Deserve PRO Credit Card Review

The Deserve PRO is a cash back credit card for consumers in the later stages of building or rebuilding their credit.

With no foreign transaction fees, an initial credit limit up to $10,000 (depending on credit qualification), discounted airport lounge access, and the potential to earn up to 3% cash back on travel and entertainment purchases, Deserve PRO is an ideal spending aid for frequent travelers. An impressive stable of Mastercard-backed benefits adds to the value of this no-annual-fee card.

Deserve PRO isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely worth close consideration. Here’s what you need to know about its features, advantages, drawbacks, and overall suitability.

Key Features

These are the Deserve PRO Card’s most important features.

Rewards Program

Deserve PRO has a three-tiered rewards program:

• 3% cash back on eligible travel and entertainment purchases
• 2% cash back on eligible restaurant purchases
• Unlimited 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

Deserve restricts 2% and 3% cash back earnings to the first $500 in combined category spending on restaurant, travel, and entertainment purchases per billing cycle. Above that spending cap, purchases in these three categories earn an unlimited 1% cash back. Deserve occasionally runs promotions that promise cash back at rates higher than 3%, as well.

Earned cash back doesn’t expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing. Cash back earnings are automatically redeemed for statement credits when your cumulative cash back balance exceeds $25.

Regular APR

Deserve PRO does not have an introductory APR promotion. From the first day your account is active, the purchase APR ranges from 17.49% to 24.49% variable, depending on your creditworthiness when you open the account and prevailing interest rates after that.

Deserve PRO does not allow balance transfers or cash advances.

Important Fees

Deserve PRO has no annual or foreign transaction fee. The late payment fee ranges up to $25. The returned payment fee ranges up to $37. Deserve PRO does not charge an over-limit fee for transactions that exceed your credit limit, but it does reserve the right to decline transactions that would exceed your credit limit. Such transactions may hurt your credit score, as well.

Free Year of Priority Pass™ Membership

When you make at least $1,000 in purchases during your first 90 days of card membership, you’ll earn a complimentary year’s membership in Priority Pass™ Select, an airport lounge benefits program.

Deserve’s iteration of Priority Pass™ Select entitles the cardholder and ticketed travel companions to discounted entry at hundreds of airport lounges in the worldwide Priority Pass network. Each entry costs $27, a discount of roughly 50% off the typical entry fee.

To qualify for the discount, you must use your Deserve card for all entry charges. Individual lounges reserve the right to set their own hours and refuse entry during busy periods.

Mastercard Platinum Benefits

Deserve PRO has some additional value-added benefits included in the Mastercard Platinum benefits package:

• Extended Warranty. Deserve’s complimentary extended warranty coverage doubles qualifying manufacturers’ warranties on covered purchases for up to 12 months.
• Complimentary Rental Car Coverage. When you decline the rental company’s offer of insurance after paying for your rental car in full with your Deserve card, you receive damage and theft coverage up to the pre-set policy limit.
• Price Protection. When you find a lower advertised price on an identical item within 60 days of making a covered purchase, Mastercard’s price protection benefit reimburses the difference between that price and your original payment.
• Cellphone Protection. This is a limited insurance plan that provides up to $600 for costs incurred if your covered cellphone is stolen or damaged, subject to a $25 deductible. You may need to file a police report to prove that your phone was stolen.
• Travel Assistance Services. This benefit applies to cardholders traveling more than 50 miles from home. Perks include lost luggage assistance, medical referrals, and legal referrals.

You can read more about these and other Mastercard perks at Mastercard’s benefits portal.

Credit Required

Deserve PRO is designed for consumers with good credit or better. Though its underwriting standards are looser than most premium credit cards’, you still need a good credit score and a substantial history of responsible credit utilization to qualify.

Advantages

These are the Deserve PRO Card’s top advantages.

1. No Annual Fee. Deserve PRO has no annual fee. If you don’t want to deal with a recurring levy that offsets your cash back earnings, this is no doubt music to your ears.
2. Great Cash Back Rate on Travel and Entertainment Spending. This card earns 3% cash back on travel and entertainment spending, though the monthly spending cap may impede cardholders with bigger budgets. Still, if you can see yourself notching $500 per month in travel and entertainment charges, this is a good card to have on your side.
3. Solid Cash Back Earnings on Restaurant Spending. This card earns 2% cash back on restaurant spending, subject to the same cumulative cap as travel and entertainment spending. That’s in line with most dining cards, though not category leaders like Capital One Savor Cash Rewards.
4. Free Year of Priority Pass™ Select Membership With $1,000 in Early Spending. When you make at least $1,000 in eligible purchases during the first 90 days of card membership, you earn complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership for the subsequent year. Your membership qualifies you for discounted entry ($27 per person) for you and your ticketed guests at hundreds of airport lounges worldwide, subject to capacity and demand. If you travel frequently, this is a no-brainer and could be worth substantially more than the $99 estimated annual value.
5. No Foreign Transaction Fees. This card charges no foreign transaction fees. That’s great news for frequent international travelers used to paying 2% to 3% surcharges on international transactions.
6. Initial Credit Limit Up to $10,000. New Deserve PRO cardholders may qualify for initial credit limits as high as $10,000, depending on creditworthiness, income, and other underwriting factors.
7. Solid Value-Added Benefits. Deserve PRO’s value-added benefits include a host of Mastercard-backed perks: up to $600 in cellphone protection, travel assistance services for cardholders traveling more than 50 miles from home, up to 12 months’ extended warranty protection, complimentary rental car coverage when you pay in full with your card, and price protection for 60 days from the date of covered purchase.

Disadvantages

These are the Deserve PRO Card’s most noteworthy disadvantages.

1. No Traditional Sign-Up Bonus. Though you’ll qualify for a free year of Priority Pass™ membership when you make at least $1,000 in purchases during your first 90 days of card membership, there’s no corresponding cash or points bonus for crossing an initial spending threshold. Such traditional sign-up bonuses are common inclusions for top cash back and travel rewards credit cards, so this counts as a significant omission. Moreover, the value of your Priority Pass membership is heavily dependent on how frequently you visit airport lounges in the Priority Pass network.
2. Strict Spending Caps on 2% and 3% Cash Back Categories. Cash back earnings in the 2% and 3% categories – restaurants, and travel and entertainment, respectively – are capped at a cumulative $500 spent per billing cycle. Once you hit that cap, all further spending in those categories earns just 1% cash back. That’s a big drawback relative to unlimited cash back cards such as Citi Double Cash, which earns an unlimited 2% cash back – 1% when you spend and 1% when you pay on time – on all eligible purchases.
3. No Introductory APR Promotion. Deserve PRO has no introductory APR promotion, so it’s not appropriate for front-loading big-ticket purchases such as international vacations and home improvement projects. From day one, you must pay regular APR on any purchases not paid off by your statement due date.
4. No Balance Transfers or Cash Advances Allowed. Deserve doesn’t permit balance transfers or cash advances. If you’re looking for a 0% APR promotion to help pay down an existing high-interest credit card, look to a balance transfer card such as Citi Simplicity, which waives interest on balance transfers for 21 months from account opening.
5. $25 Cash Back Redemption Threshold. Deserve automatically redeems cash back via statement credit when your cumulative balance hits $25. Even for cardholders who max out their 2% and 3% category spending, this requires a hefty lift – about $833 in travel and entertainment spending, assuming no other purchases. If you don’t plan to use this card for everyday spending, you could wait a while for your first redemption.

Final Word

Deserve PRO is a solid choice for frugal cardholders who want to do better than the standard 1% cash back baseline and enjoy some travel and shopping perks to boot. The ideal user is someone who frequently travels inside and outside the United States but has little need for a more generous – and almost certainly more expensive – travel rewards card. There are no doubt thousands of such consumers out there, just waiting for the right credit card, and Deserve PRO may be their answer.