Mine credit builder debit card review: A debit card that helps you build credit

When you need to build credit, a credit card is often the product you turn to. But if you don't want to have to go through a credit check, a debit card may be a better fit.

The Mine credit builder debit card (formerly the Fizz Card) is a debit card that actually helps you build credit. Like traditional debit cards, it links directly to your bank account, using your existing funds to set a spending limit. Payments on the purchases you then make are reported to the credit bureaus, helping you establish a positive payment history.

The Mine credit builder debit card does not offer a welcome bonus.

With the Mine credit builder debit card, users get a line of credit up to $1,000 and can use their card to make purchases, and those payments will be reported to the credit bureaus to help you build credit over time. There's no credit check required. The Mine card is linked to your bank account, and you can set up daily autopay to pay off purchases each day or choose monthly payments instead.

The card's "SafeFreeze" feature also automatically locks your account if you miss a daily payment, if autopay fails or if your bank balance drops too low. This can help you avoid overspending and prevent late payments.

Earning

Mine credit builder debit card cardholders earn 3% cash back in one category of their choice. They can change the category weekly or keep it the same. Mine also runs rotating Friday offers, including up to 100% cash back at select merchants like Costco, Target or McDonald's.

Redeeming

Mine rewards can be redeemed once you've earned at least $10, or 1,000 points. You can transfer the cash back directly to your linked bank account, with no complicated steps.

Mine charges an annual membership fee of $59.99 for students, or $5.99 per month, and $129.99 for non-students, or $11.99 per month. There's also a quarterly option of $15.99 for students or $34.99 for non-students, billed every three months at the start of your membership period.

With a paid Mine membership, you can then apply for the Mine credit builder debit card, as well as get access to other products and services such as Mine's spend tracking and budgeting tool.

Mine credit builder debit card vs. Extra Card

Both the Mine credit builder debit card and the Extra Card are debit-style cards that help you build credit without a credit check. Like Mine, the Extra Card connects to your bank account, sets a spending limit based on your balance and reports your payments to credit bureaus. But while the Mine card offers 3% cash back in a category of your choice, the Extra Card offers up to 1% rewards points on all purchases. Extra also comes with a higher cost: $199 annually, or $25 per month, for the rewards plan, or $149 annually, or $20 per month, without rewards.

Mine credit builder debit card vs. Capital One Quicksilver Secured Credit Card

If you don't mind a credit check, you could also opt for a secured card like the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Credit Card, which offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases. While you are required to make a $200 security deposit, that's fairly standard for secured credit cards and you can increase your credit limit by making a larger deposit, up to the maximum you'll be assigned when approved.

The Mine credit builder debit card could be a great fit if you want to build credit without a credit check and prefer its method of linking to your bank account and reporting your payments to the credit bureaus. Its features are helpful to avoid further overspending, but you also have to consider the membership fee. In which case, if you're fine with a credit check, you may be better off with a secured card with a reasonable deposit that offers a clearer path to an unsecured card once your credit is established.

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* Information about the Mine credit builder debit card has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.