There are no TD banks in my local area, but there are some branches within a couple of hours in places that I occasionally visit anyway. Stopping by a branch would not be a problem, but, it wouldn't make much sense to actually open an account there just for this. Which, as someone else pointed out, rewards on a secured card are not going to amount to that much money back, anyway. That said, do you know if they are a bit selective with these, the way Discover secured can be, or is it as easy to get as most secured cards? Even if I don't pursue it, it might be good info for someone else reading this thread at some point. Thanks!
I just called TD and spoke with a nice lady about their secured card. Wish I'd considered this before getting some of the cards I already have. Pondering now whether it's worth it in the long term for some short-term credit pain. It'll be another hard pull, I suppose, and not that I can probably get any Chase card for now, but it'll lock me out of Chase for two years as this would be my fifth recent card. Sigh. That said, I am interested because it could be a card I hold for many years.
Here is what I learned on the phone for anyone else interested.
- The reason you need to visit a branch is that you need to open a savings account. Your savings account is your collateral for the card. So, you'd deposit $500 or more in a savings account and let it sit there, in order to get a $500 card. I specifically asked about $500, I don't know if you can do less, I assume you can do more.
- There are TD banks in my state (though not very close to me). I don't know what the situation would be if you lived in a state with no TD banks, if they'd let you open an account if you visited a branch.
- She said that after seven months, they start automatically considering the card for graduation to unsecured.
For anyone who can open a TD account, I think this is a GREAT secured card, arguably the best I know of, along with Discover.
I could try to get the similar BoA card. There are BoA branches in my area. But, I don't like the idea of applying for the unsecured card, getting rejected, and hoping they offer me the "good" secured card. They do not let you apply directly for the secured card with cash back, as best I can tell.
If I could go back two months, I'd still do Citi, and from there, I'd do Discover and TD. In case anybody else now or in the future starts down the same path, that would be my advice. I think I'd wait on C1 until I was pretty confident I could qualify for a QS. I would skip Primor entirely.
Thanks for all info!
