Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card Review: A Leading Card to Build Credit

Issued by WebBank, the Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card is the first card from Petal, a company that is clearly looking to make waves in the credit card industry. It's one of the more unique cards on the market: Not only does this fee-free card offer an impressive cash back rate, but you can also get it with zero credit history and no security deposit. We'll explain why we think it's also among the best credit cards if you are building credit in our Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card review.

This credit card is a good fit for: People with limited or no credit history looking for a fee-free card to build their credit.

Top perks

No credit history required

The Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card is ideal for consumers who are new to credit, because you don't need any credit history to get the card. If you have no credit, you can link your bank accounts during the application process. Petal will then use information from those accounts to evaluate your application.

Learn more: Best Starter Credit Cards for No Credit

Up to 1.5% cash back

The Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card earns 1% cash back on eligible purchases to start, but that increases to 1.5% back on eligible purchases after you've made 12 on-time payments. These payments don't need to be consecutive. If you make seven on-time payments, miss one, and then make another five on time, you'll start earning 1.5% back.

No fees

You won't need to worry about any fees with this card. It doesn't charge an annual fee, late payment fees, foreign transaction fees, or any of those other credit card fees that cost you money. Credit cards for building credit tend to pack in nuisance fees, but that isn't the case here.

Note that you will pay interest if you don't pay your entire statement balance, but that's standard with any credit card.

Read more: Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards

Petal app

In addition to this credit card, Petal also offers an application that you can link to your card and most financial institutions. The Petal app includes several features that can help you improve your financial situation, including:

• Estimates of how much interest you'll pay based on your credit card payment amount
• A "Spend Planner" that lets you set a budget and track your spending each month
• A credit score tracker

No security deposit

Secured credit cards are a typical go-to option for consumers with no credit history, but they require a security deposit up front, which can be tough to manage if money's tight. This card doesn't, so you won't need to pay a thing to get started with Petal.

For more options, take a look at our picks for the best cash back credit cards.

What could be improved

Fixed payment due date

Petal doesn't give you the option of picking a payment due date, so you're stuck with the date you get. Plenty of other credit cards offer this feature, which can be nice if you want to set your payment due date for right after you get paid.

The Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card is available to consumers with no credit history or a limited credit history, so you don't need any specific credit score to get it. If you do have a credit history, Petal will review it during the application process.

Keep in mind that although this card is excellent for building credit, it's not intended for rebuilding credit. If you've had problems with missed payments in the past, they could prevent you from being approved.

The application process for the Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card is different than that of most other cards. To apply, you need an invite code from Petal. If you don't have one, you can still click the "Apply" button on the Petal website, enter your information, and go through a preapproval process, which doesn't affect your credit score. If Petal preapproves you, it will send you an email with an invitation to officially apply for the card.

If your goal is to build your credit, then you should strongly consider applying for the Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card. It doesn't charge any fees, it doesn't require a deposit, and after 12 on-time payments, it earns a great cash back rate. You can't ask for much better than that from a credit card you can get without any credit history.