Introduction
A secured credit card, as the name itself implies, is a credit card secured by a collateral i.e., a refundable deposit. This refundable deposit is placed by the customer with the bank in lieu of getting approval for the credit card and the credit limit is based on the amount deposited with the bank. Although the average credit score of Americans rose to 714 in 2022, according to data from Experian, there are millions of Americans who have bad credit score or who are starting out and have no credit score. Financial institutions consider them risky and might not be willing to extend credit card (unsecured) to those Americans. As such, the secured credit card helps bridges the gap and helps you improve your credit score, by either repairing your credit score or building a new one.
The secured credit card is similar to the regular credit card except that a secured card needs a refundable deposit to be deposited and in case of default by the customer, the bank recovers the amount through the refundable deposit. Secured credit cards provides the same level of fraud protection as a regular credit card and some of them also provides you cash back and rewards for using them. As there are various secured credit cards offered by financial institutions, we decided to analyze them all and provide our unbiased recommendation on the best secured credit card in the market.
Best Secured Credit Card – Overall
Capital One QuickSilver Secured Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One QuickSilver Secured Rewards Credit Card is an all-rounder credit card due to its flat 1.5% cash back on every purchase. This is one of the best cash back offered by a secured card. This card can be applied with a minimum refundable deposit of $200 to get a $200 credit line with an almost instant approval decision after application. Capital One allows for a maximum refundable deposit of $3,000 if you want to opt for the higher credit line. If you spend roughly $1000 a month in expense, you can earn $180 in cashback every year.
The Capital One QuickSilver Secured Rewards Card offers the following cash backs:
- Flat 1.5% cash back on every purchase, as simple as that.
The ability to earn rewards while still building your score is rare and hence this card with a flat 1.5% cash back with no restrictions is an excellent offer. The cash back earned using this card never expires and can be redeemed in multiple ways:
- Redeem for Cash – Get a check or apply rewards as a statement credit.
- Cover Your Purchases – Apply your cash back to directly cover a recent purchase.
- Get Gift Cards – Spend your rewards on gift cards from places you love.
Besides just 1.5% cash back on all purchases, Capital One QuickSilver Secured Rewards Card comes with lot more benefits:
- Fraud Protection – Gives you peace of mind as you won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges if your card is lost or stolen.
- Refundable Deposits & Upgrades – With responsible card use, you could earn your deposit back and upgrade to an unsecured Quicksilver card.
- Automatic Credit Line Reviews – Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit
Capital One QuickSilver Secured Rewards Credit Card has no annual fee nor any other charges. It does not have sign-up bonus but that is expected when it comes to secured cards. Overall, it’s an excellent secured credit card and accepts applicants of all credit levels. If you want to build your score better and at the same time looking to get cashback on your purchases, then this is the go-to secured card for you.
Best Secured Credit Card for Gas Stations
Discover It Secured Credit Card
The Discover It Secured Card is a cash back credit card and is best suitable if your expenses mostly consist of gas and restaurant purchases. It offers 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter.. The minimum deposit required for applying this card is $200. However, you can choose the deposit amount up to the credit line approved.
Discover It Secured Credit Card offers the following rewards:
- 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1000 in combined purchases each quarter
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
Other than this, Discover offers its signature cash back match in which they will match all your cash back earned for the year such that you get 2x rewards.
Although Discover It Secured Credit Card do not have a sign up bonus, they offer their signature unlimited cash back match for new members where they will match dollar-for-dollar all the cash back earned by the new member in their first year. There is no limit to the cash back you can earn and cash back match offered by Discover and if you earn $500 cash back in a year, then Discover will match it with another $500, and you will get$1000 worth of cash back automatically.
Discover It Secured Credit Card has no mimimum to redeem. You can redeem your cash back at any time in any amount as a statement credit or direct deposit to the bank or pay with it at Amazon or PayPal. Cash back do not expire.
On the top of cash back, Discover It Secured Credit Card provides additional perks such as:
- Fraud Protection – You’re safeguarded from unauthorized transactions and won’t be held responsible.
- Automatic Reviews – You will be automatically reviewed after 7 months if you can be offered an unsecured line of credit and return your deposit.
- No Foreign Transaction Fee – There is no such foreign transaction fee levied on this card.
- No Overlimit Fee
Discover It Secured Credit Card offers good rewards, especially for gas stations and restaurant expense. It has no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, and no over limit fee. It also offers unlimited cash back match for the cash back earned on the first year. As such, we recommend Discover It Secured Credit Card card as an excellent secured credit card, especially if you have regular expenses at gas stations and restaurants.
Best Secured Credit Card for Dining & Restaurants
U.S Bank Altitude Go VISA Secured Credit Card
The U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Secured Credit Card is hands down the best secured credit card for restaurant and dinning expense as it offers 4X points on dining and takeouts. Besides the best cash back on dinning and takeouts, U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Secured Credit Card offers good rewards on expenses at grocery stores, gas stations and streaming services. . The minimum deposit required for this card is $300 This card offers a higher credit limit as the maximum deposit is $5,000.
U.S Bank Altitude Go Visa card offers the following rewards:
- 4x reward points per dollar spent on dining & takeout including restaurant delivery
- 2x reward points per dollar spent at grocery stores, gas stations, and on streaming services
- 1x reward points per dollar spent on all other purchases
- $15 streaming credits annually for streaming service purchases (i.e., Apple Music, Netflix, Pandora, Disney+, Hulu, etc)
Although U.S Bank Altitude Go Visa credit card looks lucrative for earning rewards, it has a minimum of 2,500 points ($25) dollars to redeem. Points can be redeemed in the form of a statement credit or bank deposit. However, if you want to redeem your points in the form of gift cards, merchandise, and travel through the U.S Bank rewards center then you will need to accumulate a minimum of 1,000 reward points ($10). Luckily, you will have peace of mind since these points never expire.
Besides this, there are other benefits that come with this card:
- Zero Fraud Liability – Cardholders aren’t liable for the unauthorized transaction if your card is lost or stolen
- Choose Your Payment Date – Everyone’s schedule is different. So it’s handy to be able to pick when your payment is due. Chance for Graduation – Within at least six months, if you are considered for a higher credit line, then you might get your deposit refunded back.
The U.S Bank Altitude Go Visa Credit Card checks all the boxes when it comes to your needs, and if you’re looking for building your credit while simultaneously earning excellent rewards on multiple everyday spending categories like dinning and takeouts, gas, groceries, and streaming services, then this can be your go-to card.
Best Secured Credit Card for Rotating Category
U.S Bank Cash+ VISA Secured Credit Card
The U.S Bank Cash+ Visa Secured Credit Card is one of the customizable secured credit cards and is usually made for juggling between the categories to earn rewards on each dollar spent. This credit card allows you to select 2 categories out of 12 each quarter where you can earn 5% cash back on your first $2,000 in combined eligible purchases each quarter. Besides 5% cash back on two categories of your choice, you can earn good cash back on everyday categories as well as on travel purchases. The minimum deposit required for this card is $300 but it offers a higher credit limit as the maximum deposit is $5,000.
U.S Bank Cash+ Visa Secured Credit Card offers the following cash back:
- 5% cash back on two categories you choose in a quarter, up to $2000 combined
- 5% cash back on prepaid air, hotel, and car reservations booked directly via Rewards Travel Center
- 2% cash back on your choice of one everyday category like gas stations and EV charging stations, grocery stores, and restaurants
- 1% cash back on all other purchase
Information about 5% and 2% rewards categories can be found at https://cashplus.usbank.com/merchants
The U.S Bank Cash+ looks like a simple everyday credit card but it requires some effort from your side to optimize the rewards earned. The rewards earning structure can be complicated for many, but it can give you higher rewards earning potential on everyday spending. You can redeem your cash back only when it reaches a minimum of $25 in value, either in the form of statement credit or deposit to your U.S Bank account. Alternatively, you can redeem it with a a minimum of $10 if you opt for rewards cards. Moreover, your cash back rewards expire 36 months after the billing cycle in which you earned.
Besides cash back on categories of your choice, U.S. Bank Cash+ Secured Credit Card offers additional benefits:
- Zero Fraud Liability – Cardholders aren’t liable for the unauthorized transaction if your card is lost or stolen
- Choose Your Payment Date – Everyone’s schedule is different. So it’s handy to be able to pick when your payment is due.
- Chance for Graduation – Within at least six months, if you are considered for a higher credit line, then you might get your deposit refunded back.
Overall, the U.S Bank Cash+ Secured Credit Card is an excellent credit card but it comes with its own customization. You will have to opt-in for the categories each quarter and keep an eye on them to gain the most benefits out of this card. However, if you’re looking into high rewards earning potential while still building your score then, this credit card can be your go-to credit card.
