Credit score recommendations to receive premium secured credit cards in 2021

Finance

The best secured credit cards with zero credit checks with Eastwood Bank? You upgrade. As your credit moves from bad to average to good, you’ll be in a position to qualify for better cards: Some issuers automatically review your account for potential upgrade to an unsecured card. For example, Discover does this with the Discover it® Secured after eight months. Navy Federal Credit Union starts automatic reviews after six months when you have the Navy Federal Credit Union® nRewards® Secured Credit Card. When your issuer moves you to an unsecured card, you get your deposit back. With other issuers, you may have to specifically request an upgrade. That might mean converting your secured account to unsecured or closing your secured card and opening a new unsecured account. Either way, you get your deposit back.

Get the most value from OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card? OpenSky’s secured credit card offers a lot of flexibility for funding an account, which makes it a great option for those who have thin or less-than-optimal credit files. You can choose from using a debit card, writing a check, or for the unbanked, a Western Union transfer or mailing in a money order. Get the most value from it by using it responsibly. That means paying your balances in full each month so you don’t accrue interest, making payments on time and monitoring your credit score periodically to track your progress.

Although the issuer will check your credit when you apply for the First Progress Platinum Elite Mastercard® Secured Credit Card, it’s not a “hard” credit inquiry, so it doesn’t affect your credit score. That can be a benefit when every point counts. Although it’s always best to pay your credit card in full each month, especially when you’re trying to build credit, the low interest rate on the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card takes a much smaller bite when you do carry a balance. The downside: A substantial annual fee.

The Capital One Secured card is Investopedia’s choice for Best Secured Card due to its low fees and security deposit flexibility, allowing customers to send in their account deposits in installments rather than having to make it all at once. Capital One also offers automatic credit line increase reviews after as little as six months of responsible card use. No annual fee makes this a good entry level card for those needing to build their credit.

Lenders don’t want to lend money to those who historically have shown poor financial management, so they will set criteria for their lending. They may decide, for example, that they will grant a credit card to anyone with a credit score over 700. If your score is 625, then you will be declined. There’s no way of knowing exactly where each lender sets the bar for an “acceptable” credit score. All you can do is hope your score is good enough for the lender as per their individual criteria. See even more information at Secured Cards.