BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card
- Best for: Building credit at Bank of America when you’ll take more than a year to pay off what you charge
- What Sets It Apart: Lowest APR of Bank of America’s personal secured cards; no rewards
- Cost: $0 annual fee; $200 to $5,000 refundable deposit; 26.24% variable APR; 3% foreign transaction fee
- Features: Credit line set by your deposit, income, and ability to pay; periodic reviews that can return the deposit; reports to the credit bureaus
- Pros: No annual fee; no penalty APR; deposit can come back while you keep the card
- Cons: No rewards; deposit earns no interest; no published schedule for deposit reviews
Choose Bank of America’s Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured over the BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card unless you’ll take over a year to pay off what you charge. Both take a $200 to $5,000 deposit and charge no annual fee, and on balances you clear within a year, the Unlimited’s 1.5% cash back beats the BankAmericard’s 1.5-point lower interest rate.
The BankAmericard Secured is the only personal secured card from Bank of America that pays no rewards. It’s built for people starting a credit history or rebuilding credit with a secured card, and Bank of America reports the account to the credit bureaus.
Key Features
- $0 annual fee
- Refundable deposit of $200 to $5,000, which sets your credit line along with your income and ability to pay
- 26.24% variable interest rate (APR) on purchases and balance transfers, which moves with market rates
- Deposit back within two billing cycles plus 10 days of paying off and closing the account
- 3% fee on any charge in a foreign currency
Pros
- Lowest APR of Bank of America’s personal secured cards
- No higher penalty rate after a late payment
- Periodic reviews can return the deposit while you keep the card
- Deposit reviews weigh your whole relationship with Bank of America
Cons
- No rewards on purchases
- No published schedule for deposit reviews, which weigh your cards and loans at other lenders too
- Deposit earns no interest while it’s held
- Late fee of up to $41
It’s worth it only if you’ll take over a year to pay off what you charge, since its APR, 1.5 points below Bank of America’s cash back secured cards, saves about $15 a year on each $1,000 you carry. Everyone else should take the Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured, which pays $15 back on each $1,000 you spend, or the Customized Cash Rewards Secured, with 6% in one chosen category the first year, then 3%, up to a quarterly cap.
Learn more about the BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card or see how it compares to the best secured credit cards.
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