Finance

Credit score tricks to get the best secured credit cards

The top secured credit cards with zero credit checks by Eastwood Bank? Prepaid debit cards offer convenience and are a safer alternative than carrying cash, but they don’t help you build credit. With a prepaid debit card, you “load” money onto the card, and the purchases you make are paid for with that money. Since you’re not borrowing money, there’s no effect on your credit score. See NerdWallet’s best prepaid cards. Offered mostly by smaller financial institutions, such as credit unions and community banks, these loans are designed to help you build a good payment history. The money you “borrow” isn’t actually given directly to you. Instead, it’s held on your behalf in a savings account while you repay the loan in monthly installments. Once you’re done, the money is released to you — and your credit report shows a paid-off loan. Learn more about credit-builder loans.

Who should get this card? If you don’t have a bank account and/or your credit check would make a traditional credit card issuer avoid your calls, an OpenSky secured credit card may be just what you’re looking for. But there’s no reason for most people to pay the $35 annual fee. We caution most consumers to avoid paying such fees on secured cards, as there are plenty of annual-fee-free options for consumers with limited credit.

You don’t have to undergo a credit check to apply, and you don’t need a bank account to qualify. If these are areas of concern for you, the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card is definitely worth a look. If not, there are better (and cheaper) alternatives. The issuer doesn’t run a credit check on OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card applicants, making this an attainable option for people with severely damaged credit. You can make your deposit — minimum $200, maximum $3,000 — and pay your bills with a debit card, wire transfer, check or money order, making it one of the few secured cards that doesn’t require a traditional bank account.

The Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card is our pick for best business secured card, which is an obvious choice since it appears to be the only secured business card in the market. It offers the flexibility of earning cash back or points rewards and the ability to have a credit line up to $25,000. The Wells Fargo Business Secured Card is ideal for small business owners needing to build their business credit or have experienced business credit challenges in the past.

If you are unbanked (i.e. you don’t have a bank account, as is the case for 115 million US households), then the OpenSky card might be the best choice for you. You can make your deposit and clear your statement using one of the following options: Wire transfer, Check, Money order, Debit card (if you do have access to a bank account). What Is The APR? 18.39% variable. While this isn’t too bad for a secured credit card, it’s still rather high. Ideally, you want to ensure that you pay your balance off in full every month, or you could find yourself being swamped by interest– particularly if you have a low credit limit. Is There An Annual Fee? Yes, $35. This will be deducted from your balance, so it’s not an amount you have to pay directly, but you will then need to clear the balance to avoid accruing interest. Discover extra info at here.