The Merrick Bank Secured credit card graduation process is not exactly traditional.

While many credit card issuers will upgrade a customer's account from a secured card to an unsecured one after using their card responsibly for at least a year, it's a bit more complex here. Merrick Bank will not upgrade your current secured credit card accounts, but after the first year, they will periodically review your credit line. If your account qualifies, your limit may be increased without needing to add to your security deposit. In a sense, your secured card will become half-secured, similar to Capital One Secured.

In addition to that, if you manage to keep a good payment history, they may "pre-approve" you for their unsecured offering. With that said, it's important to know that you will need to submit a separate application for the unsecured version. Your entire credit history will be pulled and that will result in a hard inquiry on your report and a possible dent in your credit score.