While secured credit cards offer numerous benefits and high earnings rates, secured credit cards tend to be less flimsy. They instead serve one purpose: to get someone with poor credit on their feet.
A secured credit card, which can be used to repair a damaged credit score, is one of the best plans of attack for individuals who are looking to improve their credit score, whether they're applying for a credit card for their first time, or trying to rebuilt their credit score after previous financial blunders.
Credit Card - Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card - Best for collecting travel rewards.
After establishing a credit score of 700 or above, you can begin applying for the best credit cards that come with travel benefits, hundreds of dollars in statement credits, enormous welcome bonuses, and more.
We have a selection of secured credit cards available to help you choose which one is best for your lifestyle - and your future credit card goals.
The United States Bank Cash+® Visa® Secured Card may not look attractive at first glance, but it's a surprisingly valuable product available to those who are new to the world of credit.
First, you will earn 5% cash back on air, hotel, and car reservations booked through the US Bank Rewards Travel Center. You can also get 5% cash back on your first $2,000 in combined spending in two categories each quarter, as well as a cash back on your first $1000 investment. eligible categories include fast food, home utilities, TV/internet/streaming, department stores, electronic stores, sports/fitness stores, gyms/fitness centers, furniture stores, and select clothing stores. That's a healthy number of categories to choose from - though seems well selected to eliminate much possibility of spending too much per quarter.
You can also receive 2% cash back on eligible items, such as groceries and grocery delivery, restaurants, and gas stations/EV charging stations. You can earn 1% back on all other eligible purchases.
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards secured credit card, similar to the Visa® Bank Cash+® Visa® Secured Card, allows you to choose your own bonus categories. You'll earn 3% cash back from a list of participating companies, including gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, and home improvement/furnishings.
These are extremely practical Bonus category that powerfully enhance the spending habits of most Americans. You'll also get 2% back at supermarkets and wholesale clubs and 1% back on everything else.
Bank of America Preferred Rewards can boost your rewards even more if you're a member of Bank of America Preferred Rewards. If you have a certain amount of assets in a bank of America or Merrill, you can earn between 25 and 75% more cash back, bringing your potential rewards to a whopping 5.25%.
The U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa® Secured Card is likely your best bet for a meaningful return on spending if you eat out frequently. You'll get 4 points per dollar on dining, takeout, and restaurant delivery. You'll also get 2 points per dollar at grocery stores, gas stations/EV charging, and for eligible streaming services, such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube TV, and others.
The points you earn with this card can be redeemed for a flat 1 cent each, meaning that this card earns 4% back on dining expenses.
The annual streaming credit on this card is a third-party benefits, as well as a free gift card. If you make a qualifying streaming purchase for a 12-month period, you will get a $15 credit on your account.
The capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards credit card might appear to be underdeliver when it comes to earning rewards for everyday spending, especially compared to the other cards on this list. You'll get 5% cash back on hotel and car rental reservations through Capital One Travel Portal, and a flat 1.5% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
To make money back into valuable Capital One miles, you can turn the cash back into valuable Capital One miles at a rate of 1 mile per cent. The key is to also hold a Capital One miles-earning card like the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Capital One miles are worth an average of 1.7 cents each when you transfer them to airline and hotel loyalty programs like British Airways, Air Canada Aeroplan, Wyndham, and others.
If your future goal is to travel, you should avoid cashing out the rewards you earn with this card. If you have a credit score below 700, then open a Capital One miles-earning card and combine your rewards. You can easily make a trip to anywhere you'd like to.
The Discover it® secured credit card is a simple cashback card with few bonus categories that are easy to keep track of. Each quarter, it earns a simple 2% back in gas stations and restaurants, up to $1,000 in combined purchases. This card, however, is exceptionally valuable during the first year of cardmembership. Discover will match all the cash back you earn during your first 12 months of employment. You can earn up to 4% cash back at gas stations and restaurants, and 2% cash back on all other purchases.
If most of your everyday spending does not fall into the bonus categories of other credit cards on this list, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is the clear winner, as you'll earn less than 2% back during your first 12 months.
Why trust us: How we choose the best secured credit cards?
With little to no benefit, secured credit cards do not provide ongoing benefits that are worth mentioning. Approval requirements are very similar across the board, making them extremely similar. We then selected the best credit cards based on each card's earning rate and rewards currency.
Many secured credit cards do not offer any money back for spending.