Step Card Review

Who is the Step Card for?

The Step Card is a low-cost card meant for those who do not have a ton of knowledge about finance and banks. This card eliminates fees for standard activities while also forgoing a formal rewards program. This card is meant for teens and parents, but its primary focus is educating kids on financial literacy and responsibility.

The Step Card eliminates monthly, overdraft, minimum, and service fees. This allows you to own this card at very little cost, making it a great first credit card for adolescents.

We recommend this card for people, especially teenagers, who want to learn more about banking without having to pay a lot of added costs or worry about complicated rewards structures.

Few Costs

The Step Card minimizes costs in order to give you an easier banking experience. You will not have to pay an annual or monthly fee with this card, making it practically free to own. Also, there are no minimum, overdraft, or service fees, which means that you will not be charged for the maintenance or ownership of your card. 

This card also offers 0% APR on purchases and cash advances. You will not have to pay interest on any new items that you buy, allowing you to spend freely and avoid paying extra costs.

Mobile Banking and Protections

All of your banking needs with this card can be fulfilled online through the Step Mobile Banking app. Using Step, you can pay with Apple Pay and Google Pay, transfer money to and from your friends and family, and deposit money from your current bank account.

The Step Card also comes with a few different protection features. First, your account is FDIC insured for deposits of up to $250,000. Also, this card offers Visa’s zero liability policy, which will relieve you of any costs coming from fraudulent charges.

Cautions

This card is not meant for the international traveler. Step charges a 2% foreign transaction fee, and even though this is lower than most foreign transaction fees, you should also consider a travel rewards card that voids the foreign transaction fee to accompany this card.

In an attempt to teach financial literacy, this card punishes people for not making payments on time. The Step Card charges a late fee of up to $35 and will raise your APR to 19.99% when usually, you are not charged interest for purchases and cash advances.

Also, this card is not meant for people who are seeking rewards from their credit cards. Savvy credit card users should look for cards with rewards programs, whereas this card is meant for those who are trying to understand how credit cards work.

Conclusion

The Step Card is a solid option for first-time credit card users who are looking to learn more about the workings of banks. Those who are financially illiterate can gain experience from this card without having to worry about complicated additional costs or confusing rewards programs. Although you will not receive rewards for owning this card, Step practically removes all ownership costs, allowing you to spend freely, learn more about banking, and not have to research rewards points or cash back benefits.