topic Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options? in Credit Cards

Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 04:40:54 GMT

I know Amex doesn't offer secure cards,

what cards aside from chase you recommend to open?

BOFA, Citi Group, and wells fargo are good enough?

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 04:42:48 GMT

Ok seems like wells and amex and chase doesn't even offer the product.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

FinStar — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 04:44:59 GMT

@Anonymous- I have split your "secured cards" post from your other topic since your current question/discussion has spun off from the main topic. It's been moved to the Credit Cards section for additional visibility.

If the community wants to gain some background on your initial op, below is the link to that discussion.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/how-much-credit-score-can-I-gain-if-I-close-a-loan-of-60-000-in/td-p/6293293

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Slabenstein — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 04:49:48 GMT

Three secured cards that I think are good are Discover, NFCU, and US Bank. All three have no annual fee and all three can graduate into decent unsecured card. The Disco secured also has cashback rewards, and you can check to see if you prequalify for it before spending the HP.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 04:54:05 GMT

do they offer rental protection?

and why not citi?

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Slabenstein — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 05:05:40 GMT

Citi would probably be good, too. They're a major issuer, there's no annual fee, and iirc it can graduate. NFCU advertises "rental car coverage" as a perk for their secured, but I don't see it mentioned on the web pages for any of the others.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

calyx — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 14:10:02 GMT

I had Citi and USBank (when it still had an annual fee) and both graduated and have worked out well.
What I like about the Citi and USB ones is that you can product change them after graduation to something that may work better for you - which helps keep open lines longer (I'm a late bloomer, so I wanted to find CCs that I wouldn't close, if possible).

Another option is Discover - they will graduate you at ~7 months AND it comes with the same cashback rewards as the unsecured version (this would be my first pick).

If you like to bank locally, take a look at local credit unions - they tend to offer solid secured cards as well, and developing a relationship with a local bank can get you pretty far.

My understanding is that capital one now graduates, but I think that you might still chance being bucketed, even if it does.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Horseshoez — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 15:57:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

I know Amex doesn't offer secure cards,
what cards aside from chase you recommend to open?
BOFA, Citi Group, and wells fargo are good enough?

With the proviso I have a Chapter 13 discharge on my credit report (set to fall off early next year)...

In the last year:

I've attempted to get secured cards from BofA (where I'd been banking for over a decade) and Citi (and Discover as well); all declined me.
I looked at Wells Fargo and considered them my Plan C for a secured card; unfortunately it is my understanding they no longer offer a secured card.
After BofA declined my application for a secured card, and then declined my appeal, I closed all of my accounts and moved them over to TDBank (pretty much limited to the eastern third of the United States), and instantly got approved for a $5,000 secured TDCash card from them. This card has a few interesting wrinkles:
- It has an annual fee of $29, however, the fee is prorated, so if/when you graduate to an unsecured card, you are refunded said prorated difference. My card graduated after exactly 6-months and I was refunded $14.50 the day it was unsecured.
- The security deposit is kept in a locked interesting bearing savings account; as of the day my card graduated, the money had earned a whopping $1.14 in interest.
- The TDCash card when in secured mode, pays a flat 1% cash back on all purchases. When my card graduated I'd earned something like $125 in cash back rewards, easily offsetting the $14.50 I paid for the annual fee.
- Once graduated, the annual fee no longer applies, the savings account is unlocked, and the rewards structure jumps up to 3% for dining, 2% for groceries, and 1% for everything else.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 16:22:47 GMT

If you can, Discover's not a bad option. I've seen people with even no credit at all on their reports get approved for the secured card respectively.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Horseshoez — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 16:35:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If you can, Discover's not a bad option. I've seen people with even no credit at all on their reports get approved for the secured card respectively.

And then there are folks like me; I've never burned them (or even had a Discover card, ever), who get no love from Discover (denied, denied, denied...); at this point I've pretty much written them off.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 16:45:08 GMT

They are a very strange beast. They were IIB for me and understandably, nothing yet. I check the preapproval page every couple of weeks in case something changes. But even for some people I know without BKs, but instead some old collections, but decent FICOs, they always give them excuses for why they can't find any offers, especially "recent inquiries" when in reality, they don't have many new ones at all! Smh.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Remedios — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 17:03:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
They are a very strange beast. They were IIB for me and understandably, nothing yet. I check the preapproval page every couple of weeks in case something changes. But even for some people I know without BKs, but instead some old collections, but decent FICOs, they always give them excuses for why they can't find any offers, especially "recent inquiries" when in reality, they don't have many new ones at all! Smh.

If you've included Disco in BK just a couple of years ago, you can totally stop checking pre-approvals.

8-10 years later, maybe. Some never manage to get back in.

Discover is very "forgiving" of old collections and past credit issues as long as it doesn't involve them.

As to why some people don't get pte-approvals, every lender has a target demographics.

Those with lots of available credit don't do anything for Disco, and I cannot disagree with their logic in most cases.

Why give credit to someone who is barely putting a dent into what they have.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

credit_is_crack — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 17:08:47 GMT

There are several credit card options out there and I think most were discussed upthread. What's good to consider is what to expect from the various banks.

Bank of America

Offers a fully secured card
Relationship heavy FI so if you also open a checking account and use it, they tend to both graduate you sooner than expected, and cards can grow quickly with them when scores hit about 710 and up
Also offers a partially secured card (you'd have to apply for a regular unsecured card and then they'd counter with it). They ask for $99 deposit and give you a $500 credit limit. Over time it graduates, but you still earn the regular cashback rewards while its secured/partially secured
With the partially secured card, usually at graduation they'll unsecure it and bump it up to $1,500 (you can still ask for more but expect a HP)
Graduation can be anywhere from 9-24 months based on the profile (dirtier profiles take longer to graduate)
With fully secured you can determine your credit limit by depositing more funds into the secure CD
Aimed at rebuilders or new to credit

Discover

Offers a fully secured card
Graduation seems accelerated compared to other banks (around 8-11 months)
Allows deposits from $200 - $2,500 max
Still earns rewards and also gets the traditional cash-back match for first year
Aimed at new to credit
If new to credit, they want to be one of the early ones so they can gain all your business -- they dont like being the 4th or 5th card in the lineup

Capital One

Offers a fully secured card
Graduation reviews begin around 8 months, but this one can be tougher to graduate compared to other secured cards
Once you activate your account, the limit is locked (vs BofA where you can add more funds as you go)
Also offers partially secured by depositing $49, $99 or $200 -- they'll tell you which you qualify for
Very forgiving and friendly to rebuilders and new to credit
Once graduated the buckets are pretty firm so when you're ready for a higher limit card, you'll likely get forced into having to apply outright

Citi Bank

Offers a fully secured card
Limits between $200 - $2,500, once deposit is locked in, you can't add more
No rewards
Aimed at new credit, not very friendly to rebuilders
Graduation is around 18 months so they'll definitely make you earn it

There are many secured options out there, but these seem to be some of the more popular ones. Just depends on your long term goals. If your scores were much higher today and could pick any of the banks (who offer secured cards), where would you gravitate to?

Bank of America who offers SP CLI's and gets very generous when you've established that relationship?
Citi who has a variety of legacy and cobranded cards, but is known to be a bit stingier with start limits that grow painfully slow?
Capital One who would require a triple pull for every new card you try to get with them since they bucketed you?
Discover who loves some, and hate the rest? Offers SP CLI's and get high limits without having very high income?

Keep searching and eventually you'll find out which one fits your goals the best.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

designated_knitter — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 17:34:54 GMT

Depending on wher @Anonymous lives, TD Bank may also be an option. If you are in NC or southeast in general, they are a sold option. Time to graduate (in theory) is 7 months. I didn't open the card because I was able to get in with Navy around the same time.

Also, not sure if it has reopened up but someone posted about the mythical Amazon secured card. While it is a store card, if you do a lot of shopping at Amazon, then it might be worth it. But again, don't know if it back... just that someone asked about it last week.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

summerterrace — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 18:05:26 GMT

Discover has a good secured card.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Horseshoez — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 18:21:25 GMT

@designated_knitter wrote:
Depending on wher @Anonymous lives, TD Bank may also be an option. If you are in NC or southeast in general, they are a sold option. Time to graduate (in theory) is 7 months. I didn't open the card because I was able to get in with Navy around the same time.

The language TD uses is a bit fuzzy; the language says "... If you use and maintain a Credit Card Account for 7 consecutive Billing Cycles without committing an act of default pursuant to the Agreement you may be eligible to graduate to an unsecured TD Bank credit card automatically..."

The reason I call it "fuzzy" is A) I got my first statement (for the $29 Annual Fee) a week or so before I got my card, and B) I had my card "unsecured" six months, almost to the day, after my first charge. Once unsecured, the locked savings account is unlocked and the card is promoted to the 3/2/1 graduated rewards structure.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Horseshoez — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 18:22:22 GMT

@summerterrace wrote:
Discover has a good secured card.

If you can get approved for one, I could not.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

FinStar — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:13:29 GMT

@Horseshoez wrote:
@summerterrace wrote:
Discover has a good secured card.
If you can get approved for one, I could not.

It's still an option. Just because one profile doesn't meet the UW standards doesn't mean another profile won't qualify. The same applies for the BoA secured card, et al.

The OP can decide based on the suggested options.

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

designated_knitter — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:18:34 GMT

@Horseshoez wrote:
@summerterrace wrote:
Discover has a good secured card.
If you can get approved for one, I could not.

@Horseshoez just keep trying with Disco if you really want it. I was in the same boat for a long time where I couldn't get their secured card. I would get so mad at them because they would keep sending me mailers telling me to apply but yet could not get approved.

Then, exactly 2 years ago -- about 2 years after my 2015/16 "fall from grace" (as opposed to my June, 2019 plummet when Cap1 shut me down), I was approved. I don't think I did a pre-qual since I don't think I knew about it at the time. I think it was just my scores were relatively high, I got cocky and app'ed and was approved for the secured card. At the time, I had a *really* dirty file. Several COs that were just over 2 years old... several late payments from about the same era.

However, I think maybe what made the difference is that I had loaded up on SCT cards back in 2014/2015 and around about 2016, closed everything except for my 3 Cap1 cards.

It sounds like they have a lot of internal "un-written" rules and perhaps you have to be just a bit further out from your ch13 (like 2 years?) to be considered. Probably something, too about no more than x open credit cards (though that isn't an issue for you -- what you lack in quantity, you've made up for in quality!).

I guess this is a long winded way of saying if I got in, almost anyone can!

Re: Secured Credit Cards - Options?

Horseshoez — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:36:56 GMT

@designated_knitter, thanks for the comments. At this point I have three good rewards cards which cover many aspects of my normal monthly spend, errr, except for travel, as such, I no longer have a need, want, or desire for another card; said another way, Discover pretty much lost me as a potential customer. If/when I apply for another card some time in the future, it will be for a premium card which provides tangible travel benefits; prior to COVID I traveled for my company a lot (I took nearly 2-dozen trips in 2019), and there are pretty good odds I'll be back on the road some time later this year. Given Discover has no travel card related offerings pretty much rules them out.