Secured credit cards can vary a lot in terms of what sort of fees they charge you. Make sure you know the fees and rates of your secured card before you apply. Take the following factors into consideration when comparing secured cards:
What's the annual fee? All secured credit cards come with an annual fee so try to find the card that has the lowest fee to use.
Is there an application fee? Some secured cards will charge you a fee just to apply, make sure you know if there is one for the card you're interested in.
Are there other fees? Some secured cards have a monthly service fee, other cards have a fee to increase your credit limit. Make sure you know what hidden fees your card has if any.
Does the card report to all 3 credit bureaus? The biggest plus about using a secured credit card is that it can be used to restore your bad credit. In order for this to happen you should get a card that reports to all the major credit bureaus, not just one. If you don't know if you can make payments on time, you're better off getting a prepaid credit card as it doesn't get reported to your credit.
How long will it take to get an offer for an unsecured credit card? Secured cards come with higher fees than unsecured credit cards so that creditors can protect themselves for taking on a high risk customer. It's in your best interest to switch to an unsecured credit card as soon as possible to avoid these fees. Most card issuers will offer you an unsecured card after about a year of making timely payments. You should double check with the issuer to make sure that this is the case.
More Articles
About Secured Credit Cards
Secured VS Prepaid Credit Cards
