Secured Credit Cards

There are a handful of secured credit cards with no credit check, including a pair of primor Secured Visa cards, the Applied Bank Secured Visa Gold Preferred Card, and the OpenSky Secured Visa Card. The OpenSky Visa is the best no-credit-check secured card because it has a lowest annual fee: $35. But the most expensive of the bunch only charges $49 per year, and they all report information to the credit bureaus each month. So any of them can help you immediately begin rebuilding your credit.

It’s important to note, however, that even the credit cards with no credit check have 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.

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

• primor Secured Visa Classic Card: $39 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit. 13.99% APR. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card: $35 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit. 18.64% APR. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• Applied Bank Secured Visa Gold Preferred Card: $48 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit. 9.99% APR. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• primor Secured Visa Gold Card: $49 annual fee. $200 minimum deposit. 9.99% APR. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.

You should also double-check whether you really need a secured credit card with no credit check. 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 must place to get one 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 a security deposit. And while they may do a credit check, it shouldn’t prevent most applicants from being approved.

The hard inquiry that comes with a credit check shouldn’t be too big of a deal, either, if there’s an account waiting on the other end. You won’t be able to qualify for any worthwhile loans, or anything like that, until you improve your score. 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, unfortunately, but it is a sign that your odds of approval are extremely high.

The best secured credit cards to rebuild credit with are the Discover it Secured Card, the Capital One Secured Mastercard and the OpenSky Secured Visa. 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. $300 deposit required. 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (first $1,000 every three months). 1% back on all other purchases. Rewards doubled year one. 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. 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.

There are a few more cards that deserve an honorable mention, too. For example, 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 primor Secured Visa Gold 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, though. It basically means paying interest on a loan you’ve given yourself, since you pre-pay your spending limit.

You do, however, need to remember that choosing the right credit card is only the first step toward rebuilding your credit. You must also use that card responsibly month after month so that the information reported to the credit bureaus each month is positive. Regularly adding positive information to your credit reports gradually covers up the negative records that led to your rebuilding project in the first place.

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 help too. But if you really want to rebuild your credit, you’ll need to get the rest of your financial house in order as well. That means paying down debt, catching up on past-due accounts, steering clear of collections accounts, etc.

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.

A secured credit card is exactly like any other credit card, save for one thing: You have to place a refundable security deposit, the amount of which serves as your spending limit. When it comes to why a secured credit card is a great choice, there are five main reasons:

1. High Approval Odds – You can get approved for a secured credit card no matter how damaged your credit may be.
2. Low Costs – Secured cards tend to have very low fixed costs, thanks to their refundable security deposit. Just make sure to pay in full every month because they aren’t known for attractive APRs.
3. Credit Improvement – Secured cards are indistinguishable from unsecured cards. If you pay your bills on time each month and otherwise manage your account responsibly, your credit score will improve.
4. Budgeting – By making your spending limit equal to the amount of your security deposit, secured cards prevent you from borrowing more than you can afford to repay.
5. Convenience – A secured credit card will enable you to make purchases that cannot be completed with cash, such as car rentals, hotel bookings and online shopping. You’ll also benefit from the security of $0 fraud liability.

To learn more, check out WalletHub’s secured credit card guide.

It’s hard to say exactly how much a secured credit card will raise your credit score, or how fast your score will improve. A good ballpark estimate is that you should see a bit of improvement after a few months and solid gains after a year, assuming you pay your bills on time. And if you start with a bad credit score, you can expect to qualify for an unsecured credit card for fair credit within 12-18 months.

But a lot depends on your starting point, particularly what types of negative records are on your credit report. How you manage both your new secured card and your other financial obligations is very important, too. Paying all your bills by the due date every month is key. Doing so will add positive information to your credit reports, helping cover up mistakes of the past. Failing to do so will only reinforce the idea that you’re a risky borrower. Your credit score will also improve faster the more available credit you have. And you can control that by submitting a larger initial security deposit or adding to it over time.

For a more accurate idea of how much a secured card will raise your credit score, check out your free personalized credit analysis from WalletHub. We’ll tell you which aspects of your credit need the most improvement, exactly what you need to do to fix them, how long it will take and which credit card will save you the most money. You can also watch your score improve with free daily credit score updates