New Discover Secured Card coming soon.

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A Discover card could help you build credit

A new Discover Secured card is coming soon. Find out if you're pre-approved for an unsecured Discover credit card with no harm to your credit score to check.1

A standard Discover card could help you build credit, too

Find out if you’re pre-approved for a Discover credit card with no harm to your credit score to check.1

See if You’re Pre-Approved
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A women with yellow t-shirt using phone

Improve your financial future

A good credit score can help you to: rent an apartment, pass employment checks, purchase a car.

Ways to build credit without a traditional credit card

Get a secured credit card

Some credit card issuers offer credit-building credit cards called “secured” credit cards. These are different from debit or pre-paid cards, but do require a security deposit.

Understand your credit report

Review your credit report to see what activity is included. If you have a history of delinquent payments or active accounts in poor standing, work with your creditors to repay or resolve these issues. If you have no credit history at all, you’ll want to open an account that reports to the credit bureaus.

Report missing activity

If you have no credit history at all, but are responsible and pay your normal bills on time, try using a free service that lets you report your current bill payments (like rent, utilities, cell phone, etc.) to the major credit bureaus.


How to build credit with a secured credit card

When you want a credit card but have no credit history at all, the right credit card can help prepare you for the future when you know how to manage it.

If you’re interested in a secured credit card, make sure you understand the credit card issuer terms. Are there additional fees beyond the security deposit? Is the security deposit refundable? Will they automatically upgrade you to a standard credit card if you’re eligible?

Part of responsible credit card use is to keep your balances low to improve your credit utilization ratio – using less of your available credit is viewed by credit bureaus more favorably.

Payment history is reported to the credit bureaus, and delinquent payments can stay on your credit report for years.

A Discover student credit card can help eligible students with no credit history get started with a credit card that will grow with them for the rest of their lives.

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Secured Credit Card FAQs

Discover has a new secured card coming soon. In the meantime, other credit card issuers may have a secured card with the benefits you want. Look for low fees, refundable security deposits, and whether you can graduate to an unsecured, or standard, credit card, at any point.

The primary difference between a secured card and a traditional unsecured credit card is that only secured cards require you to provide a refundable security deposit that will back your credit limit. The security deposit protects the card issuers from losing too much money if the cardholder doesn’t pay their bills, which makes it easier for the issuer to accept applicants with poor credit or limited credit history. And unlike the money you load on a prepaid card or deposit for a debit card, a secured card security deposit isn’t used to pay for purchases. Instead, it’s held as collateral and may be refunded if you eventually qualify for a traditional card.

A secured credit card requires you to make a deposit that may be equal to the amount of your credit line, while an unsecured credit card requires no deposit.

You’ll need to be at least 18 years of age and may have to have a Social Security number, U.S. address and U.S. bank account, and provide all the required information in the online application. To determine if you qualify for an account, a credit card company or lender will review the information on your credit report, that you provide in your application, and any other information available about your creditworthiness.

Yes. Getting a secured credit card isn’t guaranteed. Your application can be turned down.

Your APR — or annual percentage rate — on a secured credit card is a statement of the interest rate as a yearly rate. Let's say you moved into a new apartment and bought some furniture for $500 with an 18% APR. If you made only the minimum payment of $55 every month for 12 months, you would owe an extra $42 in interest.

Yes, a credit card issuer will typically place a hard inquiry on your credit report when you apply for either secured or unsecured credit cards.

Learn more about secured credit cards

What is a Secured Credit Card?

 

Learn what secured cards are and how one can help you build your credit. Use these tips on how to use your secured credit card.

What is a Secured vs. Unsecured Credit Card?

 

Learn what makes a secured credit card different than an unsecured credit card, including which card requires a deposit and how you can qualify for each.

Secured Credit Card Myths and Realities

 

Worried about not getting your security deposit back? Learn more about how secured cards work.

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