- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $35
- APR
- 25.64% (variable)
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
up to 10% Up to 10% cash back rewards on purchases at over 40,000 retailers
The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card is one of the few credit cards that does not require a credit check or bank account for approval -- its main draw compared to competitors like the Discover it® Secured Credit Card* or the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card. As a secured credit card, you’ll pay a cash deposit upfront to guarantee your credit line, rather than facing a credit test. That makes it an attractive option to those with credit scores on the lower end of the spectrum.
The OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card has an annual fee of $35, which is reasonable, but it’s still the only card with an annual fee on our list of the best secured credit cards. If this is your first credit card, be prepared to pay the annual fee for a while, until you have enough other credit cards that you can safely close this one without potentially tanking your credit score. The OpenSky Secured Visa’s APR is lower than similar cards, making this one slightly less expensive to carry a balance on, although we recommend avoiding carrying a balance if you can.
Here’s what you need to know to decide if the OpenSky Secured Visa card is right for you.
Credit limit and deposit
Your credit limit is equal to your security deposit amount, which can range between $200 and $3,000. You can fund your deposit with a debit card, Western Union®, money order or by mailing a check. The variety of funding options means you can open the card without a checking account, making it one of the few options available to the unbanked.
The $200 minimum deposit is standard among secured cards and the upper limit of $3,000 is on the high end, although cards like the BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card* have maximum credit lines up to $5,000. While you can add more money to your security deposit to try to boost your credit line, OpenSky’s FAQ page notes that your credit line amount is subject to approval -- so there’s a chance you may not be approved for the credit line your request.
You’ll get your deposit back if you pay off your balance and close the account, but unlike some other issuers, OpenSky doesn’t refund your deposit while your account is open.
Rewards
The OpenSky offers up to 10% cash back with select retailers. For now, it doesn’t get any more specific than that. But the fact that it offers rewards at all puts it ahead of many other secured credit cards.
However, it’s main benefit is that it will report your credit activity to the three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- allowing you to build or rebuild your credit.
APR and fees
The OpenSky Secured Visa does not have an introductory APR offer and does not allow balance transfers. Its regular APR is 25.64% variable for both purchases and cash advances. This is lower than many comparable secured cards, making it slightly less expensive to carry a balance. But we recommend paying your card off in full every month, if possible, to avoid interest charges and potential damage to your credit score.
The OpenSky Secured Visa charges a $35 annual fee, which is relatively low among annual fee-bearing cards but still higher than the many competing secured credit cards that do not charge an annual fee.
There’s a cash advance fee of 5% of the balance ($6 minimum) and a foreign transaction fee of 3% of each transaction.
Additionally, there’s a late payment fee of up to $40 and a returned payment fee of up to $25 if you try to pay your bill with an account that has insufficient funds. That’s in addition to any interest that accrues on your balance between when the bill is due and when you pay. When you’re building or rebuilding credit, it’s important to pay your bill on time and ideally in full, as even a single late payment could undo your progress.
Building your credit with this card
The OpenSky Secured Visa gives you a chance to build or rebuild your credit, but you’ll need to use your card responsibly to improve your credit score. Here’s how to build your credit with this card:
- Pay your bills on time and in full. Payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score, so paying your bills on time is critical. Even a single missed or late payment could tank your credit score, while a history of on-time payments can raise your score. You should strive to pay off your full balance every month to avoid interest, but if you can’t, at least make sure to pay the minimum payment due. Consider setting up autopay to avoid accidentally missing a payment.
- Keep your credit utilization low. Your credit utilization ratio, which is the percentage of your total available credit that you’re using, also has a big impact on your score. Try to keep your credit utilization ratio under 30%. For example, if you have a $1,000 credit line, you should try to keep your balance under $300 at any given time. You can lower your credit utilization ratio by charging fewer purchases to your card or paying off your balance multiple times a month.
- Regularly monitor your credit. Track your progress on your credit-building journey by regularly checking your credit score and credit report. You can get free copies of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. Although there’s no official source for accessing your credit score, services like Credit Karma or MyFICO will show you your credit score for free or for a fee. Regularly checking your credit score and report can also help you spot and correct errors that may be dragging down your score.
- Keep your credit card open for as long as possible. Closing a credit card can negatively affect your credit score by decreasing your average age of credit history and credit utilization ratio, especially if the card is your first or only credit card. The OpenSky Secured Visa’s annual fee can make it expensive to keep in the long run, but if you plan to close the card, make sure you only do so after having other items -- such as another credit card -- in your credit history for a while. To avoid this issue, consider choosing a secured credit card with no annual fee from the get-go.
Additional features
As a Visa card, the OpenSky Secured Visa comes with benefits granted by the Visa network, including:
- Worldwide acceptance
- Fraud protection
- 24/7 pay-per-use roadside assistance
- 24-hour assistance if the card is lost of stolen
The card comes with most of the standard features found among secured credit cards, including reporting to all three credit bureaus and credit line increases upon request.
After six months of on-time payments, you may become eligible for by-invitation-only the OpenSky® Gold Visa® Unsecured Credit Card*. You won’t have to go through a credit check or pay a deposit. Details about the card’s rates and fees are not publicly available, but online users have reported that it comes with a $59 annual fee in their case. CNET has reached out to a company representative for comment but has not yet received a response. Other cards, like the Discover it® Secured Credit Card or the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card*, offer similar upgrade paths to unsecured cards with no annual fee.
Alternative cards
Discover it® Secured Credit Card
If you want a secured credit card but are unimpressed with the OpenSky Secured Visa’s offerings, you may want to check out the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, which earns 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 on combined purchases each quarter (then 1%) and 1% cash back on all other purchases. There’s also an intro bonus that will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. While cash back rewards are valuable, it’s important not to spend more than you need to for the sake of maximizing your cash back.
Unlike OpenSky’s option, this card has no annual fee, and automatically reviews your account after seven months to see if you qualify to upgrade to an unsecured credit card. But unlike OpenSky, Discover requires a credit check for approval.
While the card has an intro APR of only 10.99% on balance transfers for the first six months, it does have a regular variable APR of 28.24%, higher than the OpenSky Secured Visa’s variable APR of 25.64%.
For more details, see our full review of the Discover it® Secured Credit Card.
Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card* has a high rewards rate of 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and a flat 1.5% cash back on all other qualifying purchases. However, there’s no cash back welcome bonus offer like the Discover it® Secured Credit Card.
The card has a minimum deposit requirement of $200, which is equal to your initial credit line. You can raise your credit line by depositing more money (up to the maximum credit line you’re approved for, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000) before activating your card. At 29.99% variable, the card’s APR is higher than the OpenSky Secured Visa’s variable APR of 25.64%. It may be a great choice for consumers who want a higher cash-back rate and no annual fee. This card also requires a credit check for approval.
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $35
- APR
- 25.64% (variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
up to 10% Up to 10% cash back rewards on purchases at over 40,000 retailers
- Intro Offer
-
Cashback Match™ Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 28.24% Variable APR
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 2% Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter.; Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.24% – 32.24% (Variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 1.5% Up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments.; 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away.
FAQs
Secured credit cards are typically geared towards anyone with low credit seeking to build or repair their credit. While a secured card might be a good starter card for a student with little to no credit history, many credit card companies offer student credit cards, which have low limits but do not require a security deposit. Student cards also tend to have better rewards, if you can qualify for one.
The best way to raise your credit score is to pay your credit card and debt bills on time and in full. You also want to be careful to utilize less than 30% of your total credit limit and be careful not to apply for too many credit accounts at once.
Secured credit cards can help you get a card and start building or rebuilding your credit. However, they typically have low credit limits and limited rewards. You should treat secured cards as tools to improve your credit. After you get your score up, you can apply for an unsecured card with better rewards or more perks.
*All information about the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, BankAmericard Secured Credit Card, OpenSky Gold Visa Unsecured, Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card and Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
