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opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card Review – No Credit Check for $35 a Year

opensky Secured Visa Credit Card
Our Rating

opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card

  • Best for: Applicants no major issuer will approve who have $200 to $299 to deposit
  • What Sets It Apart: Approval with no credit check and no checking account; deposit by debit card, Western Union, check, or money order
  • Features: Monthly reporting to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion; possible review for a higher line after six on-time payments
  • Annual Fee: $35, charged when the account opens
  • Security Deposit: $200, or up to $3,000 with approval, refundable; it sets your credit line
  • APR: 24.14% variable
  • Cost: 3% foreign transaction fee
  • Credit Needed: None: no credit check to apply
  • Pros: Line increases without a hard credit check; lower APR than the no-fee opensky Plus
  • Cons: $35 fee the opensky Plus doesn’t charge; never converts to an unsecured card; deposit back only when you close the account
Just the Tip:

Get the opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card if no major issuer will approve you. It skips the credit check and asks a refundable deposit of at least $200, plus $35 a year. If you can put down $300, open the no-fee opensky Plus instead, which also skips the credit check.

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Capital Bank, which issues both cards under the opensky name, doesn’t check your credit, so a bankruptcy or a string of denials doesn’t count against you as you start rebuilding credit with a secured card. It can still turn you down for other reasons, such as monthly expenses that exceed your income, two or more open Capital Bank cards, or a past account with the bank that isn’t in good standing.

Key Features

  • $35 annual fee and a 24.14% variable APR, the interest rate on balances you carry
  • Refundable deposit of $200, or up to $3,000 with approval, which becomes your credit line
  • Deposit paid by debit card when you apply, or later through Western Union or a mailed check or money order
  • Account reported to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion every month

Pros

  • No linked checking account needed to apply
  • After six on-time payments in a row, possible review for a higher line with no added deposit or for the unsecured opensky Gold card
  • Line increases without a hard credit check, the kind that can lower your score
  • A lower APR than the no-fee opensky Plus, 24.14% against 28.49%

Cons

  • The $35 fee is charged when the account opens, leaving $165 of a $200 line to spend
  • Never converts to an unsecured card, so the deposit comes back only after you close the account and pay it off
  • 3% fee on purchases in a foreign currency

The opensky Secured Visa fits applicants with less than $300 to deposit and no approval from a major issuer, since the opensky Plus costs $35 a year less for anyone who pays in full. Anyone a major issuer approves should take a no-fee secured card such as the Capital One Platinum Secured, whose deposit can come back with an upgrade to an unsecured card in as little as six months.

Learn more about the opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card or see how it compares to the best secured credit cards.

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