UNITY® Visa Secured Credit Card
- Best for: Rebuilders who want a Black-owned bank to hold their deposit; applicants with low or no credit scores
- What Sets It Apart: Issued by OneUnited Bank, which calls itself the nation’s largest Black-owned bank; APR fixed until the card expires
- Cost: $39 annual fee; 17.99% fixed APR; late fee up to $10; $10 to raise your credit line
- Features: Refundable deposit sets your line; reports to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion; 9.95% intro APR on balance transfers for 6 months
- Pros: No minimum credit score; no penalty rate for paying late; free online credit lessons
- Cons: Fee charged before first use; terms cover payment by check or third-party bill pay; no rewards
Open the UNITY® Visa Secured Credit Card if you’re rebuilding credit, want a Black-owned bank to hold your deposit, and accept its $39 annual fee, which comes out of your credit line before your first purchase. If saving the $39 matters most, choose a no-fee secured card that reports to all three credit bureaus.
OneUnited Bank, which calls itself the nation’s largest Black-owned bank, offers the UNITY Visa to people building credit from scratch or rebuilding it. As with any secured card for rebuilding credit, your refundable deposit sets the credit line, and OneUnited also bases the line on your verified monthly income.
Key Features
- $39 annual fee, billed in the first billing period and on each anniversary
- 17.99% annual percentage rate (APR) on purchases and cash advances, fixed until the card expires
- 9.95% introductory APR for the first six months on balances you transfer from another card, then 17.99%, with a 3% transfer fee ($10 minimum)
- Deposit returned within 30 days after you pay off the balance and close the account
- Reports your account to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion
Pros
- Your deposit and credit line sit with a Black-owned bank
- No minimum credit score or credit history required
- No penalty rate for paying late, and late fees top out at $10
- Free online credit lessons linked from the card’s page
Cons
- The $39 fee is charged before you use the card, so a $300 deposit leaves $261 to spend
- Its terms cover payment by check or through a third-party bill-pay service, which may charge a fee
- No timeline in its terms or on its card page for moving up to an unsecured card
- The deposit has to come from a U.S. bank account
- No rewards
The card is worth its $39 a year to readers who want a Black-owned bank to hold their deposit and report their payments. Readers set on the cheapest rebuild should open a no-fee secured card that reports to all three bureaus, which builds the same history without the $39 fee.
Learn more about the UNITY® Visa Secured Credit Card or see how it compares to the best secured credit cards.
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