Hey everyone i was just wondering how bad a secured accnt looks on your cr. And what do some of you feel are some of the better secured cards out there.Thnx guys.
A secured card builds credit, so it doesn't look "bad" really; it doesn't hurt your credit. If you have to work your way back up, it's a good place to start. I heard Orchard Bank has a decent secured card.
It appears that a secured card is better than nothing. However, speaking from experience: American Pacific Bank has a secured card that is not flagged as such on the CRs. I opened an account with them two weeks ago, and the card just started reporting. http://www.apbank.com/021_scc.html
Not worth it, IMHO. This is from 2001: BANK OF AMERICA, NA · Telephone: 800-200-7119 · Mailing Address: Bank Card Center, 1825 East Buckeye Road, Phoenix, AZ 85034 · Cards Offered: Visa, MasterCard · Issuing Area: Western United States · Annual Interest Rate for Purchases: 17.99% (Prime + 10.99%) · Annual Interest Rate for Cash Advances: 17.99% (Prime + 10.99%) · Interest Calculation Method: Average Daily Balance including new purchases · Annual Fee: None · Grace Period for Purchases: 20 days · Application/Processing Fee: None · Cash Advance Fee: 3%-4% of advance, $3.00 minimum · Late Payment Fee: $29.00 · Over-Limit Fee: $29.00 · Deposit Requirements: $300 minimum, $5,000 maximum · Interest Deposit Earns: Market Rate · Credit Line Granted: 100% · Income Requirements: None · Credit Bureaus to which Account is Reported: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion · Manner in which Card is Reported: secured card · Comments: Applicants much be 18 years of age, have a U.S. address, have never filed for bankruptcy and do not have delinquent obligations at present time. For a comrehensive report on secured cards, go to http://www.cardweb.com/cardtrak/reports-dead/secure/secured/issue32.pdf. Keep in mind, like I said above, this is from 2001, some things might have changed, but I haven't found any better reports out there.
from the terms of the American Pacific card: Enclose a money order, cashier's check or personal check, payable to American Pacific Bank for $300 or more ($1000 or more for Business Accounts) to establish your savings account. Savings account??
Well, yeah. What other way is there to secure it? You open a savings account with them (yielding 2.5% interest) and they use that as collateral for your card, matching your credit line with you deposit dollar to dollar. Then you can increase it by sending additional funds. Works like that with every secured card, as far as I know.
