secure credit card questions

[QueBert]

My credit is pretty bl3h! Have been looking around at secure cards, all the banks who offer them say pretty much the same thing "will become unsecured after you have paid your bills regularly for awhile" none say much more than that.

I don't expect to have a Platinum level card after 5 months, or even a year. But how many months should I be expecting between a card being secured then switching to unsecured? Also who is a good bank to go with? I don't exactly like the idea of a $150 a year card fee with monthly maintenance fees on top of a 20% interest rate.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Yep, they are pretty much crap. They charge you all kinds of fees just to hold your money, and they do nothing to build credit

 

[EpsiIon]

I have pretty much no credit history, so I went with a secured card from B of A. They said they'll give me my deposit back after a year. The annual fee is around $25, but there's no maintenance fee and the 2X% interest rate doesn't really bother me, since I'm going to pay my bills off on time.

For me, the only difference between this and an unsecured card is $25/year and my credit limit is whatever deposit I give them (and I can change it any time, which is nice).

 

[toolboxolio]

I got one through Bank of America while I was in college.

They are pretty fair so long as you don't carry a balance and let the interest pwn you.

You have to put up the money yourself for how much credit you want. I did $500. The money is held in a savings account for a year. After a year, if you are in good standing (pay bill on time, don't exceed limit)... they release that money in savings for you to access.

Basically, secured for a year then your card becomes unsecured.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Just open a bank account that will give you a debit card with a visa logo, serves the same purpose and it's cheaper.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Just open a bank account that will give you a debit card with a visa logo, serves the same purpose and it's cheaper.

also called a check card.
but a credit card is needed to build credit

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Just open a bank account that will give you a debit card with a visa logo, serves the same purpose and it's cheaper.

also called a check card.
but a credit card is needed to build credit

Yes, but a secured card is no different than a check card until it's converted to a regular credit card after a year or longer depending on the terms, and the majority of people give up on it before they make it to that point.

If you really want to build credit, get a department store or gas station card. They generally have less stringent credit requirements, or get a cosigned account or car loan.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Just open a bank account that will give you a debit card with a visa logo, serves the same purpose and it's cheaper.

also called a check card.
but a credit card is needed to build credit

Yes, but a secured card is no different than a check card until it's converted to a regular credit card after a year or longer depending on the terms, and the majority of people give up on it before they make it to that point.

If you really want to build credit, get a department store or gas station card. They generally have less stringent credit requirements, or get a cosigned account or car loan.

Well, no. A secured card will report your payment history to the CRAs which will help improve a credit score. A debit card will not.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: QueBert
I don't expect to have a Platinum level card after 5 months, or even a year. But how many months should I be expecting between a card being secured then switching to unsecured? Also who is a good bank to go with? I don't exactly like the idea of a $150 a year card fee with monthly maintenance fees on top of a 20% interest rate.

Most legitimate banks/cc charge an annual fee of $20 - $50. You don't have to pay interest as long as you payoff your balance in full before the due date.

Who do you bank with for your checking and savings accounts?

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/publ/seccard.asp

Bank of America Secured VISA

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Just open a bank account that will give you a debit card with a visa logo, serves the same purpose and it's cheaper.

also called a check card.
but a credit card is needed to build credit

Yes, but a secured card is no different than a check card until it's converted to a regular credit card after a year or longer depending on the terms, and the majority of people give up on it before they make it to that point.

If you really want to build credit, get a department store or gas station card. They generally have less stringent credit requirements, or get a cosigned account or car loan.

Well, no. A secured card will report your payment history to the CRAs which will help improve a credit score. A debit card will not.

Don't be so sure. Some do report to the CRA's, some don't. In my experience more don't than do. And even some of the ones that claim they report, don't. I will admit there are more legit issurers than there were just a few years ago, but you really need to do your homework and ask lots of questions. And if you must go this route stick with cards issued by major banks.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/19990823.asp

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/secured.htm

 

[FoBoT]

it can take a couple years depending on what hits you have on your credit

capital one does it

 

[QueBert]

Thanks to everybody who replied, I applied for 2 regular credit cards just for sh!ts & giggles, one called my boss to ask about me maybe that's a good sign. *shrug* But if I end up having to go the secured route for a year or longer, I guess I don't have much of a choice...

 

[QueBert]

guess I'll bump this dead thread, I have 2 regular CC's now, but the limits are looow and both only increase the limit in small amounts. One is 20 quarterly the other 100 a year. I have poor credit so this was expected by me, but both said they never change the amount, so basically in 5 years I'll still be looking at a 100$ a year bump? Obviously by then I should be at a spot where I can get a decent card with decent limit and better raises, but I'm looking at the short term. Kind of decided I would go with a secure, that way I can have whatever limit I decide to pay into it. Would be nice for trips and such to have a $1,500 limit (or more) Both my cards have a $300 limit now, @ $100 a year it will take 7 years to hit $1,000

looking for someone who has a Secure card or knows about them to chime in. Basically what I'm after, one without ridiculous yearly fees, I know I'll pay yearly but I don't want it to be triple digits. One that reports to the TRW so I can help build my credit. And one that will allow me to increase my limit as I need. I would just go with a debit card, but I'd like to have something help boost my credit score.