What is the Citi Secured interest rate?

The Citi Secured card credit limit is $200 to $2,500. Everyone who gets approved for Citi Secured is guaranteed a credit limit of at least $200, though each person’s exact starting credit limit will depend on how much of a security deposit they put down. When you first open the secured card, the amount of your security deposit will be your credit limit.… read full answer

The Citi Secured card credit limit that you start with isn’t necessarily your credit line forever. Citibank will usually allow you to increase your security deposit for a higher credit line. In some cases, they’ll also graduate your secured card to an unsecured card if you’ve used it responsibly. This could get you a higher credit limit, too.

The best secured card that graduates to unsecured is Bank of America Custom Cash Secured Card. Bank of America periodically reviews accounts for possible graduation and it reports to all 3 major credit bureaus. With this card, you also get 3% cash back in a category of your choice, 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 spent quarterly in the 3% and 2% categories combined), and 1% back on all other purchases.

Best Secured Cards That Graduate to Unsecured

When your secured card graduates to an … read full answerunsecured card, your credit line no longer needs to be secured with collateral. So when you graduate, the initial deposit you made to open the account will be refunded. You may get to keep the same physical credit card, or you may be migrated to another one. Either way, you’ll keep the good credit history you’ve earned with your secured card.

Secured credit card fees are a lot lower than those charged by unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit. There are several secured credit cards with no annual fee, and many others won’t cost you much more than the average credit card, which charges about $16 per year. In contrast, unsecured cards for bad credit usually have a $75+ annual fee, plus a one-time fee near $90 for application processing. The tradeoff is that you have to place a refundable security deposit of at least $200 to enjoy low secured credit card fees. But unlike unsecured card fees, you’ll get your deposit back when you close your account.… read full answer

Annual fees aren’t the only secured card costs you have to worry about, though. There are foreign transaction fees, late fees and cash advance fees, too. Plus, if you carry a balance from month to month, you’ll have to pay interest.

But avoiding secured credit card fees is pretty easy. You just have to choose your card wisely and then use it responsibly.

Here are some low secured credit card fees:

• No Annual Fee: Citi® Secured Mastercard®– $200 deposit
• Low Deposit: Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card– $49, $99 or $200 for a $200 limit
• No Foreign Transaction Fee: Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card – $0 abroad and no annual fee
• Low Late Fee: Commerce Bank Secured Credit Card – $15 max
• No Cash Advance Fee: Navy Federal Credit Union nRewards® Secured Credit Card– $0 at Navy Federal ATMs
• Low APR: Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Preferred® Credit Card – 9.99%

The best approach is to choose whichever card has the lowest annual fee, regardless of branding or issuer. And either pay your bill in full every month or don’t use it to make purchases at all. Either way, your credit score will benefit from your account being in good standing, and you’ll avoid wasting money on interest.