5 Things to Know About the Zurp Card

The Zurp Card — created by the financial technology company Zurp and issued by First Pryority Bank — is a secured credit card with an experienced-based rewards program. It was originally envisioned as a card where users could redeem points to attend exclusive events with their choice of YouTube, TikTok or e-gaming creator. However, by the time it launched, the Zurp Card changed into a product still aimed toward Generation Z consumers new to building credit, but without the creator focus.

You can get the Zurp Card with no credit check, and the annual fee is $0. But there are some caveats to be aware of, including a significant drawback for any credit card: Currently, it doesn’t report account activity to the credit bureaus.

Here are five things to know about the Zurp Card.

To get a Zurp Card, you must open a Zurp bank account called a Cash Account. Your Cash Account is actually held by First Pryority Bank. As of this writing, Cash Accounts earn a 5% annual percentage yield on balances up to $2,000, and 4.27% APY on any balance above $2,000.

There’s no minimum required balance to open a Cash Account, but the amount of money you deposit will determine your credit limit on the Zurp Card. That gives you some control over your credit limit and the ability to change it over time by depositing more into your account. This differs from most secured cards, where you make a fixed security deposit, which becomes your credit limit until the issuer chooses to raise your limit or graduate you to an unsecured card.

Products for younger consumers tend to lean heavily on providing meaningful experiences instead of “boring” stuff like cash back, and the Zurp Card is no exception. You can earn extra points, and redeem those points, on things that mostly get you out of the house (along with points for paying for housing in the first place):

• Earn 8 points per $1 on food purchases, which includes restaurants, food delivery, groceries, travel, entertainment, and ridesharing services.

• Earn 3 points per $1 on all other purchases.

A unique benefit is an ability to make rent or mortgage payments through the Zurp app from your Cash Account, which will earn you 1 point per $1. You can earn up to 4,000 points per month this way.

Reward redemption options can change over time and include things such as event tickets, access to exclusive experiences, ridesharing credits and more.

Note, however, that point values will vary depending on the redemption option, and that points also expire if you haven’t used your Zurp Card to make a purchase in a year.

As a new cardholder, you can earn up to 30,000 points by hitting certain milestones:

• First, earn 10,000 points when you open a Zurp Cash Account.

• Second, earn 10,000 points when you make your first deposit of $100 or more into your Cash Account.

• Third, earn 10,000 points when you spend $1,000 within the first three months.

You can earn more points when you spend $5 or more, as this unlocks the ability to spin a rewards wheel up to once a day in the Zurp app. You can also mail a card with your name and address on it to Zurp to have them spin the wheel on your behalf.

It’ll take seven to 10 business days to receive your physical Zurp Card, but until then, you can make purchases online with a virtual card you can access through the Zurp app.

For now, activity on the Zurp Card isn’t yet reported to credit bureaus — a significant drawback considering the purpose of a secured card is to build credit. However, according to a Zurp representative, this is in the works and may be resolved in June 2023. Should all go well, Zurp can backdate the information it receives now from card users, so it’ll eventually count toward credit-building.

Still, it seems odd to launch a card at least two months before it can even serve its primary function for consumers, and it’s even stranger to bury this information deep enough within the card’s website that it’s hard to find.