Update 5/23/22: Fremont has reached out to say that this is not available nationwide and you either need to have an established relationship with the bank or non-clients need to visit one of the branches locations to validate identity
Update: Reader Tom tells us that this is available nationwide (not restricted to CA). Also updated below that the annual fee is waived for the first year.
The Offer
- Fremont Bank Personal World Mastercard is offering a bonus of $500 after $5,000 in spend within the first three months
Card Details
- Card earns at the following rates:
- Earn 3 points for every dollar spent on travel (airfare, hotel, car rental) and dining, and
- Earn 2 points on gasoline
- Earn 1 point on all other purchases
- Points are worth 1¢
- $95 annual fee is waived first year
Our Verdict
Reader Tom T who sent this in asked why this wasn’t list on the best credit card bonus page. The simple answer is that we didn’t even know it existed (please share any good deals you find with us!) They pulled Experian for him and his partner with 25 new accounts in the last 24 months. Very good deal if you can get approved (they did have an existing relationship with Fremont Bank). Fremont Bank has offered checking bonuses in the past.
Denied for being out of footprint. CA only.
Big thumbs down. Applied for this since I live 2 miles from a branch, and got a tentative letter telling me to call a phone number to provide more info. My credit was hard pulled at this point, so the “application” was effectively processed, but the person on the phone told me I still needed to go into a branch to provide 2 forms of ID. Fine. I go in, and the bankers don’t know anything about the credit card and tell me I need to have an existing checking account to process the application.
Additionally, even if I did create the checking account (with no promo bonus, and daily balance requirements to avoid fees) there’s no guarantee they’d approve me for the World Card instead of the no-bonus Premier. The phone number I called was for a third party credit card company that has no idea what Fremont needs to process applications. I filed a complaint with the CFPB and rated the bank 1 star on Google. This is a bait and switch.
Would not recommend. I applied in the branch, but the banker didn’t seem like she knew much of anything about their credit cards. Got approved instantly only to find out when I received the card today that they gave me a lower-tiered card. Called the bank and they said I got approved for the Platinum rewards card instead of the World Mastercard. I’ve never had this happen where the bank automatically opens another card for me instead of the one I applied for. Is this legal?
Fairly common practice in the credit card world. Mastercard has specific requirements that need to be met for their World products. It’s even listed in the T&C when you applied…
“If we decide not to approve any application you submit for a MasterCard World Credit Card, you want us to consider this submission to be your application for the Platinum Rewards Credit Card. You understand that the Platinum Rewards Credit Card has fewer benefits than the MasterCard World Credit Card, but the same rates and fees apply to both cards.”
US Bank did that to me. I went back in the bank and made the banker call the call center to close it.
I just called in and the customer service rep said that I need to have an account (checking or savings) in order to apply.
Applied today in branch & approved. Took less than 15 minutes.
Applied on 5-4-22. Declined on 5-9-22. 800+ score all 3 bureaus. Reason = not a bank customer. So this is not really nationwide. Please update info.
So should we apply for a checking or savings before applying to receive a credit card?
I applied for a savings account after getting the no relationship CC rejection. No email confirmation, no call, nothing. I live like two miles from a branch. Do I really need to walk in?
I applied last week (from CA), no email confirmation from them. I called today to check on my status. The rep told me “Declined”
Reason: I am not Fremont Bank customer. WTH! Such a waste of my pulled credits.
They didnt pull my credit.
Declined, unable to verify infomation. I even have 2 mortgage with them. Don’t waste your time.
Been following this thread for a while and finally was able to get a hold of someone in the contact center at Fremont Bank who seemed like they knew what they were talking about.
The post above claiming this is not limited to CA is pretty misleading. When you apply for the card, Fremont is using their existing client database to validate application information. If you are a non-client. application is going to get declined before they can even pull credit, because there is no way for them to know who the applicant it. The only way around this is to establish a relationship (currently limited to CA if online) or visit a branch (even more restrictive than opening an account, as they are only located within the SF Bay Area).
Given the above, this post should probably be edited significantly as anyone outside of CA is going to have a pretty difficult time getting approved.