Credit score recommendations to get the best secured credit cards? You receive the card. Once your deposit is funded, the issuer will send you your card. You can then use it just like any other credit card. In general, it’s best to use less than 30% of your available credit at any given time, so don’t go maxing out your secured card. Use it for a few small purchases each month and pay them off promptly. You get your bill and pay it each month. Because secured cards tend to charge very high interest rates, it’s best to pay your bill in full every month to avoid finance charges. The issuer reports your payments to the credit bureaus, which helps you build credit.

OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card: Details and benefits: The two reasons you may want to apply for the OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card is if you don’t own a checking account, but still want access to a credit card, or if you’re looking for a secured card with a decent annual percentage rate. For everyone else, the $35 annual fee should make this card a non-starter. That being said, OpenSky Secured Visa can help you build or rebuild your credit, as the issuer, Capital Bank, reports your monthly payments to the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

When you consider the rewards, the lack of an annual fee and the opportunity for an upgrade, the Discover it® Secured is the best secured credit card we’ve seen. The rewards on this card — 2% cash back on up to $1,000 worth of spending per quarter on restaurants and gas, and 1% on all other spending — would be pretty decent on a regular card. For a secured credit card, they’re unheard of. After eight months, Discover automatically evaluates your account for possible upgrade to an unsecured card. And the annual fee is $0. The initial deposit must be paid with a bank account; if you’re unbanked, you’re out of luck. For some people, the $200 minimum deposit will be a stretch. For others, the maximum $2,500 credit limit will be too low.

Secured credit cards resemble regular credit cards with one key difference: they require a “security” deposit, the size of which determines your credit limit with the card, at least initially. The advantage to this card type, compared with using a debit card tied to a checking account or a prepaid debit card, is that account activity is reported to all three major credit bureaus (because a secured credit card is a true credit card with a real credit limit). That reporting allows you to begin building a credit history that, providing it is positive, should in time allow you to get a regular credit card and other credit products, such as loans.

What Happens If I Don’t Make A Payment? As mentioned above, if you don’t make a payment to your credit line when required, your card issuer may use some of your deposit balance to cover the amount. However, it is vital you don’t find yourself needing to rely on this. It may be tempting to skip a payment, thinking that the issue will be dealt with by your deposit, but this is not the case. You may find that your credit score — the very thing that you are trying to improve — is impacted by your missed payment. If you decide to open a secured credit card, then you should take the issue seriously. See the endeavor as an attempt to rebuild your credit and improve your financial situations in the future. Find extra info on More @ www.eastwoodbank.com.