Capital One® Secured Mastercard® Review – Rebuild Your Credit
Learn more about this card and find out how you can apply here.
Capital One® Secured Mastercard® is a no-frills, no-annual-fee credit card designed for consumers who wish to build their credit. Although it’s not a secured credit card and thus doesn’t require an upfront deposit, it has a fairly high regular APR and comes with a low initial credit limit. However, when used responsibly, Capital One Secured Mastercard is a useful bridge to higher spending limits and more generous rewards credit cards.
Capital One Secured Mastercard is comparable to other unsecured credit cards for consumers with average credit, including Capital One QuicksilverOne. It also competes with a host of secured credit cards designed to build and improve credit, including the BankAmericard Secured Credit Card.
It’s important to note that this card is stripped-down and devoid of many of the perks that more generous credit cards offer as a matter of course, such as cash back or travel rewards and early spend bonuses. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a potentially game-changing card for people who need to improve their credit standing.
If you make your first five monthly payments on time, you’re automatically considered for a credit line increase. Further credit line increases are possible with continued timely payments.
This card has no annual fee, balance transfer fee, or foreign transaction fee. The cash advance fee is $10 or 3%, whichever is greater, and the late payment fee ranges up to $38.
Thanks to Capital One’s CreditWise suite, you’re entitled to a free credit score with your paper or online statement each month. You can also access your score at any time in your online account dashboard. Additionally, CreditWise includes a host of credit-building tools and educational content.
The Platinum card is for consumers with fair credit and is actively marketed as a tool for building credit. Even if your credit history is checkered or spotty, you’re welcome to apply.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: This credit card has a highly misleading name. Platinum is a precious metal that’s worth hundreds of dollars per ounce. Travel loyalty programs’ platinum tiers are often at or near the top of their frequent traveler hierarchies, conferring luxurious benefits worthy of true VIPs. The best-known “platinum” credit card is the legendary American Express Platinum, one of the credit card world’s original status symbols.
Needless to say, Capital One® Secured Mastercard® is a not an exclusive card. However, when used responsibly, it’s absolutely worth its weight in gold – or platinum. If this Platinum card is what ultimately teaches you the value of making timely payments and spending within your means, you might just find a “real” Platinum Card in your wallet one day.
Learn more about this card and find out how you can apply here.
The Capital One® Secured Mastercard® is an ideal secured credit card for people who don’t have a lot of money to deposit upfront, don’t want to fork over an annual fee for continued use, and don’t have super-high spending needs. It’s not ideal for people who can qualify for a rewards-bearing credit-building card, those with very poor credit, and those with high spending needs.
No annual fee, credit limit higher than deposit, no penalty APR, and no foreign transaction fee are all great.
The lack of a early spend bonus and rewards, credit check requirement, and relatively low credit limit hurt.
Overall, this is a great credit-building card for people without super-high spending needs.
Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Categories: Capital One, Credit and Debt, Credit Cards, Get Out of Debt, Reviews
Brian Martucci writes about frugal living, entrepreneurship, and innovative ideas. When he’s not interviewing small business owners or investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, he’s probably out exploring a new trail or sampling a novel cuisine. Find him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.
Comments Disclosure: The below responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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