I got this card in September 2009. I had no open cards at all and was turned down by US Bank for a secured card. There were 5 large recent charge offs on my report. PSB application was easy and I had the card in about a month with a $1000 deposit. I was happy to get the card.
The terms were good for a secured card with no credit check, it even had 0% for 6 months on purchases which I made use of. I used it continuously, often taking it close to the limit and PIF most every month. The APR was < 12% so it did not cost much when I let it ride for 2 months to cover an unexpected expense. The only fee was an initial fee of $79, then no annual fee.
Since then, I have added a HSBC secured card ($1100 deposit) and a Capital One secured card ($200 to $2200 over 8 months time). Also added $10K of unsecured credit with 5 store cards. So I decided to close it in January of this year.
I paid off the balance and called to close the card. You have to call the Publics Savings Bank number to ask for the deposit back. The phone number on the card is for the company who services the VISA, and then can only close the account. They said I had to wait 10 weeks to get the deposit back. The check did not come at 10 weeks so I called and emailed. I had my money returned through ACH to my checking account. Elapsed time 11 weeks.
Pros:
No Credit Check, and minor paperwork to get the card.
Cons:
Bank staff seems to be overworked. Don't even bother to call on the phone, it is much better to email them. And expect to wait a day for each response.
I still think 10 weeks to return deposit is too long.
Terms and Conditions: I just checked the current T&C and they are not as good as when I got the card. Most disturbing is the lack of grace period. This adds a lot of expense to use the card. And makes it very awkward to use if you want to control the costs. Not to mention the $50 annual fee.
Neutral: They always wait the full 5 business days to clear your credit availability, so they are very cautious about payment.
To Sum Up: I am happy I got the card and am happy to be moving on. I was hoping they would expand to offer better secured cards, but the new terms move it down the sub prime ladder.
Limited Recommendation: If you need a card and some very bad things on your credit report, I can still recommend this card. I would suggest limited use where you pay immediately to minimize the costs. Use it to get some positive history to help get a better card in the future (probably still secured).
I would suggest that most try to get a secured card from Credit Union or Major Bank before apply for this card. If everyone else turns you down, inquiries don't matter at that point.
