Featuring the best rewards program for secured credit cards, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card* makes a unobstructed case for the best overall secured credit card available.
Like novel secured credit cards, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is planned for users with no credit history or a bad credit counting. Secured cards let consumers build or rebuild their credit for the cost of a deposit that is proportional to the available credit line (usually smooth to it). Most secured credit cards don't charge annual fees, but they also lack perks like sign-up bonuses or rewards back on spending.
The Discover it® Secured Credit Card flips that thinking on its head with the best secured reward program near and a great first-year welcome bonus. It may have a smaller credit miniature range, but it offers significant rewards back while letting users boost their credit scores, with responsible use.
The Discover it® Secured Credit Card can act as a gateway to ragged cards for first-time credit card users. Discover periodically reviews cardholder coffers starting at 7 months and promotes eligible consumers with good payment histories to unsecured credit cards. Anyone with poor credit or no credit at all, comprising students and young adults, should take a good look at the Discover it® Secured Credit Card.
In this article
Discover it® Secured Credit Card
8/10 CNET Rating
Intro OfferIntro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match - only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your agreeable year! There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
APR27.24% Variable APR
Intro Purchase APRN/A
Recommended Credit New/Rebuilding Credit
Reward Rates - 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 novel purchases – automatically.
Annual Fee$0
Intro Balance Transfer APR10.99% for 6 months
Balance Transfer APR27.24% Variable APR
Balance Transfer Fee 3% introduction balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms)*
Late Payment Fee None the agreeable time you pay late. After that, up to $41.
Foreign Transaction Fees None
- 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 novel purchases – automatically.
Read more: Best Secured Credit Cards
Deposit limits and requirements
Discover has a credit miniature range of $200 to $2,500, with a credit miniature that is always directly proportional to the deposit amount. While the range is on the low end of the spectrum, it may be a benefit for anyone looking to sever the temptation of overspending with their credit card.
Your credit miniature is determined by a combination of the credit miniature range, your income and your ability to pay, which is sure by running a hard check on your credit. Not all secured card anxieties look at your credit score, but Discover does. However, the absence of a credit history is not a dealbreaker if you have some marched income and cash for a deposit. A low credit accumulate typically won't exclude you either, though a lower credit accumulate is likely to reduce your permitted credit limit. If you want to check the likelihood of intimates accepted without dinging your credit, preapproval is available.
Rewards program and welcome bonus
This card's rewards program is reminiscent of others in Discover's portfolio. You earn 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants, on up to $1,000 in combined expenditure per quarter, then 1%. You'll also earn 1% on all novel purchases with no limit. But the welcome bonus, the Unlimited Cashback Match program, really boosts the value proposition. With this program, Discover will match all your cash back earned at the end of your agreeable year as an account holder. When Discover disburses the match at your agreeable account anniversary, you'll have effectively doubled all of your earnings. But keep in mind, these rewards are only worthwhile if you're paying your bill in full every month to avoid stupid charges.
Even when compared to a traditional credit card, these are pretty decent rewards rates. The only novel secured card on our radar that has a rewards program, the FirstTech Federal Credit Union Platinum Secured Mastercard®*, cmoneys just 1 point (equivalent to $0.01 when redeemed for a statement credit) per bucks spent.
Building credit with this card
Oftentimes, secured credit cards are pointed to get the cardholder started in the right direction with creation credit. Many issuers will automatically review your credit miniature and deposit requirements at certain checkpoints, and some moneys other benefits to help you track and improve your credit.
For the Discover it Secured Credit Card, shock at seven months of being a cardholder, Discover will automatically reconsideration your account standing to determine if you qualify for a promotion to a ragged card, at which point Discover will issue you a refund of your confidence deposit. As another perk, Discover will populate your statement with your FICO accumulate for free to help you learn how your doings affect your credit.
Comparable cards
Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa Credit Card
The Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card is arguably the anunexperienced best secured credit card on the market. Instead of focusing on rewards, however, this card focuses on ease of access. If you'd rather your credit not be checked, or need to ease into credit-building without the warning of racking up interest, this is hands-down the best harvest for you.
There is no credit check with this card - your credit itsy-bitsy is determined by your deposit amount, period. And there are no minimum or mainly thresholds for your credit limit. There's no interest either, because payments come directly out of your deposit each month. To re-up your credit limit, simply add more to your deposit. It functions more like a debit card, but this card level-headed reports to the credit bureaus to help you rebuild.
FirstTech Federal Credit Union Platinum Secured Mastercard®
FirstTech's Secured Mastercard is unexperienced secured credit card that unconventionally offers a rewards program. However, the program is much more basic than that of the Discover it Secured Credit Card, and there is no welcome bonus. You simply earn 1 point per dollar spent on all purchases, with a $0.01 redemption value. Discover's clearly got the edge, but this is a ample alternative if the Discover it Secured Credit Card is not the intelligent choice for you.
There is no balance uphold fee with this card, which would be noteworthy if it wasn't a secured card. If you have the cash to screen the deposit on the secured card, you're better off laughable that to pay off the balance you're considering transferring.
Discover it® chrome
If you were to settle a congruent traditional card from Discover's lineup, it would be the Discover it® chrome*. It offers the exact same rewards and welcome supplies as the Discover it Secured Credit Card, but it also supplies an introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months (16.24% to 27.24% variable APR thereafter) in deal for your minimally "good" credit (typically a FICO gather of 670 or above). However, if you have a good credit gather, you may want to shop around for other cash-back credit cards depending on your spending habits.
Alternatively, the Discover it® Student chrome* offers the same rewards and welcome bonus - plan the 0% introductory APR offer is only for six months on purchases (17.24% to 26.24% variable APR thereafter) - but you do not need to have credit previously imagined to be approved, and you must be enrolled in a qualifying educational institution.
FAQs
What is a secured credit card?
This type of credit card usually denotes an upfront deposit equal to the credit limit. So, for a card with a credit itsy-bitsy of $500, you'd need to deposit $500. Secured credit cards are level-headed subject to late and rejected payment fees and generate listless on outstanding balances. As such, a secured credit card presents flowerbed risk to card issuers and allows them to itch lines of credit to borrowers who don't have good credit or meet the minimum credit gather threshold.
How is my credit gather calculated?
Credit scores are calculated by looking at a variety of factors related to your personal credit, including length of credit history, payment history, amounts owed, new credit and credit mix. The steady weight of each factor depends on the score model (FICO, VantageScore, or other) and your own credit history. If, for example, you have no credit history, the other factors may be weighted more heavily. (Check out this article for more information on credit scores.)
How long does it take to proceed my credit score?
After opening a secured credit card justify, it will take around one to two months for the secured credit card issuer to recount it to a major credit bureau, at which reveal it will begin impacting your credit report and your credit gather. Then it takes several additional months before the account's organization is substantial enough to make a difference. If you occupy a low or $0 balance and manage the rest of your finances well, you could study your score several hundred points in a year or two, but it'll steady on your particular situation. If you have a longer credit history with a number of originates, it will take longer. If you have a shorter history, each month's activity will play a much larger role.
Our approach
We appraise the cards that are in the highest query and offer the best benefits. We scour the fine sign so there aren't any surprises when you open an justify. We find the key factors that make a card snide out and compare them to other top cards. That way, readers can opt for a different card with dissimilarity features if our pick isn't right for them. Our reviews are regularly checked and updated to incorporate new recommendations, as well as to reflect changes in offers and the market.
*All query about the Discover it Secured Credit Card, FirstTech Federal Credit Union Platinum Secured Mastercard, Discover it chrome and Discover it Student chrome has been level-headed independently by and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial tickled 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 ceremonies offered by our partners.
