Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator
@m_adams
The Capital One Secured deposit requirement is $49, $99 or $200. You will find out which of these three deposit amounts you’re required to put down after you get approved (if you get approved) because the decision depends on Capital One’s review of your credit history, income and debt obligations. That’s one way this card is unique. Most other secured cards require your deposit when you apply. Most secured cards won’t give you a spending limit that’s higher than your deposit, either. Again, not the case with Capital One Secured. Everyone who’s approved gets a $200 credit line. So, Capital One Secured is only partially secured if you’re assigned a deposit of $49 or $99.
Regardless what deposit you’re required to make, you can put down more to get a corresponding bump in your spending power but only before opening your account; you may deposit up to your maximum approved line of $1,000. You can’t add to your deposit after account opening, but you’ll be automatically considered for a higher limit in as little as 6 months, without adding to your deposit.
Of course, paying the Capital One Secured’s deposit isn’t the only requirement you have to meet the get the card.
Here are some other Capital One Secured requirements:
- Credit score. This is a pretty low bar to meet. You can get this card with bad credit or no credit at all. Your credit just can’t be incredibly damaged (like if you’re still in bankruptcy or have late payments on another Capital One card). It might be good to try to take a few months to get your score into the fair credit range (I recommend 640+). If you have bad credit, you’re more likely to have to pay a $200 deposit than you are with fair credit.
- Income. Technically, you don’t need to be working to get this card, but it certainly helps the approval process along. A steady flow of income will score you points on the application. After all, if you’re making money, Capital One can be less concerned about the amount of collateral they need.
- Lower debt. You can certainly be approved with debt. But the less you have, the better. If you already have to pay a lot of other bills every month, Capital One probably will want you to deposit more to be sure they can get their money back if you don’t pay off your card.
This is an excellent card for people who need to build or rebuild their credit. It’s unique in the fact that it can be partially secured, with a credit line greater than the deposit. And there’s a $0 annual fee, so, even if you don’t use the card, you can still build credit for free. To top it off, you can get a higher credit line by paying on time and eventually graduate to an unsecured card.

Secured Mastercard® from Capital One
Patrick Murphy, Former Bank Teller
@stpatrick1982
$49, $99 or $200. Depends on your credit history. They’ll tell you what is it if/when you get approved. No matter what, you’ll start with a $200 credit limit.
Thomas Friedman, Adrenaline Junkie
@icytom
Really depends on your credit history. They'll tell you when you get approved, but it can be $49, $99 or $200 dollars.
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