Thursday 5 January 2012

Capital One® Secured MasterCard®



Do you have a bad credit score or don’t have much of a credit history? If so, don’t damage your credit further by applying for regular credit cards as you will most likely be turned down.The Capital One Secured Credit Card gives an opportunity for people with bad or limited credit to improve their credit score while having access to a credit card. This card is issued by Capital One Financial, one of the largest card issuers in the U.S. A secured credit card is a credit card that reports to the 3 major credit bureaus; it is not a debit card which doesn't help build credit.

Things We Like About This Card


No application fees. You can apply for this card without having to first pay a fee which would go to waste if you are not accepted. Some other secured cards actually charge you an application fee, but not this card.
Automatic reporting to the 3 main credit bureaus. As an actual credit card, your payment information will be reported to all 3 credit bureaus in the U.S. (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). So as long as you make timely payments on your card and not exceed your credit limit, your credit score will improve gradually, which will then enable you to apply for regular unsecured cards that usually comes with a higher credit line and rewards program.


Get up to $3,000 of credit. The amount of credit you can have is based on the security deposit you make, and credit limits from $200 up to $3,000 are available. The minimum refundable security deposit is $49, $99 or $200 depending on your credit score and other application information sent to the card issuer.


You can make your security deposit all at once or over time. Make sure to make your full minimum deposit within 80 days of being approved. You can make your security deposit online or over the phone. Once your full deposit has been received, you will get your card shortly.


Get a future credit line increase without adding more security deposit.If your payment and credit history improve in the future, you may qualify for this.


Capital One is FDIC insured, which means that if the bank declares bankruptcy, you can still get back the money that you put as a deposit as that is insured by the US government.


Accepted everywhere MasterCard is accepted, which means that you can use your card to pay for things at practically all stores, since almost all merchants and retailers accept MasterCard.


Enroll in CreditInform for free. CreditInform, a service by Capital One, is provided to help you monitor and understand your credit, and benefit from other tools which will help you become more creditworthy.


No balance transfer fee, which allows you to transfer your existing card balances to this card without paying any fee to do so. Remember that if you do transfer balances from another account to this card, you must still pay the balance transfer APR, which is a high 22.9% APR.



What you may not like:


$29 annual fee which must be paid timely every year in order for your account to be considered active. Almost all secured cards charge an annual fee. This $29 annual fee is very low compared to other secured cards which may charge more than $100.


Security deposit does not earn interest. Like many other secured cards, your deposit doesn’t earn any interest.


Capital One Secured MasterCard is the one of the best secured credit cards in the U.S., and is an excellent choice of card to get for people who would like to improve their credit score or to build a credit history, and also to have access to a certain credit limit which will useful in many situations. To be approved for this card offer, your annual income must be more than your annual rent/mortgage payments.
Credit limits from $200 to $3,000 are available, and if your credit improves in the future, you may be granted a credit increase without having to increase your security deposit. With a low annual fee of $29 and no application or monthly maintenance fees, this card is a low-cost way of building credit. As an actual credit card and not a debit card, it reports to the 3 credit bureaus in the U.S., so if you pay on time every month, your credit score will go up over time.
Remember that this card is mainly to help you improve your credit score, so use it responsibly so that you don’t create a balance which you won’t be able to pay off in full by the due date each month.






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