First Latitude Assent Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
- Best for: People with bad credit or little credit history whom other secured cards turned down
- What Sets It Apart: No minimum credit score; 1% cash back on payments
- Cost: $0 annual fee ($29 for the Elite version); 27.74% variable APR; $200 minimum refundable deposit; 3% foreign transaction fee
- Features: Deposit of $200, or $300 to $2,000, sets your limit; up to 10% back at participating merchants; monthly reporting to all three credit bureaus
- Pros: No annual fee; applying doesn’t affect your credit score; whole deposit available to spend
- Cons: High APR; no upgrade to an unsecured card described; unredeemed rewards lost when you close the account
Get the First Latitude Assent Mastercard® Secured Credit Card if other secured cards have turned you down. It sets no minimum credit score and charges no annual fee. Skip First Latitude’s Elite version, whose $29 annual fee buys a lower interest rate that saves nothing when you pay in full each month.
Both versions are secured Mastercards from Pinnacle Bank, doing business as Synovus Bank, for people with bad credit or little credit history. To approve you, First Latitude says it verifies two things: that you aren’t in a bankruptcy proceeding and that you can provide ID if asked.
Key Features
- $0 annual fee and a 27.74% variable APR, the interest rate on balances you carry
- Refundable deposit of $200, or $300 to $2,000, which sets your credit limit
- 1% cash back on the payments you make, plus up to 10% at a limited set of participating merchants
- Monthly reporting to all three credit bureaus
- An Elite version with a $29 annual fee and a 23.74% APR instead of 27.74%, which saves more in interest than the fee costs only if you carry a balance over about $725 all year
Pros
- No minimum credit score or credit history
- Applying doesn’t affect your credit score, approved or not
- Your whole deposit is available to spend, with no annual fee taken from it
Cons
- High interest on balances you don’t pay in full
- Your deposit comes back only when you close the account, and First Latitude describes no upgrade to a regular, unsecured card
- Rewards you haven’t redeemed are lost when you close the account
- Past approval for another card from its bank, such as a First Progress card, can rule you out
- 3% fee on purchases in a foreign currency
The Assent suits anyone who needs to rebuild credit with a secured card, or build it from scratch, after other issuers said no. If Capital One’s eligibility check offers you its no-fee Platinum Secured, take that card instead, since Capital One could upgrade you to an unsecured card and return your deposit in as little as six months of responsible use.
Learn more about the First Latitude Assent Mastercard® Secured Credit Card or see how it compares to the best secured credit cards.
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