topic Re: Best secured credit card in Rebuilding Your Credit

Best secured credit card

virgo — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 23:30:26 GMT

Hello FICO gurus,

After debilitating illness pretty much destroyed everything; just realized how pathetic I sound, everything bad is going to fall off in the beginning of 2022.

I'd like to get some new history under my belt leading up to everything falling off.

If I open a couple of secured credit cards I'll have something good reporting with at least 7 months of History.

I also have good closed accounts.

Can anybody recommend the best secured credit cards. I don't care about cash back or points or bells and whistles.

Just want to establish a history.

Thank you in advance for your responses

Re: Best secured credit card

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 00:05:55 GMT

Hello,

I have 2 secured cards: OpenSky and NFCU Secured nRewards. Both helped me tremendously. OpenSky-I landed a 23 point increase the first month (not sure if that is a common increase.) NFCU Secured was 17 points about 30-60 days after usage. I always keep the balance under 3%. Once again, not sure if these are common results.

Re: Best secured credit card

Binner — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 00:11:19 GMT

Since most can't get Navy FCU... I highly reccomend Discover.

Re: Best secured credit card

Horseshoez — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 00:15:49 GMT

My response will partially depend upon where you live.

If you live in roughly along the eastern seaboard in an area serviced by TDBank, I cannot recommend the secured version of their TDCash card enough; I opened one of their cards a year ago next week with a $5,000 deposit. The card showed up in the mail just after the 4th of July holiday last year and I started charging on it instantly. Six months to the day after I made my first charge, the card graduated to unsecured, the savings account used to secure the card was unlocked, and half of my annual fee was refunded. Here are the particulars:

1% Cash Back Rewards (the card earned $114.74 in the six months while it was secured)
$29 Annual Fee (a prorated portion of the annual fee is returned when the card graduates as their unsecured cards have no AF; my refund was $14.50)
$0.59 Interest paid on the security deposit
By virtue of the fact I set the limit for the card at $5,000 with my deposit, when it graduated, the card was automatically elevated to a Signature Visa.

If you don't have the luxury of having any TDBank branches in your area, folks here give good reviews on the NFCU nRewards secured card, and other folks have given similarly positive reviews for the Discover secured card. One other frequently used secured card is the CapitalOne card; I had one last year and it was a less than fulfilling, to say the least; that said, if you're okay with a credit limit of $1,000 or less, it might make a passable card.

Re: Best secured credit card

Creditguymke — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 04:17:47 GMT

I say get a secured credit card that won't give you an hard inquiry such as OpenSky. I think when you're rebuilding your credit you don't want to have unnecessary inquiries. Just my thoughts

Re: Best secured credit card

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 08:33:31 GMT

I started with CapitalOne Secured Card because there was no annual fee like others i wouldnt recommend paying a annual fee on a secured card. Ive had no issues with capital one it help me tremendously starting off a year ago. But If you have any Military family members or friends I would highly recommend Navy Federal Nsecured Card. Im a vet but i didnt know about Navy Federal Products at the time of my rebuilding process.

Re: Best secured credit card

Horseshoez — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 13:28:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I started with CapitalOne Secured Card because there was no annual fee like others i wouldnt recommend paying a annual fee on a secured card. Ive had no issues with capital one it help me tremendously starting off a year ago. But If you have any Military family members or friends I would highly recommend Navy Federal Nsecured Card. Im a vet but i didnt know about Navy Federal Products at the time of my rebuilding process.

Regarding the "no Annual Fee" thing for secured cards, as a general rule I agree with you. That said, last year I switched from a no AF CapOne secured card (which pays no rewards or interest on the security deposit) to a secured TDCash card which charges an annual fee of $29, and I came out WAAAAY ahead because of the switch. As I wrote above, in the six months my card was secured, I paid $14.50 for my AF, and in exchanged, I earned $114.74 in cash rewards plus another $0.59 in interest; by my math, that put me $100.83 ahead of where I would have been if I'd stuck it out with the CapOne card; sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Re: Best secured credit card

Red1Blue — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 14:06:34 GMT

I would look at Affinity Federal Credit Union, NJ. Their secured card has no AF, low interest rate and no credit check. Very easy to join and apply for the secured card.

Re: Best secured credit card

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 14:17:07 GMT

Discover is pretty much the best as it's basically a secured version of the regular card. In addition, you can add more money at a later time if you need the spending power, which can't be said of many secured cards. Drawback is they have to approve you for a larger secured limit.

Also, your situation doesn't sound pathetic. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy and many people, such as myself, have had to rebuild after a lengthy or expensive medical issue.

Re: Best secured credit card

Horseshoez — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 14:38:19 GMT

@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
Discover is pretty much the best as it's basically a secured version of the regular card. In addition, you can add more money at a later time if you need the spending power, which can't be said of many secured cards. Drawback is they have to approve you for a larger secured limit.

Also, your situation doesn't sound pathetic. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy and many people, such as myself, have had to rebuild after a lengthy or expensive medical issue.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say the Discover secured card is "pretty much the best", it has a lower max limit than many other cards, and takes at least 8 months before being elligible for graduate graduation. Is it one of the best? Definitely.

Re: Best secured credit card

spiritcraft1 — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 15:07:45 GMT

@Red1Blue wrote:
I would look at Affinity Federal Credit Union, NJ. Their secured card has no AF, low interest rate and no credit check. Very easy to join and apply for the secured card.

This is definitely among the best.

Also check local CU's.

FNBO has a good one as well.

I had NFCU, Discover and then Apple FCU The first two graduated. I tried to get into Affinity as that was my first choice after NFCU but couldn't get in. They could not identify me.

Re: Best secured credit card

virgo — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 15:09:03 GMT

Thank you all so much for your detailed replies.

I didn't know there were so many out there.

You guys are the best.

Re: Best secured credit card

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 01:50:21 GMT

@Horseshoez wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
Discover is pretty much the best as it's basically a secured version of the regular card. In addition, you can add more money at a later time if you need the spending power, which can't be said of many secured cards. Drawback is they have to approve you for a larger secured limit.

Also, your situation doesn't sound pathetic. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy and many people, such as myself, have had to rebuild after a lengthy or expensive medical issue.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say the Discover secured card is "pretty much the best", it has a lower max limit than many other cards, and takes at least 8 months before being elligible for graduate graduation. Is it one of the best? Definitely.

It literally graduates into the same card unsecured which can be grown to a respectable limit. Not many other secured cards do that. There's no need to close once you've moved past rebuilding or having to deal with trying to product change out of something you got graduated into. That's on top of earning the same rewards as the unsecured version. Again, not many other cards do that. While some people may need more than a $2800 limit, most people will only put in $2-500 so that's not a very strong argument against it. It's pretty much the best card that anyone can get and you don't have to open a bank or credit union account to get one.

Re: Best secured credit card

Horseshoez — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 02:25:42 GMT

@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
Discover is pretty much the best as it's basically a secured version of the regular card. In addition, you can add more money at a later time if you need the spending power, which can't be said of many secured cards. Drawback is they have to approve you for a larger secured limit.

Also, your situation doesn't sound pathetic. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy and many people, such as myself, have had to rebuild after a lengthy or expensive medical issue.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say the Discover secured card is "pretty much the best", it has a lower max limit than many other cards, and takes at least 8 months before being elligible for graduate graduation. Is it one of the best? Definitely.
It literally graduates into the same card unsecured which can be grown to a respectable limit. Not many other secured cards do that. There's no need to close once you've moved past rebuilding or having to deal with trying to product change out of something you got graduated into. That's on top of earning the same rewards as the unsecured version. Again, not many other cards do that. While some people may need more than a $2800 limit, most people will only put in $2-500 so that's not a very strong argument against it. It's pretty much the best card that anyone can get and you don't have to open a bank or credit union account to get one.

Hmmm, yes, for some folks the secured Discover card may well be a very good option, but for others, a poor second place to a higher limit secured card. Not only did mind graduate after only 6 months, still with the $5,000 limit, but it graduated to a Signature class Visa, that plus it offers rather better rewards than the Discover card. In my case at least, I'm way ahead by choosing the TDCash card over the Discover card.

Re: Best secured credit card

virgo — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 05:58:55 GMT

I appreciate your thorough replies. It really helps to know all the ins and outs of each card and it doesn't always tell you on their websites.

Thank you again so much for responding.

Re: Best secured credit card

NewMe1120 — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 19:46:13 GMT

@virgo I used Discover. Started off with a very low secured limit - $200. After 7 months they returned my security deposit and raised my credit limit to $1500. Easy to apply. My card is cashback/rewards and so far I am very happy with them.

Re: Best secured credit card

Nikita2008 — Sat, 19 Jun 2021 00:32:48 GMT

I would probably look toward Discover , as it still earns cash back or NFCU if you qualify for membership.

Re: Best secured credit card

babygirl1256 — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 03:46:48 GMT

Greetings virgo ~ I would strongly recommend Discover as they were the first to extend credit to me and my daughter during our credit rebuild. In addition, your situation doesn't sound and in not pathetic as my daughter (then in her 30s) incurred massive medical bills -and- in an effort to come to her rescue (as parents do), I found myself in debt . . . but oh there's always sunshine after the storm passes and now I'm starting to shine again. So hang in there, it will come . . . start slow with Discover and watch things grow.

You can also contact TU who will likely grant an Early Exclusion (EE) 6 months prior to the purge date . . . EX will also likely grant an EE 3 months prior to the purge date . . . Do not contact Equifax as they have been my only headache.

Re: Best secured credit card

OmarGB9 — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 06:37:39 GMT

@Horseshoez wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
Discover is pretty much the best as it's basically a secured version of the regular card. In addition, you can add more money at a later time if you need the spending power, which can't be said of many secured cards. Drawback is they have to approve you for a larger secured limit.

Also, your situation doesn't sound pathetic. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy and many people, such as myself, have had to rebuild after a lengthy or expensive medical issue.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say the Discover secured card is "pretty much the best", it has a lower max limit than many other cards, and takes at least 8 months before being elligible for graduate graduation. Is it one of the best? Definitely.
It literally graduates into the same card unsecured which can be grown to a respectable limit. Not many other secured cards do that. There's no need to close once you've moved past rebuilding or having to deal with trying to product change out of something you got graduated into. That's on top of earning the same rewards as the unsecured version. Again, not many other cards do that. While some people may need more than a $2800 limit, most people will only put in $2-500 so that's not a very strong argument against it. It's pretty much the best card that anyone can get and you don't have to open a bank or credit union account to get one.
Hmmm, yes, for some folks the secured Discover card may well be a very good option, but for others, a poor second place to a higher limit secured card. Not only did mind graduate after only 6 months, still with the $5,000 limit, but it graduated to a Signature class Visa, that plus it offers rather better rewards than the Discover card. In my case at least, I'm way ahead by choosing the TDCash card over the Discover card.

Yes, but not everyone has $5k to put towards a secured card. Nor does everyone *need* a $5k limit. For some, the $2.5k max is more than enough.

Re: Best secured credit card

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 11:31:17 GMT

Good morning, crew!

OpenSky is indeed a good secured credit card - for some! Here is what I mean by "for some":

1. There is a $35 Annual Fee

2. There is no opportunity for "graduation" (read: from a secured card to a normal - quote unquote - card)

Other than the above - which, admittedly will be fine for some, not so cool for others - the OpenSky Secured Credit Card does indeed appear to be a fine choice. I know that it is often mentioned on YouTube (for whatever that is worth) by the guys and gals that review Credit Cards!

So, it all depends on your situation and what you are willing/unwilling to do.

As others have mentioned already, the DiscoverIT Secured Credit Card seems to be at or near the top of this list. Again, your situation is unique so it may or may not work for you.

Best of luck to you in your rebuilding process.