Zable Credit Card Review – Credit Spot

Today I thought it would be good to write a review of the Zable Credit Card. Zable was previously known as Level Card but seemed to rebrand to Zable a few months ago. Personally I think the name Level was better but I digress.

As someone who is trying to rebuild my credit the Zable card was a good choice for me. Yes the APR isn’t great, and they also charge interest from the date of purchase (if you do not pay in full) but it is better than my Vanquis Credit Card for example. I mainly try and use the Zable Card for smaller purchases and pay back in full at the end of the month. This part is important due to how interest is charged.

Applying for the Zable Card

I applied through Experian as I subscribe to their free credit reporting service. They recommend borrowing products such as credit cards and loans that you are likely to be approved for based on your credit score. As my credit score (although this typically depends on the lender) is still somewhat patchy, lenders such as Zable are a good match for someone like myself in the poor to very poor credit rating bands. Although I would add, if you are not great at managing credit then you should avoid this card.

The application process was easy enough as most of my information is present in Experian anyway. I hit apply and was approved and provided information on my credit limit and APR.

Zable Credit Limit

My initial Zable credit limit was £500 so not amazing but sensible given both the APR and the level of risk my low credit rating presents to Zable. As I mentioned earlier, the purpose of this card is just to help towards improving my credit so that means using the card sensibly and making repayments on time.

The minimum credit limit Zable offers is £200 and the maximum is £1500 at the time of writing this Zable review.

Zable Credit Limit Increases

In the year that I have had the Zable credit card, my credit limit increased from £500 to £800 after three months, then after another three months the credit limit increased to £1000. I had opted in to be notified of credit limit increases but you do have the option to not be told or offered them if you feel you might get carried away. You can do all this in the Zable app by the way.

I think it was increased because of on time payments and managing the balance on my Zable Card well. My external credit had also improved somewhat so I would imagine that was taken into consideration too.

How long for the Zable Card to arrive?

The Zable Card arrived within a week although with the app you could use the card straight away. I would recommend getting the Zable App on your phone as it will help you keep on top of things. You can also make payments from here as well and set up new payment details if needed.

What fees does the Zable Card have?

There are no over limit or late payment fees, this is a good thing for those occasions where you could slip up. There aren’t any international transaction fees either if that is something you do.

The lack of over limit and late payment fees thing is really good though in my opinion. Let’s face it, this card is aimed at people who either have little credit history or those like myself who have had problems in the past. Anything that can help you if you find yourself late paying or going a little over your limit is something that should be seen as a positive.

I can recall back in 2010 getting into a spot of bother with an Aqua Credit Card, the over limit and late payment fees made it so it was impossible for me to get the account back on track and ultimately led to a default.

The important thing to note here is that interest is charged from day one if you do not repay in full, this is in contrast to other credit building credit cards where you would typically get up to 56 days. This can be costly on a larger balance and also lead you back down the path of getting into debt so keep this in mind.

Zable Card Repayment Difficulties

I hit some problems with repaying my card. They were understanding and agreed to reduced payments for three months which was helpful.

Concluding this Zable Credit Card Review

This just about wraps up my Zable Credit Card Review. The most important thing for you to consider is whether having a Zable card is a good idea for you. If you think you might just be tempted to borrow up to the limit and get trapped in debt, it might actually hinder more than help you. Whilst not the most expensive credit card (based on their representative APR), it is still an expensive way to borrow so I wouldn’t go mad with it.

There are alternatives as well but in my own experience they are all the same in terms of interest rates charged, however the lack of fees for going over limit or making a late payment is a good thing as if those things do happen, you don’t end up with costs snowballing out of control making it easier to get back on track.

My own experience is that having this card and managing it appropriately has been good for my credit, I was able to get approved for another card with a lower APR. My credit is still not amazing by the way, that will only happen once the last remaining default I have drops off in two and a half years time. I will write more about this over the coming months!

Do you have a Zable Card? If so what are your experiences of it?