Our Verdict
The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card* epitomizes “minimum.” This card provides a baseline for what to expect from a secured card. With no annual fee, no special benefits and no rewards earnings, the secured card exists as a generic option for those needing to build credit.
For those looking for perks beyond building credit, look elsewhere.
Pros
- No annual fee
- Up to $5,000 credit line depending on security deposit
- Healthy standard benefits package, including the ability to choose a due date
Cons
- Regular APR: 29.24% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
- High foreign transaction fees
- High balance transfer and cash advance fees
Highlights
- No setup or application fees
- No penalty APR
- Fraud protection: Detects and notifies you of any unusual card activity to help prevent fraud
- Choose Your Payment Due Date: Everyone’s schedule is different. So it’s handy to be able to pick your credit card due date
- Zero Fraud Liability: You are not responsible for unauthorized transactions if your U.S. Bank Secured Visa Card is ever lost or stolen
- Auto Pay: Avoid interest and late fees with automatic payments that put you in control. It can also help you pay down a balance faster
- Enroll in Online Banking and get your TransUnion Credit Score at no cost and receive email alerts when there are big changes to your credit report
Introduction
Those without good credit who can put down some cash as a deposit might consider the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card*. The bank offers a run-of-the-plastic-mill secured card to build healthier credit. The atrocious 29.24% variable is something to shy away from for those who worry about paying off the balance each month. But for those individuals, using a credit card may not be the best option anyway because carrying a balance is almost always a bad idea.
The deposit put down for a secured credit card should reflect approximately three times the credit they should use to maintain a healthy credit score by keeping credit utilization low. If only providing a $300 deposit (the minimum of the U.S. Bank Secured card, for example), consumers of any secured card should never utilize more than about $100 in credit. This maintains healthy credit by showing responsible use. The U.S. Bank Secured card has a maximum deposit of $5,000, meaning a credit line for the maximum deposit should ideally not be extended beyond about $1,500.
The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card* offers some benefits, but most are offered with many credit cards: $0 fraud liability, 24/7 online account access, fraud monitoring, auto-pay and access to cardholders’ credit scores. These near-ubiquitous benefits are great to have, but should be expected with most decent cards.
Quick Facts
- No annual fee
- Line of credit secured against a deposit
- Autopay and fraud monitoring benefits
- $300 to $5,000 line of credit range
- High 29.24% variable
Other U.S Bank Secured Visa Credit Card Benefits
- $0 fraud liability. Cardholders aren’t responsible for unauthorized charges.
- Free credit score access. Access to your FICO Score.
- Auto pay. Set up monthly payments to happen on their own.
- Choose payment due date. Select which day of the month is best for you.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 29.24% variable
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual fee: $0
- Balance transfer fee: Either 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater
- Foreign purchase transaction fee: 3% of each foreign purchase transaction or foreign ATM advance transaction in U.S. Dollars
How the U.S. Bank Secured Visa Credit Card Stacks Up
U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card* vs. Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Where the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card* fails to deliver on the benefits, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card comes out ahead. With 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card offers the type of rewards often only seen with unsecured cards. To sweeten the deal, the card also offers a welcome bonus: Unlimited Cashback Match™ - Discover will automatically match all the cash back earned at the end of the first year.
With many of the same benefits, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card offers more right away, so if approved, it’s almost always bound to be preferable over the U.S. Bank Secured. Its APR is still high at 28.24% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers, but so are most secured cards’ APRs.
U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card* vs. Navy FCU nRewards® Secured Credit Card*
The Navy FCU nRewards® Secured Credit Card* also offers a near fee-less option with an unlimited 1 point per dollar on eligible net purchases, making it almost undoubtedly a preferable choice over the U.S. Bank Secured. With no foreign transaction fees, no cash advance fees, no balance transfer fees and no annual fee, this card hits the quadfecta of light-on-fees credit cards. It also offers an APR much lower than the U.S. Bank Secured at 18.00% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. Balance transfer fee does not apply. The APR is still high but less so than other options.
For those who can qualify to join and can get approved through Navy Federal, there’s a clear choice here.
U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card* vs. Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card*
With a similar no-annual-fee structure, a similar deposit requirement and a slightly-lower 28.24% variable, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Secured card appears on par with the U.S. Bank Secured card.
However, the Customized Cash card offers rewards that outclass most secured cards: 3% cash back in a category of choice: gas and EV charging, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores or home improvement/furnishings; 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs; unlimited cash back on all other purchases. Earn 3% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter, then earn 1%. This alone makes it a superior choice to the U.S. Bank Secured Visa.
Compare the U.S. Bank Secured Visa Credit Card With Other Cards
Is the U.S. Bank Secured Visa Card for You?
There are better secured cards out there than the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card*. But since secured cards are often a game of “take what you can get,” there isn’t often a choice. While the high APR can brutally punish those who carry balances, the U.S. Bank Secured card offers the absolute minimum a secured card can offer.
Methodology
Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors including:
- Annual fees
- Welcome bonus offers
- Ongoing earning rates
- Value of individual points of miles
- Included travel or merchant credits
- Additional cardholder benefits
Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.
Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by Forbes Advisor: U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Card, Navy FCU nRewards® Secured Credit Card, Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
