Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card review 2023

• A secured credit card with no annual fee and a $49, $99, or $200 minimum refundable deposit.
• Offers basic protections you get on a credit card like $0 liability for unauthorized transactions.
• Upgrades to the unsecured Capital One Platinum credit card with consistent on-time payments.

If you’re working to rebuild your credit — or just starting to build a credit history — it might be difficult to get approved for an unsecured credit card. While you may be tempted to use prepaid cards or your bank debit card as an alternative, these cards don’t report to the three consumer credit reporting agencies and won’t help you build a credit history.

A secured credit card can give you the convenience of plastic and help you improve your credit score if you can’t get a traditional credit card. Secured credit cards require a deposit and work much like a prepaid card, but a secured credit card will report your payment history to credit bureaus. 

If you can build the habit of paying your secured credit card on-time, you’ll see your credit score increase. Unfortunately, many secured credit cards come with the downside of fees and large security deposit requirements.

• $0 annual fee.
• $49, $99, or $200 minimum refundable deposit.
• Automatic credit line increases in as little as six months.
• Can be upgraded to the unsecured Capital One Platinum Card.
• Get your deposit back when your card is upgraded to an unsecured card.

• $0 annual fee.
• Modest refundable deposit requirements — $49, $99, or $200 minimum deposit.
• Credit line increases in as little as six months.
• Credit line available up to $1,000.
• Can be upgraded to an unsecured credit card.

• High APR on purchases. (Currently 30.49%)
• No clear requirements to receive an upgrade to an unsecured credit card.
• No rewards for spending.

The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card doesn’t offer many of the perks that you’ll find on travel rewards credit cards but it does come with a handful of benefits and protections that you’ll receive beyond what a prepaid card or a bank debit card might offer.

• Account alerts – Be notified about account activity by text message.
• Autopay – When you set up automatic payment, your payments get paid each month without any action from you, ensuring that you never miss a payment.
• Authorized user – You can add another user to your account for no fee. (Note that you’re responsible for paying the charges incurred by your authorized user.)
• $0 fraud liability – Unlike a prepaid debit card or cash, if your card is lost or stolen, you’re not responsible for unauthorized charges.
• No foreign transaction fees – When you use your card while traveling, you won’t be charged extra for purchases made in another country or currency.

If you are looking to build or rebuild your credit, a secured credit card can help you establish a history of on-time payments and increase your credit score, even if you can’t get applied for a traditional credit card.

The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card is among the better secured cards available to people rebuilding their credit. The card offers a secured credit line up to $1,000 with no annual fee, low security deposit requirements, and a path to converting your account to an unsecured credit card.

If you have some credit history and pay off your cards every month, you might qualify for a rewards credit card like the Capital One Quicksilver. While the Quicksilver isn’t one of the best rewards credit cards out there, it does have the advantage that you can see if you’re pre-approved with no harm to your credit score.

If you’re a full-time student looking to build your credit history, you have another option available: student credit cards. Banks offer these cards to students (or soon-to-enroll students) with limited credit history. Unsecured student credit cards don’t require a deposit and offer more benefits and perks than secured cards. Many student credit cards also offer rewards — some even offer rewards for good grades.

A secured credit card can help you establish or reestablish your credit history when you. The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card offers an option to get a secured credit card with no annual fee and a minimal security deposit.

Editorial Disclosure: All articles are prepared by editorial staff and contributors. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the editorial team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including rates and fees, presented in this article is accurate as of the date of the publish. Check the lender’s website for the most current information.

This article was originally published on SFGate.com and reviewed by Lauren Williamson, who serves as Financial and Home Services Editor for the Hearst E-Commerce team. Email her at [email protected].