|
Secured vs. Unsecured Cards
Secured and unsecured cards can be used to pay for goods and services.
However, a secured card requires you to open and maintain a savings
account as security for your line of credit; an unsecured card does
not.
The required savings deposit for a secured card may range from
a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Your credit line is a
percentage of your deposit, typically 50 to 100 percent. Usually,
a bank will pay interest on your deposit. In addition,you also may
have to pay application and processing fees -- sometimes totaling
hundreds of dollars. Before you apply, be sure to ask what the total
fees are and whether they will be refunded if you're denied a card.
Typically, a secured card requires an annual fee and has a higher
interest rate than an unsecured card, same as a debit
card.
|