Secured Credit Cards

The best secured credit card with no credit check is the OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card because it has the lowest annual fee, at $35. There are a total of four secured credit cards with no credit check: OpenSky Secured Visa, Green Dot primor Visa Gold Secured, Green Dot primor Visa Classic Secured, and Applied Bank Secured Visa Gold Preferred. They’re all pretty similar, too.

The annual fees on secured credit cards with no credit check range from $35 to $49 per year. All of the cards require a $200 security deposit. And they all report information to the big 3 credit bureaus each month. So any of them can help you immediately begin rebuilding your credit.

It’s important to note, however, that even a secured credit card with no credit check has some approval requirements. You have to be at least 18 years old, for one thing, and you need enough money for the refundable security deposit as well as monthly bill payments.

Here are the best secured credit cards with no credit check:

• Best for low APR: Green Dot primor Visa Gold Secured Credit Card. $49 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit, $5,000 maximum. 9.99% fixed APR with no penalty APR. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• Best for low annual fee: OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card. $35 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit, $3,000 maximum. 19.39% (V) APR. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• Best for high credit limit: Applied Bank Secured Visa Gold Preferred Credit Card. $48 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit, $5,000 maximum. 9.99% fixed APR. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• 2^nd lowest annual fee: Green Dot primor Visa Classic Secured Credit Card. $39 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit, $5,000 maximum. 13.99% fixed APR. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.

Before you apply for a secured credit card with no credit check, make sure you actually need it. Even secured cards that require a credit check are pretty easy to get. They’re meant for people with bad credit. And the refundable security deposit you place reduces the risk for issuers.

Individual issuers may have specific requirements that rule some people out. For example, you can’t get the Capital One Secured Mastercard or the Discover it Secured Card with a non-discharged bankruptcy on your credit report. But there are plenty of others whose main requirement is that you have enough money to fund the security deposit. And while they may do a credit check, most applicants should still get approved.

The hard inquiry that comes with a credit check shouldn’t be too big of a deal, either, if you end up opening an account. The score damage will be temporary. And you won’t be able to qualify for any worthwhile loans until you improve your score anyway. So if you don’t need the best possible score right now, taking a short-term hit to achieve long-term gains is the way to go.

Finally, if you’re nervous about getting rejected, you can check for pre-approval before applying. Pre-approval doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed an account. But it is a sign that your odds of approval are extremely high. If after all that you’re not confident in your ability to get approved, you can always go for a secured credit card with no credit check.

The best secured credit card for bad credit is Discover it Secured because it has a $0 annual fee, rewards you with 1% - 2% cash back on purchases, doubles the rewards you’ve earned after the first year, and doesn’t require a minimum credit score. The Discover it Secured Card’s main approval requirements are being 18+ years old and having enough income to afford monthly bill payments, plus a refundable security deposit of $200 or more.

The rest of the best secured credit cards for bad credit scores are the OpenSky Secured Card (no credit check), the Capital One Secured Card (could be just partially secured), and the Harley-Davidson Secured Card (no annual fee). The first two in particular deserve recognition because of their uniquely attractive features.

The OpenSky Secured Mastercard is the best secured card for people with very poor credit because the issuer won’t check your credit history when you apply. As long as you’re at least 18 years old with a U.S. mailing address, an SSN, and income that exceeds your expenses, you should be approved. And the Capital One Secured Mastercard is great for people with bad, but not terrible, credit because you have the opportunity to get a credit limit that’s higher than the amount of the deposit you put down. The starting credit limit is $200, and you might be approved for a deposit of as low as $49. Capital One Secured also has a $0 annual fee.

Best Secured Credit Cards for Bad Credit:

• Best Overall: Discover it Secured Card
• No Credit Check: OpenSky Secured Mastercard
• Low Deposit: Capital One Secured Mastercard
• No Annual Fee: Harley-Davidson Secured Card

In general, secured credit cards are the best type of credit card for people with bad credit. Secured cards offer the highest approval odds of any credit cards, and they tend to be a lot cheaper in the long run than unsecured cards for bad credit.

You just have to make sure to pay your bill on time every month. If you do that, your credit should steadily improve. And that should help you qualify for a credit card upgrade sooner than you might think.

The best secured credit card to rebuild credit is the Capital One Secured Mastercard because of its low deposit requirement and $0 annual fee. The deposit is $49, $99 or $200, depending on your creditworthiness, but you’re guaranteed a $200 credit limit.

Another one of the best secured credit cards to rebuild credit is the OpenSky Secured Visa. It doesn’t even require a credit check when you apply, which makes it great for rebuilding really bad credit. Or, if you want to enjoy some perks while you rebuild, Discover it Secured is a rare secured card with rewards. You get 1% to 2% cash back on your purchases.

To be clear, all major secured credit cards can help you rebuild your credit. They all report account information to the major credit bureaus every month. And all those with low annual fees and low deposit requirements are in the running for the top spot. But the Discover, Capital One and OpenSky secured cards each bring something special to the table.

Here are the best secured credit cards to rebuild credit:

• Best for Rewards: Discover it Secured Credit Card – $0 annual fee. $200 deposit required. 2% cash back on your first $1,000 per quarter at gas stations and restaurants. 1% back on all other purchases. Rewards matched after your first year. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• Best for a Low Deposit: Capital One Secured Mastercard – $0 annual fee. $49, $99 or $200 deposit required. $200 minimum credit line guaranteed. No rewards. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• Best for No Credit Check: OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card – $35 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit. No rewards. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• Best for low APR: Green Dot primor Visa Gold Secured Credit Card – $49 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit. No rewards. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.

There are a few more cards that belong among the best secured credit cards to rebuild credit with, too. The Citi Secured Mastercard, Harley-Davidson Secured Visa and First National Secured Visa don’t charge annual fees. And that’s one of the most important things to look for in a secured credit card.

The Applied Bank Secured Visa Gold Preferred Card also has a low APR, at 9.99%. But you probably don’t want to carry a balance from month to month with a secured credit card. It basically means paying interest on a loan you’ve given yourself, since you pre-pay your spending limit.

Choosing the best secured credit card to rebuild credit is only the first step toward actually rebuilding. You must also use that card responsibly month after month so that positive information flows to the credit bureaus. Regularly adding positive information to your credit reports gradually covers up the negative past records.

Your card will report positive information as long as you pay your bill on time every month. Using less than 30% of your spending limit each month or paying multiple times per month can also too. But if you really want to rebuild your credit, you’ll need to get the rest of your finances in order as well. That means paying down debt, catching up on past-due accounts and steering clear of collections accounts.

There are a couple secured credit cards I like, that don’t charge annual fees. One of them is the Capital One Secured Mastercard, and the other is the Discover it Secured Card. The Discover it is especially great, since it gives you cash back on all your purchases: 2% on gas stations and restaurants, and 1% on all other purchases.

A secured credit card with no deposit wouldn’t be a secured credit card. Secured stands for security deposit, and a credit card without one is unsecured. So, no, you cannot get a secured credit card with no deposit. You can, however, get a secured card with a low deposit. Plus, there are some credit cards with no deposit for people with bad credit. But they tend to be more expensive in the long run, thanks to high fees that you don’t get back.

Here are the best secured credit cards for low deposits:

• Lowest Deposit: Capital One Secured Mastercard – $49, $99 or $200 minimum deposit
  This is what’s known as a partially secured credit card because your credit limit ($200 to start) could be higher than the deposit you’re required to place. There’s no annual fee.
  
• Rewards: Discover it Secured – $200 minimum deposit
  You get 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations, up to $1,000 spent per quarter, plus 1% everywhere else. And Discover doubles all the rewards you earn the first year.
  
• No Credit Check: OpenSky Secured Visa – $200 minimum deposit
  You don’t have to worry about a hard pull further damaging your credit with OpenSky Secured. As long as you’re at least 18 years old and can fund the deposit, you should be good to go. There’s a $35 annual fee.
  
• No Fee: Citi Secured Mastercard – $200 minimum deposit
  There’s nothing special about this card, save for its low deposit requirement and no annual fee. But that’s really all you need.
  
• Unsecured: Credit One Visa – $0 deposit
  This isn’t a secured credit card, but it’s worth mentioning. It offers a $300 minimum credit line, up to $75 of which could initially be used up by your first-year fee. The annual fee could be up $99 from the second year on. And the APR could be above 25%.

Any of these cards will help you rebuild your credit if used responsibly. Most importantly, that means paying on time every month.

Finally, it’s worth noting that although you can’t get a secured credit card without a security deposit, you can keep one – sort of. After months of responsible use, your card’s issuer may offer to refund your deposit. They may graduate you to a better offer or give you an unsecured line of credit on your existing account.