But the Credit Builder card is the only credit card from Chime. As such, there is no upgrade path. You would have to apply for a card from another issuer to get a card with rewards or an unsecured one. Of course, your improved credit score should help with this.
For many people, the question is whether you should get a Chime Credit Builder card and try to get the metal version. It depends on your situation.
If you have no credit or low credit and need a credit card, it is a solid option. The fact that you need a Chime Checking Account may deter you, but it only takes minutes to set up. In addition to the lack of rewards, the other big caveat is that using this credit card will not necessarily prepare you for using traditional ones.
This is because the payment system and the way your limit is set are so different from traditional cards. Simply put, Chime has a lot of safeguards in place to protect your credit score and ensure you make on-time payments. Few other credit cards have even close to as many. This makes it good for those who are looking to build credit, but you must be willing to take the time to learn how traditional cards work before getting one. Otherwise, you may risk hurting your credit score or accumulating a large amount of interest on your balance in the future.
The Chime Metal Credit Builder card is available to people who make enough qualifying transactions with their Chime Credit Builder card. Either of these cards is a good way to build credit, as they are secured cards and report to all three major credit bureaus. However, there will be a learning curve when you finally switch to a traditional credit card, so that is worth keeping in mind.