Glossary

Secured Credit Card

A credit card backed by a cash deposit. Used to build or rebuild credit.

A secured credit card is a credit card backed by a cash deposit equal to the credit limit. The deposit reduces the issuer's risk, making approval available to consumers with limited or damaged credit. After 6-12 months of on-time payments, many secured cards "graduate" to unsecured.

Best for: consumers building credit from scratch or rebuilding after major damage. Recommended issuers: Discover Secured (graduates reliably), Capital One Secured (low deposit), Self Visa.

Also called

secured card

Related terms

Credit Builder Loan

A small loan where payments are reported to bureaus while the loan principal stays in a savings account until paid off.

FICO Score

The credit score model developed by Fair Isaac Corporation. Used by 90%+ of U.S. lenders.

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