Capital One Progress card

Just in time for the Christmas shopping, Capital One unveils the Progress credit card which is designed for consumers that do not have a ‘squeaky clean' credit record.

Louise Bond, personal finance expert at uSwitch.com comments: "With 3.32 million consumers hit with credit card rejections in the last year alone, people with a perfect credit score are becoming the exception rather than the rule. Luckily, more providers are now catering for those who have made a few innocent mistakes and find themselves falling into the ‘average' credit score category.

"Capital One is the latest provider to throw their hat into the ring with the launch of the Progress card which is purely designed for those with a less than perfect credit score. It rewards consumers for good behaviour by reducing the rate (for purchases and balance transfers) every six months by 5%. The purchase and balance transfer rate starts at 34.9% and within 18 months, well behaved consumers can enjoy a far lower rate of just 19.9% which is just above the industry average. Card holders will also be offered a credit limit increase on their fourth statement if they make all payments on time and remain within the agreed limit which can be as much as £2,500.

"This is a similar concept to the Initial Mastercard from Barclaycard. This also starts with an APR which is higher than average at 27.9%. Again, this card is designed to strengthen credit ratings and is a much more cost effective option than a sub-prime deal which often charge around 40% APR."