I'm going to show some love to WSFS Bank Unicorn Card.
It's card that's perfect for rebuilding.
What is it?
It's not a secured credit card. WSFS Bank is not holding a deposit. It operates like a debit card or Prepaid Visa. Load it and go or auto reload.
It's faux credit card. Although it doesn't give you a line of credit, it reports like one to all three bureaus.
No credit check or hard pull.
When I got this card, I had 5 Charged Off Accounts with a balance and a credit score of 508 (Experian FICO), In 4 Months, it bumped me to 547, just enough to add on an unsecured $1K card from Ally. I only used the card for 3 months (August 6-October 31). I deposited $100 (min requirement), and spent it on various purchases over the first month. The minimm manual deposit is $1. The minimum auto reload is $100. I turned off auto reload. I deposited another $100 and spent it over the course of the next two months. I logged in today and still have $6.71.
How it Reports
1. For some people, it reports $500 CL. For mine, it reported $1,500 CL. I think it's because I spent $100 the first month (and I read this will make the reported CL to $1,500. This helps total credit limit. Have a $1000 card? Well this bumps up your TCL to $2,500. and keeps your utilzation down.
Example:
2. The following months it would report faux spending amounts. Spend $80? It will report $16. So it gives a faux credit utilization of 10% or less.
Example:
How it differs from Chime
Chime is similar to WSFS Unicorn Card. It's runs like a Debit/Prepaid Visa. Load it and use it. No Credit Check. You can earn 1.5% CB.
It reports differently. It doesn't report a credit limit. Like Amex Green, Gold, and Platinum card.
I'm not sure the impact on credit, but it won't help Total Credit Limit and won't bring the utilization % down.
How it differs from Upgrade
Upgrade offers unsecured cards. So no deposit. You don't have to load. I bring up upgrade because it reports differently than the typical credit card. It reports it like an installment loan or line of credit. It doesn't help Total Credit Limit amount and utilzation.
Data Points
I'm not sure if it has weight, if the buraeus know that this is not real revolving credit and treats it differently.
I opened it in July 2023. I wanted to show real data points on how it's been reporting for the past 2.5 years
Heres's how it reports on Experian Reported Sept 2023-Present:
Here's how it reports to Equifax 2023-Sept 2025 (Stopped Reporting?):
It seems like Equifax stopped reporting in September 2025 (I haven't used this card since Nov. 2023) but still reports as a credit card.
Here's how Transunion Reports (2023-Present):
Here's an example of Upgrade:
I don't know if it's worthwhile for rebuilding. Utilizing this with a secured card or forgoing this and using a secured card. Just wanted to share how I rebuilt:
- July 2023 - WSFS Bank Unicorn Card (Debit/Prepaid Visa) (FICO: 508)
- November 2023 - Ally $1K (FICO: 547)
- March 2024 - CapitalOne $3K (FICO 605)
No Deposits. No Annual Fee or Fee Harvester Cards. Started earning rewards with Ally and Capital One. In less than a year, I had a reported TCL of $5.5K in less than a year.
For rebuilders,
Imagine having a $300 Secured Card, and adding the Unicorn $1.5 Fauz Limit. Instead of $300 TCL, it's $1.8K TCL.
For me, it helped boost my TCL from $1,000 to $2,500 had I not have it.
Just sharing my journey and about this card. Thoughts? Opinions?
@Vinjints wrote:First thing I thought of with this was how consumer finances accounts can depress your scores. Wondering if this faux card would end up having a negative impact somehow. Especially if it's just making stuff up as you go.
That's a great question. One I have to ask as I still have it on my report. I also have Bread Financial (AAA Daily), Synchrony (Venmo), Ollo by Merrick (previously Ally) , Web Bank (Avant)
right now I'm at 690-710 with 4% utilization.
i debate on when would be a good time to cancel the lower tier cards in my sock drawer.
It might hurt people with high credit scores and big profile. There would be NO reason to get this card, if you are Prime, and are eligible for unsecured cards from Banks and Credit Unions with higher limit.
If a person is near-prime and are eligible for $1-3k unsecured cards from Major banks and credit union, there is NO reason to get this card.
For me, who is fresh from burning Chase, Citi, Capital One, Synchrony. My options were limited. Wells doesn't offer unsecured.
That left me with Discover, BofA, US Bank, my local bank or credit union. some didn't even allow me to apply for unsecured card. I think BofA and Discover rejected my application for secured. I could've gone to CU, with secured card, but I decided to go this route and it worked for me.
I'm not sure if this is a correlation vs causation thing. Time heals the effect of charge offs. I did pay my payment down a little. But I'd say since utilization is weighted heavily, even if I was penalized for having a consumer finance account like Unicorn, I'd say for me having the low utilization with the buffer CL would help.
I imagine it affects people that got Comenity retail accounts to pad their account. Some doesn't do anything, some it would hurt, but for some it may be what's needed to establish at least some activity.
