How can you improve your credit score or build your own credit history if you don’t get approved for a credit card? It seems like an unanswerable conundrum, but there are cards out there created to help you solve this problem. The Capital One Secured MasterCard is one such credit card made to help you build your credit.
What it offers
Good news: you don’t need to pay for any application fees. What you would need is to have your annual income be higher than your annual mortgage or rent payment. While it does have an annual fee of $29, this is still significantly lower than other cards that will charge you over $100 for annual fees.
You are entitled to up to $3,000 worth of credit (the limit starts at $200) and the credit limit you get is based on the type of security deposit you will make. The refundable security deposit ranges from $49 to $99 to $200, but this depends on your credit score and other information in your application.
This Secured MasterCard automatically reports to the three main credit bureaus—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—and if you pay your bills on time and don’t go over your credit limit, your credit score should improve, allowing you access to other credit cards with better rewards program and even higher credit limits. Also, if your credit rating improves, you will even be eligible for a credit line increase without the need to make another security deposit.
Of course, it’s good to mention that this is a master card. The credit card is accepted at any establishment that accepts MasterCard, which means it can be widely used.
There aren’t that many gripes when it comes to using the Capital One Secured MasterCard. You might lament the low credit limit, but that is what is helping you build up your current score so you can be eligible for cards with higher limits. All in all, this is a solid choice.
Photo credit: Master card and cash–Chris at stockmonkeys.com, jar of cash–tax credits (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/)
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