I applied and was approved for this secured card in January of 2014 after a bankruptcy. The good things to say about this card: It can be used to rent a car, there is a grace period, it reports to all 3 credit bureaus, annual fee is reasonable, and the customer service isn't outsourced overseas. The reasons why I closed this card: It doesn't graduate to an unsecured card, there isn't an option for paperless e-statements, the only way to pay the account is by snail mail or your bank's billpay. There is a long payment hold if you mail a check. There is a 70 day period before you receive the security deposit back. As of the time of this post, 70 days haven't passed since I closed the account.
I opened 4 secured cards all at the same time. First National Bank of Omaha, First Progress, Opensky, and Armed Forces Bank. If you can qualify, FNBO is my favorite. They post payments right away, the card has Collision Damage Waiver for car rentals, customer service isn't outsourced and I graduated to an unsecured in 9 months, automatically. Opensky didn't do a credit check, posts payments right away (took a few months payment history) and can be used for car rentals. Armed Forces didn't do a credit check either, but their secured card can't be used for car rentals and they hold all payments for 5 business days though they claim they'll upgrade cardholders to an unsecured card when they qualify.
