An Unfiltered Review of the OneMain BrightWay® Card: A Tool to Help You Hit Financial Milestones

If your credit score is in a deep hole, you may just want a chance to prove you can get back to level ground. The OneMain BrightWay® Card could be just the ladder you need to make a credit score comeback.

It has plenty of features to help, and even rewards your responsible use with credit line increases and interest rate cuts up to twice a year. Those are the kind of sought-after benefits that really incentivize you to keep going.

I wanted to know more, so I looked behind every door and searched all the nooks and crannies to find out all of the details. And I’ll pass along all the info, including how you earn cash back (yep, this is a rewards card), how much being a cardholder will cost you, and how to apply.

I’ll also share my honest opinion on who this card is for (and who should look elsewhere), and offer a couple of alternatives to give you some options. After reading this, you should know if the OneMain BrightWay® Card is worth a hard inquiry on your credit report.

If you’ve been looking at credit cards designed for folks with poor or limited credit for more than two seconds, you probably noticed a trend: Many of them are secured. But the OneMain BrightWay® Card is unsecured, so you won’t have to put down a deposit as collateral to open an account.

OneMain BrightWay® Card

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• See if you’re pre-approved with no impact to your credit score.
• Qualify for rewards like a credit limit increase (subject to credit approval) or APR decrease in as little as six months.
• Earn unlimited 1% cash back on purchases.
• Building your credit? We report to the major credit bureaus and good payment habits can pay off.
• Easily manage your account and make payments using BrightWay App.
• BrightWay cards are issued by WebBank.
• See the OneMain BrightWay® Card rates and fees.*

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Our Rating

★★★★★

4.6

It’s issued by WebBank and serviced by OneMain Financial, and this card is clearly on a mission to help you earn better account terms by reaching “Milestone Events” twice a year. 

I’ll explain what those are and how they work in a moment. But first, let’s explore what having the card would be like, day to day. 

Initial Credit Limit

This card is actually one of three BrightWay® credit cards that OneMain Financial offers. The credit limits are pretty straightforward, and the OneMain BrightWay® Card sits at the entry-level tier.

I’ll cover more of the details later, but here is a quick look at how the three cards compare:

After you go through a pre-approval process (a lot more on that below), you’ll see which, if any, you qualify for and can select your preferred option.

Don’t worry too much if your initial credit limit is disappointing. OneMain Financial may increase your spending power once you’ve proven you can handle your current level.

Fees and APR

Like many other unsecured credit cards, the OneMain BrightWay® Card can actually be a way to build credit at a reasonable price. 

Or it can be an expensive financial tool to keep in your toolbox. It all depends on your financial habits and how you use it. Here are the fees it charges, and remember, you can avoid many of them:

• Annual fee: Up to $89 (The exact amount is based on the card you’re offered and your credit profile.)
• Cash advance fee: 3% of the advanced amount, or $10, whichever is greater
• Foreign transaction fee: 1% of the purchase amount
• Late fee: Up to $40
• Replacement card fee: Up to $25

You’ll also pay a very high fixed APR of 35.99% for purchases and cash advances, which start accruing this interest immediately. However, if you pay your statement balance off in full before your due date, you can avoid paying interest on purchases, thanks to your grace period.

Credit Building and Security

All activity on your OneMain BrightWay® Card is reported to the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) every month. Over time, that stream of positive information could translate into a significant credit score boost.

This card opens the door to credit building, but how far you go depends entirely on how responsible you are with it.

But this card can also help you protect your credit while you grow with its security features. Credit cards get stolen all the time, and digital payment information can get swiped by tech-savvy con artists. 

Fortunately, per the BrightWay® cardholder agreement, you’re only responsible for transactions made by you, an authorized user, or someone you gave card access to. That means, if someone fraudulently uses your card to purchase tickets to a Yankees game (Go Sox!), you’re off the financial hook.

You may receive an alert if the card issuer thinks something fishy is going on with your account. If your card gets lost or stolen, contact customer service right away to freeze your account and get a new card.

This is where the OneMain BrightWay® Card really shines by laying out the path to better terms, higher credit limits, and credit cards with more features.

Shining path, BrightWay®, could that be a coincidence?

Not only do you get some cash back on your everyday spending, but you could also earn better benefits every six months, without ever having to open a new account. 

The Milestone Benefits Program 

OneMain Financial believes responsible cardholders should be rewarded regularly during their credit-building journey. That’s why it created the Milestone Benefits program.

After every six qualifying, on-time payments, you hit a Milstone, which means you can choose an APR reduction or a credit limit increase. You can lower your APR by as much as 0.50% after each Milestone (to a floor of 19.99%). 

Or, you can choose a credit limit increase. The limit maxes out at $15,000, which could involve hitting a lot of Milestones, and it is subject to income and other requirements.

Currently, you can only get a credit limit increase through the Milestone Benefits program, so there’s no point in asking for one.

It’s important to note that you may not qualify for a credit limit increase every time you hit a milestone. In that case, you would choose the APR reduction by default. 

But you must still select it. If you don’t indicate your choice by the payment due date after the billing cycle in which you hit your milestone, you’ll lose that milestone period’s benefit.

After you hit a milestone, your qualifying payment count resets to zero. You can also lose your qualifying payment count if you miss a payment or if you don’t use your account for six months.

Cash Back Rewards Credited to Your Account

You can earn 1% or 1.5% cash back on every eligible purchase with the OneMain BrightWay® Card. Your cash back will automatically get applied to your account balance each month. But is this perk actually valuable?

Unless you get the BrightWay®+ card, you’ll have to pay an annual fee to use your account, which could make the cash back you earn feel more like a reimbursement rather than a benefit. Let’s look at an example.  

If your annual fee is $89 and you earn 1% cash back, you’d have to spend $8,900 per year (roughly $742 per month) to break even. If you spend more than that, you’ll start to see a small profit. 

But that’s also assuming you pay your balance in full every month and avoid interest charges.

Does the Cash Back Outweigh the Costs?

However, your credit limit may not be high enough to hit the break-even spending target. According to Intuit CreditKarma, the average starting credit line for the OneMain BrightWay® Card is about $770, but the most common is $300. 

Now, let’s see how paying interest factors into the equation. Say you carry a $500 balance from month to month. At 35.99% APR (which is the fixed rate at the time of this writing), you’d pay at least $180 in interest a year, which would easily negate the value of the cash back you earned. 

You’d have to spend $18,000 that year just to earn enough to offset the interest charges.

So, what happens if your APR is lower? If your APR is 20%, which is about as low as you can go with this card, you’d pay at least $80 per year in interest. It would still be hard to earn enough cash back to offset the interest charges and the annual fee.

Plus, since your APR can only go down by 0.50% at a time, it would take at least 16 years to go from 36% to 19.99%. I’m sure you’ll have graduated to a much better card well before then!

The bottom line: If you carry a balance, you probably won’t break even by earning rewards. Your best bet is to avoid the APR by paying off your entire balance.

As a potential cardholder, you probably want to hear that it’s easy to get help if you need it. I’m happy to report that you’ll have a few ways to get in touch with customer service when questions or issues pop up. 

And if you prefer not talking to anyone, you can also use the BrightWay® mobile app to manage your account 24/7.

Phone and Secure Messaging Support

If you need assistance, you can call (866) 207-9130 between 8 AM and 11 PM ET seven days a week. I called the BrightWay® customer service department in the late afternoon on a weekday. 

I had to go through two rounds of automated prompts (including a recorded message), but was greeted by a friendly representative within two minutes.

I asked the representative about the minimum credit score required to qualify for the card. They were unable to provide that information, but mentioned that income was a major factor in determining eligibility. 

I was also told that I couldn’t apply for the card over the phone and that I should apply through an online referral partner. 

Overall, my experience was positive. The representative was courteous, and I was off the phone in a few minutes.

Unfortunately, you can’t chat live with customer service at this time. However, you can send a secure message when you’re logged in to your OneMain Financial account. 

Currently, there’s no separate login for the OneMain BrightWay® Card. You can also click “Contact Us” on this page and send the card issuer an email.

In-Person Help at OneMain Financial Branches

OneMain Financial has around 1,300 physical branches in 44 states, so chances are good you can talk to someone face-to-face about your account if you’d prefer the human connection. 

However, branch representatives generally deal more with loans than credit cards, so you may get the best live help by calling the number on the back of your card.

Navigating the BrightWay App

You can download the BrightWay® mobile app on your Apple or Android device and use it to:

• Activate your new card with a quick scan.
• Set up automatic payments.
• Schedule one-time payments.
• See your transaction history.
• Track your progress toward achieving your next Milestone event.
• Set up payment reminders or new statement alerts.

Cardholders like the app overall, giving it 4.6 stars in the Google Play Store and 4.8 stars in the Apple App Store.

OneMain Financial doesn’t publicly disclose what credit score you need to qualify for the OneMain BrightWay® Card. However, since the account is designed to help you build credit, it’s likely safe to assume you don’t need a high score to be eligible. 

In fact, according to information I found in reviews and comments around the web, members who were matched to this card and similar accounts have credit scores ranging from the mid-500s to the low-600s.

While the OneMain Financial rep mentioned that income is an important eligibility factor, the card issuer doesn’t publish a specific annual salary or debt-to-income (DTI) ratio requirement.

And one more thing: the company doesn’t say it outright, but you should have a valid bank account if you’re going to be a cardholder. That way, you can easily make timely payments.

You may receive an invitation to apply for the card in the mail. If so, you can enter the offer code from your invitation. Then, follow the on-screen prompts.

Otherwise, you can apply directly, which means you’ll go through a pre-approval process first to see if you qualify for the card. 

Getting pre-approved won’t hurt your credit score because the card issuer only does a soft inquiry on your credit report. However, if you decide to submit a formal application, the card issuer will do a hard inquiry on your credit report, which could ding your score a few points.

If you’re already a OneMain Financial customer, you can log in to your account for a faster, easier application experience. But, assuming you’re new to the company, here’s what the pre-approval process looks like, step-by-step:

Step 1. State of Residence

First, I choose the state I live in from the drop-down menu. Then, click “Continue.”

Step 2. Name, Date of Birth, and Social Security Number

Next, I enter my full name, date of birth, and Social Security number. Then, click “Continue.”

Step 3. Phone Number and Email Address

I enter my phone number and specify what type of phone it is (mobile, home, or work). I can add a second phone number if I’d like, but it’s optional. 

Next, I enter my email address twice. The second time is to make sure I didn’t type it wrong initially. If all my information looks right, I click “Continue.”

Note: If you provide a mobile phone number, you’ll see a checked box indicating that you agree to receive automated alerts from OneMain Financial. It’s a default selection, so you can’t uncheck it. However, you don’t have to agree to receive promotional calls and texts, so leave that box unchecked unless you want more marketing in your life.

Step 4. Primary Address

Here I enter my primary address. As I typed, my address appeared as an option on a drop-down menu, so I selected it. Once I’m done, I click “Continue.”

Step 5. Employment, Income, and Housing Cost

I choose my employment status from the drop-down menu (employed, self-employed, not employed, or retired). Then I enter my annual gross income (before taxes) and my monthly housing payment. 

Sources of income could include wages, a business, interest, dividends, retirement accounts, public assistance, or funds you receive regularly from someone else.

Step 6. Review & Submit

If I planned to apply, I would read everything on this screen carefully,  including the linked documents provided in the third bullet point. Then, I’d need to check the box to indicate I agree that:

• WebBank can access my credit report to determine if I’m pre-approved for the OneMain BrightWay® Card.
• Once I go through the pre-approval process, all previous offers are no longer valid. 
• I may not qualify for an offer.
• Once I have a BrightWay® card, I can’t check for offers again.
• I’m bound by the terms of the Electronic Communications Consent and Disclosure, the OneMain Financial Privacy Policy, the WebBank Privacy Notice, and the Informational Communications Authorization.
• Account statements will be sent electronically (if I’m approved for the card).

Next, I would scroll up through the previous steps to give the information I entered a final glance. I can edit anything that’s incorrect. 

If I’m satisfied, I can click “See if I’m pre-approved.”

If you’re pre-approved, you’ll see an offer for a card. If you want the card, you need to submit an official application. That process isn’t pictured here because I didn’t want to formally apply for an account. 

The card issuer will review your credit profile, income, debt, and other details and make a decision. If approved, it can take five to seven business days to receive your new card in the mail.

Your primary objectives when using the OneMain BrightWay® Card should be to get into a financial responsibility groove, improve your credit score, and, ultimately, graduate to a better credit card. 

Each milestone you achieve will get you closer to those goals. Here’s how to hit them every six months:

1. Pay your bill on time, every time. If you miss a payment, you could lose months of progress toward a milestone. Set up automatic payments, so you can’t forget.
2. Pay more than the minimum amount if possible. Ideally, you’ll pay the balance in full each month to avoid interest charges.
3. Keep your credit utilization under 30%. Doing so tells the card issuer that you’re not financially dependent on the account or cash-strapped. So, if your credit limit is $1,000, keep your balance under $300.
4. Use your card regularly for modest purchases, such as gas, groceries, or subscriptions. Card issuers like to see a consistent pattern of purchases and on-time payments.

Following these best practices will help you get the most out of your OneMain BrightWay® Card. But, guess what? They’ll also work for any other credit card, so if you can get these steps down, you’ll be set for life.

Since we’ve never met, I can’t tell you for certain whether or not you should use the OneMain BrightWay® Card. However, I will share what the ideal user looks like and what the wrong user looks like, so you can decide for yourself.

You may want to apply for this card if you:

• Have subpar or limited credit and want to improve your score.
• Can commit to paying on time.
• Plan to pay off your card in full every month (or at least not carry a high balance).
• Know which expenses you’ll use the account to cover and how much they cost.

But you should probably avoid this card if you:

• Have good (or better) credit and can qualify for a card with more perks, fewer fees, and a lower APR.
• Think you may miss payments due to cash flow issues or other reasons.
• Will likely carry a high balance from month to month.
• Don’t have a clear idea of how you’ll use the account.

The bottom line: Your finances will benefit from this card if you can commit to at least a  12-month credit rebuilding plan, but they’ll suffer if you open this account with no plan.

While the OneMain BrightWay® Card offers modest rewards and the opportunity to improve your account terms, it can be quite costly to be a cardholder. Here’s a quick glance at the account’s perks and pitfalls:

You’ll have to decide if the account’s benefits outweigh its downsides. If you’re not sure if this is the right card for you, take a look at two solid alternatives I found.

The BrightWay® card could help you achieve your credit and financial goals, but there are other solid options on the market. Here are two you should look at:

opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card

APPLY HERE »

• Earn up to 10% cash back on everyday purchases
• No credit check required – 89% approval rate with zero credit risk to apply!
• Boost your credit score fast—2 out of 3 opensky® cardholders see an average increase of 47 points after 6 months
• Track your progress with free access to your FICO® score in our mobile app
• Build your credit history with reporting to all three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
• Seamless payments—add your card to Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay
• Start with just $200—secure your credit line with a refundable deposit
• Fast and easy application—apply in minutes with our mobile-first experience
• Flexible payment options—pick a due date that works for you
• More time to fund—spread your security deposit over 60 days with layaway
• Join 2 million+ cardholders who have used opensky® to build better credit!

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Our Rating

opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card

4.6/5.0

About this rating

BadCredit.org’s credit card ratings are calculated by our financial experts based on key criteria including APRs, fees, and approval odds. We also consider factors such as customer service and cardholder benefits. Our ratings are unbiased and regularly updated.

Ashley Fricker Senior Editor

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★★★★★

4.6

Application Length	Interest Rate	Reports Monthly	Reputation Score
9 minutes	23.89% (variable)	Yes	7.0/10

With the openSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card, you can build credit and earn a whopping 10% cash back at select merchants. This card also has no credit check, which definitely contributes to its sky-high approval rate of close to 90%.

But there are a couple of reasons it falls short of what the OneMain BrightWay® Card offers. First, it is a secured card, which means you’ll have to fork over a deposit of at least $200 to open it.

Also, that 10% cash back I mentioned is only at select retailers, which rotate and may not be relevant to you. So, 10% cash back sounds great, but if you rarely get to earn that rate, 1% on all purchases is much better.

Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card

The Petal® 2 Visa® credit card has a lot in common with the BrightWay® card. It offers 1%-1.5% cash back on everyday spending and credit line increases after you make six consecutive qualifying on-time payments (if you’re otherwise eligible). 

The Petal® card outshines BrightWay® in one key area: account fees. As a cardholder, you won’t have to pay annual, foreign transaction, late payment, or returned payment fees. 

But there’s a big downside for rebuilders. The Petal® card is designed for folks with limited or fair credit. If you have poor credit, you may not qualify.

If you have a hard time getting approved for a no-fee unsecured card, the OneMain BrightWay® Card is a solid option. I think this account can be a good tool to help you get your financial life in order, but only if you don’t carry a balance. 

Having to pay a high annual fee and a high APR would make this card not worth it, in my opinion. But I get that money problems come up all the time (trust me, I’ve been there). So, if you do get this card and find yourself carrying a balance, just ditch the debt ASAP. 

And do me a favor, think about your goals (and an exit strategy) before you apply. The OneMain BrightWay® Cardshould be a stepping stone on your financial path. Use it for its intended purpose and move on to bigger and better things!