Hi Njacobs -In short, yes do the second card.
Long Answer:
If you can break down a more complete picture of what your credit reports look like, i.e. Each collection acct, how much, etc, your other tradelines (Credit cards, student loans, installment loans, their balance & limit etc) that will help us guide you better on your rebuild
From initial reading, sounds like your focus may need to be on clearing up those collections.
With regards to opening the 2nd card, it all depends on if you can afford it. If making the deposit on another secured card puts you into a situation where you cant pay your existing card or other items, then i'd stay away until you're comfortable. I was around low 500s and recently obtained my first credit cards in years and saw nice point increases with each card that I added (1 secured, 1 was unsecured NFCU). My plan is to get three major secured cards (capital one, discover, bofa) and then garden those until next year and once they unsecure, I am in with 3 decent banks, then year after that I will be in position for harder to obtain cards like Chase & Amex.
I have been focused on getting negatives removed, and that will work wonders on your scores.
