Best secured cards of June 2023
Not everyone can be approved for a rewards credit card. If you have a limited credit history — or have made some credit mistakes in the past and have a bad or poor credit score — you may want to use a secured credit card while you work to improve your credit. Here are some of the best available options.
Why We Chose It
Pros
- No annual fee.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Travel insurance and shopping protection.
Cons
- No bonus earning.
- Requires a deposit.
- No annual or hidden fees. See if you're approved in seconds
- Building your credit? Using the Capital One Platinum Secured card responsibly could help
- Put down a refundable security deposit starting at $49 to get a $200 initial credit line
- You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Get access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with online banking to access your account from your desktop or smartphone, with Capital One's mobile app
Why We Chose It
Pros
- No annual fee.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Travel insurance and shopping protection.
Cons
- No bonus earning.
- Requires a deposit.
- No annual or hidden fees. See if you're approved in seconds
- Building your credit? Using the Capital One Platinum Secured card responsibly could help
- Put down a refundable security deposit starting at $49 to get a $200 initial credit line
- You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Get access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with online banking to access your account from your desktop or smartphone, with Capital One's mobile app
Pros
- No annual fee.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Travel insurance and shopping protection.
Cons
- No bonus earning.
- Requires a deposit.
- No annual or hidden fees. See if you're approved in seconds
- Building your credit? Using the Capital One Platinum Secured card responsibly could help
- Put down a refundable security deposit starting at $49 to get a $200 initial credit line
- You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Get access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with online banking to access your account from your desktop or smartphone, with Capital One's mobile app
- 5% Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply
- 1.5% Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere
Why We Chose It
Pros
- No annual fee.
- Cashback on all purchases.
- Unlimited cash back.
Cons
- Minimal bonus earning categories.
- No annual or hidden fees, and you can earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day. See if you're approved in seconds
- Put down a refundable $200 security deposit to get a $200 initial credit line
- Building your credit? Using a card like this responsibly could help
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
- Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Enjoy up to 6 months of complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024
Why We Chose It
Pros
- No annual fee.
- Cashback on all purchases.
- Unlimited cash back.
Cons
- Minimal bonus earning categories.
- No annual or hidden fees, and you can earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day. See if you're approved in seconds
- Put down a refundable $200 security deposit to get a $200 initial credit line
- Building your credit? Using a card like this responsibly could help
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
- Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Enjoy up to 6 months of complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024
Pros
- No annual fee.
- Cashback on all purchases.
- Unlimited cash back.
Cons
- Minimal bonus earning categories.
- No annual or hidden fees, and you can earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day. See if you're approved in seconds
- Put down a refundable $200 security deposit to get a $200 initial credit line
- Building your credit? Using a card like this responsibly could help
- Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
- You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
- Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply
- Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
- Enjoy up to 6 months of complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024
Why We Chose It
Pros
- No credit pull.
- Approval is possible with short/bad credit history.
Cons
- Annual fee.
- No reward earning.
- No credit check to apply. Zero credit risk to apply!
- Looking to build or rebuild your credit? 2/3 of cardholders receive a 48+ point improvement after making 3 on-time payments
- With an 87% average approval rate for the past 6 months, OpenSky gives everyone an opportunity to improve their credit
- Extend your $200 credit line by getting considered for an unsecured credit line increase after 6 months - no additional deposit required!
- Get free monthly access to your FICO score in our mobile application
- Build your credit history across 3 major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Transunion
- Fund your card with a low $200 refundable security deposit to get a $200 credit line
- Apply in less than 5 minutes with our mobile first application
- Choose the due date that fits your schedule with flexible payment dates
- Fund your security deposit over 60 days with the option to make partial payments
- Join over 1.2 million cardholders who’ve used OpenSky to build their credit
Why We Chose It
Pros
- No credit pull.
- Approval is possible with short/bad credit history.
Cons
- Annual fee.
- No reward earning.
- No credit check to apply. Zero credit risk to apply!
- Looking to build or rebuild your credit? 2/3 of cardholders receive a 48+ point improvement after making 3 on-time payments
- With an 87% average approval rate for the past 6 months, OpenSky gives everyone an opportunity to improve their credit
- Extend your $200 credit line by getting considered for an unsecured credit line increase after 6 months - no additional deposit required!
- Get free monthly access to your FICO score in our mobile application
- Build your credit history across 3 major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Transunion
- Fund your card with a low $200 refundable security deposit to get a $200 credit line
- Apply in less than 5 minutes with our mobile first application
- Choose the due date that fits your schedule with flexible payment dates
- Fund your security deposit over 60 days with the option to make partial payments
- Join over 1.2 million cardholders who’ve used OpenSky to build their credit
Pros
- No credit pull.
- Approval is possible with short/bad credit history.
Cons
- Annual fee.
- No reward earning.
- No credit check to apply. Zero credit risk to apply!
- Looking to build or rebuild your credit? 2/3 of cardholders receive a 48+ point improvement after making 3 on-time payments
- With an 87% average approval rate for the past 6 months, OpenSky gives everyone an opportunity to improve their credit
- Extend your $200 credit line by getting considered for an unsecured credit line increase after 6 months - no additional deposit required!
- Get free monthly access to your FICO score in our mobile application
- Build your credit history across 3 major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Transunion
- Fund your card with a low $200 refundable security deposit to get a $200 credit line
- Apply in less than 5 minutes with our mobile first application
- Choose the due date that fits your schedule with flexible payment dates
- Fund your security deposit over 60 days with the option to make partial payments
- Join over 1.2 million cardholders who’ve used OpenSky to build their credit
More on the best secured cards of March 2023
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Card | Best for | Welcome Offer/Sign Up Bonus | Earning Rate | Annual Fee |
Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card | Best for credit card perks | N/A | N/A | $0 |
Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card | Best for flat-rate earning | N/A |
|
$0 |
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card | Best for poor credit history | N/A | N/A | $35 |
What is a secured credit card?
A secured credit card is a card that requires a security deposit from the cardholder when the account is opened. This security deposit is usually refundable and determines your initial credit limit. Secured credit cards are often used by consumers without credit history or with low credit scores and can be useful for building or repairing credit.
Related: Secured vs. unsecured credit cards: What you should know
How we chose the best secured credit cards
In choosing the best secured credit cards for this guide, we prioritized cards that don’t charge an annual fee and report credit activity to the three main credit bureaus. Reporting activity to credit bureaus is important since you’ll want your activity on the card to help improve your credit score. We also included some cards with modest annual fees with unique perks or aspects that may make them the best option for some consumers.
We didn’t put much weight on the APR rate, as you’ll want to ensure you can pay off your balance each month to work on building or repairing your credit. And, although this article is on The Points Guy, you shouldn’t put too much weight on the rewards earning rate since you’ll generally only keep your secured card until you’ve built or repaired your credit enough to move to a rewards credit card.
Related: How to choose the right credit card for you
Should I get a secured credit card?
Secured credit cards are best used for building or repairing credit. If you don’t have strong enough credit to be approved for most beginner credit cards, and you don’t have any trusted friends or family members that are willing to add you to their account as an authorized user, a secured credit card can be an assured way to getting a credit card and working to improve your credit score.
You should see a secured credit card as a stepping stone to an unsecured (or traditional) rewards credit card. If you can already get approved for an unsecured rewards credit card that doesn’t have high fees, you won’t need to consider getting a secured credit card.
Related: Travel rewards strategies for people with low credit scores
How does a secured credit card help build or repair credit?
If you’re looking to build or repair your credit with a secured credit card, you’ll want to ensure the card you get will report your payment activity to the credit bureaus. All of the cards described in this guide advertise that they do so — after all, card issuers realize that most people using secured credit cards are working to build or repair credit.
With a secured credit card, you’ll generally start with a low credit line. So, to build or repair your credit, you’ll initially want to make small, infrequent purchases and focus on paying off your balance in full each month.
The issuer may eventually offer you a higher credit line, which can help your credit score as long as you keep your utilization low. It’s also a good idea to check your credit score regularly while working to build or repair your credit.
Related: The best first credit cards
Is it worth it to pay an annual fee on a secured credit card?
Generally, it’s not worth paying an annual fee on a secured credit card. However, if you don’t want the issuer to perform a credit check, you may need to pay an annual fee to access a secured credit card that offers no credit check, like the OpenSky Secured Visa. And, although you should be paying your credit card bill in full every month to improve your credit score, if you are looking for a secured credit card with a low APR, you’ll usually need to pay an annual fee.
Related: Guide to credit card annual fees
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply