choosing a good secured card

[misaelwade]

Be smart in choosing a good secured credit card. Secured credit cards usually have fees that regular credit cards do not. This includes application fees, processing fees, and annual fees. Beware of cards with high fees because they can greatly reduce your deposit and ultimately, your credit limit. The best secured credit card have low fees and good interest rates. Before you apply for a secured credit card, make sure the creditor reports to all. If not, the card won’t benefit you in terms of re-establishing your credit because future creditors won’t see your good payment history. Payments on a secured credit card that doesn't report to the major credit bureaus won't be included on your credit report or reflected in your credit score.

[plusones]

If you want to improve your credit I think the way you use the card is what matters. There is no "best credit card" for improving credit but secondary to that, factors like customer service, credit limit, interest rate and more should be considered when choosing.

If your credit is shot to the point that an unsecured card is impossible then do be careful in selecting a secured card. Most will extort you with exuberant fees and rates. The shadiest may not report the account to the credit agencies

Thanks
Regards
plus ones
http://www.googleplusones.net

[escher7]

Capital One has given me excellent service re secured card. They do not require a SIN number and respond quickly. If you look OK they may not require full security, (for me $75 on a $300 card), and you can up your limit by paying in more security funds. Of course you will pay higher interest as you are a risk, but other than a $59 annual fee, there are no extra charges. If you make minimum payments on time, it will reflect well on your credit history. These folks make their money on credit cards and cannot afford to be "sharp".

Follow-up. It has taken very long to get the card. Mail takes for ever. Then there was a holdup because when I verified my name at the post office I used a Manitoba ID card. Turns out that they think (They're wrong) that the card must have a 9 digit number, so it was held up because mine had 7 digits. They would not believe me (The government confirmed that some cards have 7 digits), and they told me to use a number on the back which happens to have 9 digits. Thing is, the number on the reverse is a serial number of the card and has nothing to do with the ID. I used it anyway, and am now waiting for the card. It's taken 4 months and i still won't have the card for a week or two. (Just noticed I said this below. Oh well.

[escher7]

Warning to anyone in Manitoba, (and maybe other provinces) - If you are using a provincially issued ID because you don't have a licence, Capital One will not accept the number on the front as ID number if it is less than 9 digits. Mine is 7 digits and is perfectly fine, but they rejected it because they say it must be 9 numbers long. MPIC issue the card and they say it is fine, but I argued with Capital One to no avail. They said to use the 9 digit number on the back, (which is a meaningless serial number), so I did on the second time around, just to get the card!!?? (This requirement comes after all approvals - they then ask you to go to the post office and have them confirm your ID.)

There is no arguing with stupidity.