Thread: Newbie Here with a Question Regarding: Secured Credit Cards

Hi everyone,

I am kind of new and had a question on the best way to start creating good credit.

I've been dealt a crazy hand in the world of credit. I have hardly any credit, and the little credit I had went delinquent because of a frustrating scam company. I am going to contact the 3 credit bureaus and report this incident to see if they can remove it, and in the meantime, I am trying everything I can to at least get some decent credit going.

After I get that taken care of, I would at least like to improve my credit as much as possible. I have a car that is financed with a bank that has been reporting my credit for over a year with a cosigner and payments were made on time for at least 16 months (not 1 late payment).

I am thinking about getting a secured credit as well to pay for small things like gas, food, etc, and pay the balance on time for that as well.

The issue I am running into is finding the right card. I have done my research somewhat online, but there are a ton of cards out there. I would prefer a good card that:

- Reports to all three major credit bureaus
- Possibly waive the application fee
- Possibly a 0.00 annual fee (but I know usually this is not the case)
- A good secured credit for someone starting out to get their credit in order (nothing too fancy, I'm just using it for basic purchases).


Thanks if you guys can help

Welcome to Creditnet!

The best secured credit card out there right now is the Capital One Secured MaterCard. It reports to all 3 credit bureaus, has no setup fee, and an annual fee of $29. Unfortunately, you're not going to find any secured cards without an annual fee.

I'm just curious though, what are you current FICO scores?

If you don't want to start with a secured card, just ask a family member or friend to add you as an authorized user to an existing credit card account. Just make sure the credit card has perfect payment history and always has a low balance (10% or less of the credit limit). This will give a boost in your credit score and give you a extra active account. It might help you get approved for a credit card that is not secured. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET

Not quite true that there are no secured credit cards without annual fee; plenty of credit unions offer secured credit cards without any annual fee.

One example: anyone can join Digital Federal Credit Union through American Association for People with Disabilities (donate $15 to AAPD, then fund at least $5 for DCU's savings account). I believe DCU's online membership form will allow you to gain membership in both AAPD and DCU at the same time. You can inquire about secured visa product immediately after you join.

Max limit on their secured Visa, as far as I am aware, is $2000.

Good point lakpr. Some credit unions do offer secured cards without an annual fee so it's always a good idea to take a look at what the credit unions are offering. As far as major banks go, I don't know of a secured credit card offer that doesn't have some kind of annual fee or application fee.