Applying for a Secured Credit Card

I applied for a secured credit card today to start rebuilding my credit that the City of Dallas has destroyed, thanks to the Dallas City Attorney and the S.A.F.E Team. I had a credit score of over 800, it'll take me time to rebuild it to that level again but I've got to start somewhere and the only place to start with a credit card is with a secured one.

For those of you who don't know a secured credit card is one where you have to deposit money in the credit card companies account and that's your credit limit. Here are some important questions to ask if you're in need of rebuilding your credit with a secured credit card.

• What is the annual fee?


• What is the application fee?


• What other fees are there? (Insurance policy fees, etc.)


• Do you report to all 3 major credit bureaus?


• Will the report to the credit bureaus be flagged as a secured credit card?


• How much interest will my deposit earn? What kind of account will my deposit be held in?


• What is the interest rate?


• How long does the money have to stay on deposit after the account has been closed?


• How long will it take to switch to a secured card with regular good standing?


• Is there a grace period?

The best secured card I found was a Bank of America Credit Card.