Cards you should absolutely avoid

[Imperfectfuture]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Some are way better than others but I think establishing unsecured credit works faster than 12 months or more of something that may or may not graduate, tying up money, history not growing when you close it. I think if you have credit one for 6 months it may score a Capital One Quicksilver faster than having a secured card, or being simple Cash and Carry hoping a bad mark falls off reports.

Everyone is in a different financial situation for some people scraping up five hundred bucks at once is tougher and someone with a 500 score but makes 150k a year personally that is a joke to me. They should be giving loans to the next door neighbors high interest making money off them

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That is a fallacy.  There is no discrepancy when applying between history with secured vs unsecured credit (I know).  They are scored the same way, and cap one treats them the same when apping online.  AND, cap one does not do manual apps.  There is no reason whatsoever to use known predatory collection agency cards like credit one and first premier (whom actually hope you default) over a secured card of 500.  And, most CU cards that are local WILL graduate (mine did).  You want to build the credit score, not go broke trying to obtain a Chase card.

[tricie17]

Everybody will not be able to even qualify for secured card but can qualify for substandard.  Again sometimes you have to crawl before walk and then run which is the major reason for bankruptcies in this country.  Bankruptcy is there to help out during a very bad situation not to get credit you know you can not handle and then facing this again.     we need to stop bashing the smaller cards as steping stones and really give them praise for giving us with very poor credit a chance.  Some folks have not been raised to understand the financial world like some others.  I would not want to give my money up for a secured card to some of these subprime lenders.  I would say if you can get one good secured card (NFCU) or (Bank) go for it.   Just remember to close off subprime lender once ahead of the game.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

For those who have bad credit, join Navy Federal Credit Union through the Navy League and get their secured rewards card which has no annual fee, a 1 point per dollar spent rewards program with additional rewards through their member portal, a 9.24%-18% interest rate, and no annual/foreign/transaction fees. Why would you pay $99 a year for a card that'll charge you for simply requesting a new design, or charge you a 35% interest rate without a rewards program? Ludicrous. Since Navy is pretty lax on their credit standards I'm sure anyone with a credit score above 500 can get one. 

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State Department Federal Credit Union is another good secured CC for rebuilding - they don't even require proof of income! They do pull your credit now but approve everybody with a deposit.

In the spirit of the thread, I would avoid BBVA because their whole system seems like a mess, and Wells Fargo in the spirit of voting with your wallet. If other banks see people pulling out of Wells, it may be extra encouragement to crack down on this sort of thing. 

I also think people shouldn't buy from Fingerhut because of their rent-to-own style business model. Their card seems somewhat popular here.

And of course the usual FirstPremier, CreditOne, Surge etc. crowd. Any card which charges a monthly "maintenance" fee, deducts card fees from your limit, has no grace period, or other such punitive terms should be avoided. 

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@Anonymous wrote:

Apparently Santander is not a good bank to deal with so that takes the Sphere and Bravo into this category.

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Where does this come from? I don't have personal experience with them but I've heard good things from people I know with Sphere. They are a very big international bank and are generally viewed favorably as relatively consumer-friendly.

[Anonymous]

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@tricie17 wrote:

Everybody will not be able to even qualify for secured card but can qualify for substandard.  Again sometimes you have to crawl before walk and then run which is the major reason for bankruptcies in this country.  Bankruptcy is there to help out during a very bad situation not to get credit you know you can not handle and then facing this again.     we need to stop bashing the smaller cards as steping stones and really give them praise for giving us with very poor credit a chance.  Some folks have not been raised to understand the financial world like some others.  I would not want to give my money up for a secured card to some of these subprime lenders.  I would say if you can get one good secured card (NFCU) or (Bank) go for it.   Just remember to close off subprime lender once ahead of the game.

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If you can qualify for a subprime unsecured card, I can guarantee you you can qualify for a secured card with better terms.  It may not be one of the most popular ones if you burned the companies that offer them, but there are enough secured cards out there that someone will take you.  I don't think anyone needs to pay 150+ in application fees and annual fees on a $300 credit limit card just to get it plus a monthly fee plus CLI fees.  

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[negg]

Bank of America. 4 years and not a single apr reduction or a credit line increase. Still stuck at 1500. Meanwhile my other cards avg about 9K + there CS is by far the worst. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
What are some cards that you should just not apply for to begin with?

Apparently Santander is not a good bank to deal with so that takes the Sphere and Bravo into this category.

CreditOne has insanely high AFs for what you get and I've read bad things about their customer service so I would put their offerings on the list as well.

What else is a no-go and why?

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I'm curious why you say that about Santander Bank. I don't know of any reason not to apply for their cards.

[wasCB14]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@tricie17 wrote:

Everybody will not be able to even qualify for secured card but can qualify for substandard.  Again sometimes you have to crawl before walk and then run which is the major reason for bankruptcies in this country.  Bankruptcy is there to help out during a very bad situation not to get credit you know you can not handle and then facing this again.     we need to stop bashing the smaller cards as steping stones and really give them praise for giving us with very poor credit a chance.  Some folks have not been raised to understand the financial world like some others.  I would not want to give my money up for a secured card to some of these subprime lenders.  I would say if you can get one good secured card (NFCU) or (Bank) go for it.   Just remember to close off subprime lender once ahead of the game.

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If you can qualify for a subprime unsecured card, I can guarantee you you can qualify for a secured card with better terms.  It may not be one of the most popular ones if you burned the companies that offer them, but there are enough secured cards out there that someone will take you.  I don't think anyone needs to pay 150+ in application fees and annual fees on a $300 credit limit card just to get it plus a monthly fee plus CLI fees.  

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*wascb14 starts here. On mobile and having trouble editing.*

I believe SDFCU doesn't even do a credit check when someone applies for their secured card. 

Modest rewards, no AF, and a $5 fee for a member of the general public to join.

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[Anonymous]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@tricie17 wrote:

Everybody will not be able to even qualify for secured card but can qualify for substandard.  Again sometimes you have to crawl before walk and then run which is the major reason for bankruptcies in this country.  Bankruptcy is there to help out during a very bad situation not to get credit you know you can not handle and then facing this again.     we need to stop bashing the smaller cards as steping stones and really give them praise for giving us with very poor credit a chance.  Some folks have not been raised to understand the financial world like some others.  I would not want to give my money up for a secured card to some of these subprime lenders.  I would say if you can get one good secured card (NFCU) or (Bank) go for it.   Just remember to close off subprime lender once ahead of the game.

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If you can qualify for a subprime unsecured card, I can guarantee you you can qualify for a secured card with better terms.  It may not be one of the most popular ones if you burned the companies that offer them, but there are enough secured cards out there that someone will take you.  I don't think anyone needs to pay 150+ in application fees and annual fees on a $300 credit limit card just to get it plus a monthly fee plus CLI fees.  

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*wascb14 starts here. On mobile and having trouble editing.*

I believe SDFCU doesn't even do a credit check when someone applies for their secured card. 

Modest rewards, no AF, and a $5 fee for a member of the general public to join.

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As far as I know, SDFCU and First Progress both do SP only.  So yeah, no inquiry for them, kinda like SCT cards.

My list is a little out of date, but I compiled this last year with a good smattering of the national secured cards offered: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Updated-for-2015-Secured-Credit-Card-List/m-p/3856240

Some of them are crap, some of them are great, but all of them are better than some of the leeches that target people with poor credit.  Even First Premier's secured card is better than their unsecured card (but I wouldn't recommend either).

[Anonymous]

By and far away Credit One is the absolute WORST card anywhere.  I don't care if it was designed to be a credit re-building card.  It just takes too much of advantage over the individual that is trying to rebuild his credit.  I NEVER had this card; but I have friends that got fooled thinking it was Capital One (we all know they use an almost identical logo) and thought they were getting a great deal.  I would avoid this card like the plauge.  I know this may seem a tad harsh, but trust me they have earned this review.  Stay clear and away from this horrific card.  Thank you.