Best Secured Credit Cards
Before people use the secured credit card, they need to deposit a certain amount of money in the account. However, it varies by credit card and by the company, people need to deposit the sum of money usually equal to the credit line. The deposit money is used to protect the credit card company in the case that you don’t pay your bills.
Secured Credit Cards are more proper for people with poor credit history since secured cards can be used to build or rebuild one’s credit. Your payments will be reported to the credit bureaus, and your credit history will be built depending on your overall credit and financial situation. You may consider rewards like interest rates, annual fees, maximum credit line limits and more when choosing the secured credit cards. We’ve picked a list of popular secured credit cards. Please take the following cards for reference.
- No.1 Capital One® Secured Mastercard®
- No.2 Discover it® Secured Card
- No.3 OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
- No.4 First Progress Platinum Prestige MasterCard® Secured Credit Card
- No.5 Citi® Secured Mastercard®
- No.6 USAA Secured Card® Platinum Visa®
- No.7 primor® Secured Visa Gold Card
- No.8 Digital Federal Credit Union Visa Platinum Secured Credit Card
No.1 Capital One® Secured Mastercard®
- No annual fee
- Access to higher credit line
- Flexible deposit requirement
Pros
Unlike most secured cards, Capital One Secured Mastercard doesn’t require cardholders to make a deposit which equals to their credit line. Besides, people don’t need to come up with the whole deposit upfront. However, people will have a credit limit of $200 for the deposit of $49, $99, $200 depending on the credit score. This card gives cardholders access to a higher credit line without depositing money when making the first five payments on time.
Cons
People who want to own this card need to have a checking or savings account. For individuals who have a severely damaged credit won’t be qualified for this card.
Summary
Capital One Secured Mastercard will be a great option for people whose credit is not severely damaged. If you are searching for a good credit card for bad credit, take this card for reference.
No.2 Discover it® Secured Card
- No annual fee
- Great cash back rewards
- Clear upgrade process
- Good bonus offer
Pros
For people with bad credit, the Discover it Secured Card will be the best credit card available due to its benefit of no annual fee. Aside from that, it also offers great rewards: 2% cash back when spending up to $1,000 per quarter on restaurants, gas and 1% on other expenses. Cardholders will have an opportunity to upgrade to an unsecured card if they take responsibility of the Discover it Secured Card for eight months.
Cons
People who want to use this card need to get access to the traditional financial services because they have to pay the initial deposit with a bank account. They cannot use Discover it Secured Card if they are not lucky to enjoy the traditional financial services.
Summary
The rewards and bonus of this secured card for bad credit is even better than those of the unsecured cards for people with good credit.
No.3 OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
- No credit check
- Low annual fee
- No applications fees
- Easier approval
Pros
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card enables people to qualify even with badly damaged credit because it doesn’t require the credit check, unlike most other secured cards. However, people who issue this type credit card have to meet the income standards. Meanwhile, people don’t need a bank account to set this card separate from other secured cards. They can use the debit card to make the deposit, payment, transfer or order.
Cons
The only disadvantage of this card is it cannot be upgraded to an unsecured card.
Summary
For people who are working to rebuild credit, as well as for those without access to traditional banking services, the OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card is an excellent choice.
No.4 First Progress Platinum Prestige MasterCard® Secured Credit Card
- No minimum credit score for approval
- Fraudulent activity protection
- No application fees
Pros
The Platinum Prestige MasterCard provides people an initial credit limit of $2,000. However, it increases its credit limit to $5,000 after cardholders use it for a period. Some of other secured credit cards only have the credit limit of $3,000. For those people who frequently make large purchases, this card will be hugely beneficial. Additionally, it requires no over-limit fee.
Cons
One great drawback of the Platinum Prestige MasterCard is that it has a relatively high annual fee. The high annual fee may not impact those with high credit limits, while a low annual fee will count for people with the minimum $2000 limit.
Summary
The First Progress Platinum Prestige MasterCard will be an excellent choice for people who don’t have good credit since it doesn’t require good credit or even require no credit. Meanwhile, it also offers competitive rates. Keep in mind that secured cards are good for people to build their credit history. However, they are not an ideal one for those with good credit.
No.5 Citi® Secured Mastercard®
- No annual fee
- High credit limit
- Reasonable APR
- Solid fringe benefits
Pros
For people with bad credit history, this card may be the best option with which people don’t need to have the credit check. Unlike most secured cards, this card report to all three credit bureaus including Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion which ensure the good credit behaviors be noticed. Furthermore, this card offers more perks than other cards, like the rental car insurance, purchase protection, travel accident insurance and warranty coverage.
Cons
This card may not be proper for people with marred credit. For instance, it may deny your application if you once had a bankruptcy in the past two years. Unlike the Digital Federal Credit Union Visa Platinum Secured Credit Card, this card requires the balance transfer and cash advance fees.
Summary
If you are trying to rebuild your credit history, the Citi Secu
No.6 USAA Secured Card® Platinum Visa®
- Low fees
- No foreign transaction fee
- Cardmember and service member benefits
- No penalty APR
- Extended warranty
Pros
USAA secured card is specially designed for military members and their families. People who get PCS orders or carry a balance while on active duty can use USAA card to lower the APR to 4%. Besides, USAA also offers nice travel and shopping benefits including the worldwide travel accident and baggage delay insurance, extended warranty, price protection, and more.
Cons
Compared with most secured credit cards, USAA credit card with $35 annual fee is a significant disadvantage since lots of secured credit cards are entirely free to use. Meanwhile, the minimum deposit of USAA card is more than most secured cards, which can be used for monthly bill payments and other purchases.
Summary
For service members, USAA card would be the best choice available since this card provides the service member benefits. Additionally, it requires no foreign transaction fees, making it a reliable option for military personnel who travel frequently.
No.7 primor® Secured Visa Gold Card
- No minimum credit score requirements
- Fast, easy application process
- no penalty rate
Pros
With Primor Secured Visa Gold Card, people don’t need to pay the processing or application fees, which will save them a great amount of money. Besides, the interest rate is very low, especially for people who happen to have a balance. People will get the fast and easy services when applying and waiting to be approved for this card with the bad credit history. The greatest advantage of this card is that people can earn interest on the money they deposit in the savings account.
Cons
People must pay Primor Secured Visa Gold Card with $49 annual fee which is slightly larger than most other cards. Another point which will disappoint people is that people cannot withdraw money from the savings account without the consent of the card. Moreover, cardholders cannot get rewards when making purchases with this card.
Summary
Primor Secured Visa Gold Card is proper for people who carry out the monthly payments on time, especially for the people who have a balance. The low 9.99% fixed APR makes it an ideal card for people who don’t pay the full balance at the end of the month and also want to improve the credit score.
No.8 Digital Federal Credit Union Visa Platinum Secured Credit Card
- No annual fee
- No cash advance fee
- Lower ongoing APR
- No balance transfer fee
- high credit limit
Pros
The ongoing APR 12.5% is almost half the rate of most popular secured cards. Meanwhile, you can get more rewards here than many unsecured cards. What attracts cardholders most is that this card requires no annual fee and 0 balance transfer/cash advance fees. Unlike most secured cards, this card doesn’t require the security deposit equal to your credit limit.
Cons
Starting to use this card, firstly you need to be a member of Digital Federal Credit Union. However, there are many ways to become a member. Therefore, it will be a disadvantage of this card, which makes it a hoop to jump through.
Summary
You had better pay the bill of your credit card on time every month, especially when trying to rebuild your credit. However, the Digital Federal Credit Union Visa Platinum Secured Credit Card will still be less expensive than other secured cards if you must have a balance.