When Kikoff co-founder and CEO Cynthia Chen moved from China to the U.S. to attend college, she noticed how many of her peers had credit cards while she did not. After realizing how important it was to have a good credit score to secure loans — and good terms on those loans — she signed up for a secured credit card and managed to maintain a credit score above 700 throughout college.
Chen later founded Kikoff in 2019 to help those who lack credit histories or have poor credit scores.
“When I was working in consumer finance at different financial institutions, I noticed that there were a lot of people who were like me who didn’t have the most affluent family background,” Chen says. “I realized that there was a pretty big gap in servicing this population because the existing solutions in the industry were very expensive.”
Kikoff is a subscription-based platform that aims to make it easier for people with a thin credit file to get credit. It offers three subscription tiers, all giving you access to a $750 credit account you can use exclusively for products in Kikoff’s store. When you pay down your financed purchases through Kikoff, the company reports those payments to the major credit bureaus. Paying responsibly could help you build your credit.
1. High monthly fees add up
Kikoff offers three subscription tiers: Basic, Premium, and Ultimate. The Basic subscription costs $5 per month and gives you access to a Kikoff credit account, which you can only use at the Kikoff store to purchase financial literacy materials such as eBooks and online courses.
As you pay down your Kikoff purchases, the platform reports those payments to the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
While a Kikoff Basic subscription might help you build credit, you won’t get access to its secured credit card, which can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted. The Kikoff Secured Card is only available with Premium and Ultimate plans, which cost $20 and $35 per month (or $240 and $420 per year), respectively.
While the card itself carries relatively few fees, the high monthly subscription costs required to keep the card are unusual. Many unsecured credit cards come with no annual fee.
2. Deposit is required for full benefits
The Kikoff Secured Credit Card doesn’t require a minimum security deposit as a condition of approval. That said, you’ll need to make a deposit to access its full benefits.
Kikoff provides a virtual card to applicants immediately, but it won’t send a physical card until you deposit at least $50 into your account. It also won’t report your payments to the credit bureaus without that $50 deposit.
Other secured cards require an upfront security deposit, often $50 or more, before you can use your card. This money often serves as your credit limit, and you’re allowed to spend up to your deposited amount.
However, some secured cards offer you a higher credit limit than what you deposit. The Capital One Platinum Card, for example, gives you an initial $200 credit line, with a security deposit of $49, $99, or $200, depending on your creditworthiness.
3. No credit check or interest costs
When you apply for a credit card, the issuer will typically run a hard credit check to determine your creditworthiness. This type of check can ding your credit score in the short-term, typically by just a few points. Kikoff doesn’t require a credit check for its card, which sets it apart from some other secured cards.
Notably, the Kikoff Secured Card also has a 0% APR. This is uncommon for a secured card, as most charge relatively high interest rates. Plus, Kikoff card payments are automatically deducted from your linked account, ensuring you’ll never miss a payment.
4. Rewards aren’t flexible
You can earn rewards with a Kikoff Secured Credit Card, but the rewards program is limited and some cardholders may find it hard to navigate.
Unlike some credit cards, which offer flexible rewards, you’re limited in how you can earn and use Kikoff rewards. Cardmembers can earn rewards by making online purchases through the Kikoff Offers portal or redeeming card-linked offers in-store with an eligible merchant.
Once you’ve made a qualifying purchase, Kikoff will add your cashback rewards to your account. You can then redeem those rewards as a statement credit toward future purchases.
5. Works like a hybrid credit-debit card
The Kikoff Secured Credit Card offers no interest, overdraft protection, and ATM withdrawals, similar to a traditional debit card. You also get fee-free access to over 55,000 ATMs globally as a card member. Typical credit cards classify ATM withdrawals as cash advances, which are subject to high fees and APRs.
While it shares some features with debit cards, the Kikoff Secured Card is also similar to a credit card. It has a rewards program and your monthly payments are reported to the major credit bureaus, so it can help you build credit with responsible use.
Benefits and perks
Kikoff’s main benefits will appeal to you if you’re trying to build your credit score through small but consistent payments. Kikoff offers you access to a line of credit, as well as some additional features, depending on your membership plan.
- Pause Feature: Users have the option to pause their required monthly payments to their Kikoff Credit Account for one to three statement periods. You can pause once per 12 months, and a maximum of two times over the account lifetime.
- Credit score disputes: Kikoff Disputes helps you identify potential inaccuracies in your Equifax credit report. The service will auto-generate a dispute letter, and you can either mail it yourself for free, or have Kikoff mail it for you for a $1 fee (waived for premium members).
- Rent reporting: Users can link the bank account they use to pay rent to Kikoff, and each on-time (not late) rent payment will be reported to Equifax. The rent reporting feature is only available with Kikoff Premium and Kikoff Ultimate.
- Debt relief: If you have eligible debt, you can start a savings bucket within Kikoff to collect funds, and, with your permission, Kikoff will contact your collector and attempt to negotiate a reduced offer. You can accept or decline and then set up the payments from your savings bucket to pay down your debt.
- Credit builder loan: An optional addition to your line of credit, the Kikoff credit builder loan costs $10 a month. Kikoff collects and reports your payments, at the end of 12 months, you can withdraw the $120 you deposited. The credit builder loan is not available to customers in Hawaii, Indiana, Oregon, and Wyoming.
- Identity theft and data protection: With the Kikoff Ultimate plan users will also receive personal data protection and identity theft insurance.
According to Kikoff, users with credit scores below 600 see their scores improve by 58 points with consistent, on-time payments during the lifetime of the account.
