Best Secured Credit Card

[sindachris]

I wanted to know if anyone had a preference of secured credit cards. For example, I am looking into Bank of America or one from my FCU. But I wanted to know if there is any other ones out there that most people use.

I currently have an unsecured Orchard MC and have had it for about 18 mo now.

[turts14]

I have a captial one secured card.  Reports to all three credit reporting agencies and doesn't state "secured" as well.  Great card and easy to apply online

[sindachris]

Thanks for replying turts14, I actually have a CO with capital one, do you think that they will approve me for one of their secured. Im in the process of setteling with them now actually :/

[turts14]

Not sure on the approval as it is secured so they really is no risk to them They did pull my credit when I applied. 

[Jimmy9224]

Capital one is actually pretty forgiving and there secured card is how I got my foot into the door.. 1 year with cap one and I now have an Amex, discover and bofa The cons in getting the cap one secured is that they do not graduate to an unsecured card I hate that soo if I were you id give fcu a shot.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if there is a "best" secured card.  I've got 3 secured cards (as you can see in my signature below) but, only one of them (the US Bank Visa) MIGHT graduate. From recent posts regarding the US Bank Visa, it might take 2, or more, years to graduate, and then, with no credit limit increase.  The other 2 credit cards I have, definitely, will NOT graduate.  Also, the US Bank Visa reports as a SECURED card which doesn't do any damage FICO® wise but, future creditors may judge more critically seeing that SECURED label and grant smaller credit limits.  You can read on here about Bank of America's secured cards -- there were 2 or 3 posts on here just this week reporting that they DO graduate but, no extra benefits to speak of, for instance, they STILL charge an Annual Fee on the graduated card. So, like I said, I don't know if there is a "BEST" secured card.  They are what they are, and they serve their purpose but, none of them, to my knowledge are all that great.  

[Anonymous]

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@sindachris wrote:

I wanted to know if anyone had a preference of secured credit cards. For example, I am looking into Bank of America or one from my FCU. But I wanted to know if there is any other ones out there that most people use.

I currently have an unsecured Orchard MC and have had it for about 18 mo now.

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Hey sindachris- I have heard good things about the BofA secured card.  I have one friend I know personally who used BofA to get her credit back on track.  She opened a 750.00 secured card with them.  After 18 months of on time payments her card was graduated to an unsecured card and they doubled her original limit.  That was her experience YMMV.  There are plenty of posts on this very forum that resonate with what my friends experience was.  What I can't remember is if BofA allowed you to add to your deposit with their secured card.  That is a question to ask not just of your banker, but of the credit division that provides the card.

I went with US Bank (as BofA didn't have a presence in the town I lived in at the time).   I was talked into to doing a $300 deposit, instead of the original $1500 I had planned, because my banker mistakenly informed me that I could "add to the original deposit" later and grow the limit.  At the time I thought, what the heck, I'll put $1000 in a CD for a year, pop the other $200 in my MM savings and "add to the deposit" in a few months.  He also claimed mistakenly that it would be reported "no differently" than an unsecured card.  My experience with US Bank, as a bank, has been wonderful.  They know me by name and are very helpful.  However, beware, they are NOT incredibly well informed when it comes to the secured CC.  I had to contact them after they tried to charge my AF for the 2nd year and ask to be converted.  That was no problem, they sent me the unsecured card, returned my deposit in a week or so and did greatly reduce my int rate.  My credit limit however stayed at $300.  All in all, it is a great card, with a super easy online interface that makes payments a snap if you are also a customer with a checking account registered in online banking.  They report to all three credit bureaus, yet the account is marked as "secured".  Although I don't think that FICO takes that into account for scoring purposes, yet someone on here will know more on that.  I would advise anyone considering the US Bank secured CC to do all their research with the actually division of US Bank that provides the cards.  They will have accurate information that will help you make a more informed decision than I did.

The secured cards work wonders on the road to recovery.  Good luck!

[IWOL]

I have the B of A secured card and it does seem to be one of the best secured cards. You can add the 1-2-3 rewards program to it and they seem to be pretty consistent at graduating their cards.

The one major downside for the B of A card is that they do a hard pull everytime you want to add funds and increase the limit, so its best to start with the highest deposit you can afford so you can avoid the hard pulls if you wnat to increase the limit later.

Another very good secured card is from SDFCU. They offer the best terms by far that I have seen for a secured card.

No hard pull for applying if you do it by phone.

Has the best interest rate at 6.99%

No limit to how much you can deposit for your credit limit, minimum is $250.

You can open the account  against a CD, which I beleive will pay around 1%, so atleast you earn some interest on your deposit.

The card has a Flexpoints rewards program.

Also has an EMV chip, which is a nice feature.

Purchases, balance transfers and cash advances all have the 6.99% APR

They do not graduate cards and you have to join to apply but my understanding is there is no hard pull for memebership and anyone can join through an association.

Just google SDFCU and you can find some info on teh card on their website.

[TwinGirls19]

Gotta be hands down Boa. Put down deposit, use the card responsibly, after 12 months they will unsecure your card, give you back your deposit and a decent cli. Need I say more. Ps boa is picky its not for sure they will approve you for they're secure card just letting you know.

[LS2982]

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@sindachris wrote:

I wanted to know if anyone had a preference of secured credit cards. For example, I am looking into Bank of America or one from my FCU. But I wanted to know if there is any other ones out there that most people use.

I currently have an unsecured Orchard MC and have had it for about 18 mo now.

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If you can afford the HP's the Cap1 Secure IMO is a very good choice!!!