Rarely do you ever see the public get excited about a credit card launch, but when Brim Financial’s website popped up online earlier this year, there was A LOT of hype.

I myself was intrigued. Brim claimed that they would be offering open rewards, no foreign exchange fees, free global wi-fi, and there would be no annual fee! They were going to be the disruptors of credit card providers. I thought it sounded too good to be true, but I wanted to hear them out.

I reached out for comment as a journalist in February. They replied quickly and said they would be in touch soon (they also called me Brian, but that’s an honest mistake) A month passed and I heard nothing so I reached out again. I got the same answer and again heard nothing. The card wasn’t even out yet and I was ready to drop them. It turns out, I’m not the only one was feeling this way.

Brim Financial Benefits

Now, before I get into the details of what’s going on with the card, let’s take a look at what they are promising for each of their three cards.

Brim Mastercard

• No annual fee
• 1 point per $1 spent
• No foreign transaction fees
• Free global WiFi
• Real-time notifications
• Extended warranty
• Mobile device insurance up to $500

Brim World Mastercard

• $99 annual
• 1.5 points per $1 spent ($25K spend limit on points)
• No foreign transaction fees
• Free global WiFi
• Real-time notifications
• Extended warranty
• Mobile device insurance up to $1,000
• Travel medical insurance – 8 days under the age of 65

Brim World Elite Mastercard

• $199 annual (originally $120)
• 2 points per $1 spent ($25K spend limit on points)
• No foreign transaction fees
• Free global WiFi
• Real-time notifications
• Extended warranty
• Mobile device insurance up to $1,000
• Travel medical insurance – 15 days under the age of 65
• Trip cancellation / interruption

When you look at all of the above, it’s no wonder that everyone got excited. They’re even partnered with Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify which is impressive.

The problem is, no one got their cards. Brim started taking applications in February, but there are no reports of any real people getting them yet (as of July 3rd, 2018). Sure, Brim claimed that they were in beta and are testing the card around the world, but the people beta testing are likely just employees or friends of employees.

**Update, Brim sent out e-mails on July 7th saying that applications were approved and cards are being sent out.

Reports started to come out about the supplementary information required from Brim. They were asking people to provide a utility bill with an address on it and a T4 statement. Normally that wouldn’t be a big detail, but they wanted the originals copies which seemed a bit excessive. Some people were even asked to have an identification agent such as a lawyer, physicians or surgeon fill out a form to prove the applicant’s identity.

WHAT? There are fewer requirements to get a passport. Why does Brim require so much information? Don’t tell me it’s because of identity theft. In an interview with CTV, Brim claimed the number of people who were required to provide that info was minimal, but for some reason, I don’t believe them.

If the identity check wasn’t weird enough, an article from Yahoo featured a user from Reddit who alleged that Brim had blocked them on Twitter after he/she asked about the status of their application. What professional company blocks potential customers on social media after being asked a perfectly reasonable question? 

They’ve basically been ignoring customers questions. Again, I reached out as a journalist and they didn’t really bother getting back to me. When a company doesn’t respond to their customers or the media, it says a lot.

Sure, they’ll point out the fact that they were featured in the Globe and Mail, but if you read the article, they said there would be big news in a few days. Well, it’s been a week and everyone is still waiting for the news.

What attracted many people to Brim was the fact that they were offering no foreign transaction fees and a fair amount of rewards. It’s now been five months since their launch and no one in the public has received their cards.

It’s also worth noting that when the site launched, the World Elite card was being advertised with a $120 fee. They’ve now upped it to $199 which is an increase of $79. There also used to be no cap on bonus points for the World and World Elite card, but now there’s a limit of $25K. Now there could be a very good explanation for these changes but RARELY does this happen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rewards card make this many changes before it has even launched.

What happened to no foreign exchange fees?

In late June, Brim sent an email to all applicants stating that they’ve updated their terms and disclosure documents. One sharp-eyed user on Redflagdeals.com pointed out something very suspicious.

“For foreign currency transactions, the rate will be the exchange rate posted by Brim on its Website on each business day and applied at the time of the posting of the Transaction (Mastercard exchange rates will be used for currencies for which the exchange rates are not posted by Brim on its Website)”

In plain English, that means that they will NOT use Mastercard’s exchange rate. By posting their own exchange rate, they can effectively hide any fees. If this is truly a no-fee card, why is there any need at all to use anything besides Mastercard’s exchange rate?

This card could easily qualify as one of the worst credit card launches ever, but the card hasn’t even launched yet so it doesn’t quite get that title.

If you’re looking for a credit card without foreign exchange fees, I’ve got a detailed list that you can check out.

Don’t even think about using their 0% financing plans

Another feature that has been getting a lot of attention from Brim is their 0% financing plans. They’re literally advertising 0% interest which is technically true, but a bunch of BS at the same time.

You pay a “one time” 7% admin fee on loan terms of one to two years. You’ll then pay $4.75 monthly fee per $1000 of financing. Since you’re paying fees instead of interest, Brim can say they charge 0% interest without lying. But wait, it gets better.

The fees are based on the ORIGINAL purchase amount. With traditional credit cards, you pay interest on any remaining balance. That means if you took out a 12-month financing plan with Brim, you might end up paying close to 27% in fees. At that rate, the 19.99% interest that most credit cards charge actually looks appealing.

Remember how I was talking about the lack of customer service? Check out this twitter exchange from Brim.

Regardless of Denny’s affiliation with ATB, he asked a perfectly reasonable question. Brim looked at his LinkedIn profile and took a shot at his employer. Oh and they failed to address the fact that although there are no interest charges, you do end up paying quite a bit fees. Oh, and they never did respond to him about the updated terms of service.

The only positive thing about Brim’s financing plan is that since you make installment payments, you’re guaranteed to eventually clear your debt. But honestly, you should never be using a credit card to finance your purchases. There are many other ways to get loans at a lower rate.

Final thoughts

Brim Financial is a bust in my books. I’m sure the card will eventually come out and some people will be happy with it, but there are too many red flags about their customer service and product for me to ignore. Hopefully, I’m proven wrong and they make improvements, but I’m okay not having this card in my wallet. Check out my list of the best travel credit cards in Canada or the best credit cards without foreign transaction fees for ideas now.