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The Best Secured Credit Cards, March 2011

Even though credit card companies make money on consumers who use them poorly, a consumer with poor credit will have a very hard time getting approved for an unsecured line of credit. One of the few ways someone with a bad credit history can improve their credit score is by signing up for a secured credit card. A secured credit card is similar to an unsecured credit card except for one key fact. Secured cards require an initial deposit. If a cardholder doesn’t make payments, the credit card issuer can simply draw from the deposit.

Unfortunately, many secured credit card include high fees and unfavorable card terms. As a result, finding a quality secured card can be difficult. This is a short list of the best secured credit cards available for consumers today. Fees, rewards and overall usability were taken into account when organizing this list. All of the cards listed here report to the three major credit bureaus, so if used wisely they will be helpful in building or repairing your credit.

. The OPEN SKY Secured Visa® Credit Card is the pick for best secured credit card because it has minimal fees and a generous line of credit. There is a $50 annual fee, and no service or monthly maintenance fees. Depending on how high you want your credit limit to be, you can deposit up to $3,000. OPEN SKY accepts deposits via check, Western Union money transfer, ACH transfer, or bank wire. The APR for purchases is the prime rate plus 6.5%. This is a variable APR.

. One of the best benefits of this card is that card holders can make all purchases without paying interest. In exchange for this benefit, Applied Bank makes up for the 0% APR with a $9.95 monthly maintenance fee. The credit line on the Platinum Zero® Secured Visa® Credit Card from Applied Bank® can be anywhere between $500 and $5,000. If you need to make a cash advance, which should be avoided if at all possible with any secured credit card, the cash advance APR is 9.99% variable.

The Citi® Secured MasterCard® holds more brand power than any other card on this list. The card carries a low annual fee of $29 with no other fees. The purchase APR is high at 18.24%. For those looking for convenience, there is a snag with this card. The application cannot be completed online. It must be mailed to the company. If that doesn’t stop you from applying, the Citi® Secured MasterCard® offers the option to upgrade to an unsecured line of credit after you have established a good history with Citi’s secured credit card.

Slate from Chase Credit Card Review | MyBankTracker.com

From Chase is a great fit if you tend to carry credit card balance from month to month. Those with an excellent credit history can be approved for an extremely low APR of 11.24% but if your credit score is bad, it can be a relatively high 22.24% – which is a terrible rate if you intend on carrying a balance.

Also, if you have great credit and are trying cut down interest payments on other credit cards with high APRs, the Slate Chase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.2 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity.