Bank of America vs. Applied Bank (Secured Cards)

[cl5776]

I know this topic has probably been beaten to death but I will ask this question anyway...

I am going to get a secured card and there are two choices that I believe will be in my best interest:

- BankAmericard Visa Fully Secured Card

OR

- Applied Bank Platinum Secured Card

The main differences between the two cards are:

- BoA:

20.24% APR

$39 Annual Fee

Bank of America Secured Card Terms and Conditions

-Applied Bank

0% APR for the life of the card

No Annual Fee

$10 Monthly Maintenance Fee

Applied Bank Platinum Secured Card Terms and Conditions

Both cards report to all credit bureaus and both offer the option to go unsecured after 12 months. Besides the obvious name recognition, would anyone chose the BoA secured card over the Applied Bank secured card? If so, why?

[keikdasneak]

Applied bank only reports to ex and tu only

[Anonymous]

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-Applied Bank

$10 Monthly Maintenance Fee

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Good reason enough to avoid it at all cost.

[Wolf3]

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@cl5776 wrote:

I know this topic has probably been beaten to death but I will ask this question anyway...

I am going to get a secured card and there are two choices that I believe will be in my best interest:

- BankAmericard Visa Fully Secured Card

OR

- Applied Bank Platinum Secured Card

The main differences between the two cards are:

- BoA:

20.24% APR

$39 Annual Fee

Bank of America Secured Card Terms and Conditions

-Applied Bank

0% APR for the life of the card

No Annual Fee

$10 Monthly Maintenance Fee

Applied Bank Platinum Secured Card Terms and Conditions

Both cards report to all credit bureaus and both offer the option to go unsecured after 12 months. Besides the obvious name recognition, would anyone chose the BoA secured card over the Applied Bank secured card? If so, why?

---

I would choose Applied Bank if I wanted to put down a large deposit and charge it up to the limit and let it ride at 0%.  

I would choose BofA if I planned to PIF every month.

Normally I would choose BofA to develop relationship to get prime cards in the future.  

[Anonymous]

I first rebuilt credit using an applied bank card. I still have it. I would of choose a different secured card if I knew better, but I didn't. Get a credit union secured card. There are plenty of credit unions you can join. That would be your best choice imo. Building a relationship with a bank you might use for bigger purchases down the road.

[-Cain-]

I'd go with BofA between the two. BofA's AF of $39 seems better to me than Applied's $120/year in monthly maintenance fees. The APR is better with Applied, but I would prefer not to carry a balance, so that wouldn't figure into my decision.

[brian2220]

make sure you meet the level of income for the bofa secured card as i applied for one and was denied with a score of 720+ and was approved from everyone else 

[-Cain-]

What is the income level required?

[brian2220]

i dont really remember what they said but thats what it says in the denial letter 

this is what they told me when i app for it in march James: If for any reason you are somehow not approved for the BankAmericard Visa our online system will also check the Secured card for approval. You only have to apply once and we check both cards for approval. This is all done with one application and one credit check. How does that sound?

James: There is no income requirement. Employment is not even required to apply. Thank you for your interest in our Secured card. This particular credit card requires a deposit when you apply plus it has a $39 annual fee. Instead you may consider our BankAmericard Visa card. It can help you build your credit like the Secured card but with No annual fee, and No deposit. Would you like to view this card?

James: There is not. The truth is all U.S. credit cards even the Secured card are subject to approval and a credit check. We recommend applying for this BankAmericard Visa first because it is a unsecured card that will not require a deposit and it has no annual fee. If you apply and you are approved for this card, you will not make to make a deposit and this card has no annual fee.

[Anonymous]

OMG. Bank of America all the way. $10 maintenance fee...what on earth..

I have the BankAmericard Fully Secured Visa and I like it. I like having the ability to transfer money from my checking to the credit card to make an instant payment. Also you can get a sticker to put on your phone for contactless (paywave/paypass) payments. Pretty nifty. Surprisingly, there's also a CLI link available but I haven't touched it.