First Progress Platinum Prestige MasterCard® Secured Credit Card

I have had this card for around 4 months now.  The whole process from applying for the card and receiving the card took about a month, but it was definitely worth it!  This is not a card you want to use to carry a balance after all it is a secured card and is for rebuilding credit not using the card because you actually need the credit.  So keeping this in min this is how I use my card... I use no more than 30% of my $300.00 credit limit.  I pay my balance off in full every time I receive my statement.  To pay off my bill I purchase a money order and mail it in and it usually takes 6 days to credit my payment (this is the best and quickest way to make your payments with this company).  I will say that I've contacted customer service a couple of times before I received the card and no, they aren't the nicest people, but it is a secured card and not an AMEX card so I don't expect red carpet service.  All in all having this card has contributed to raising my FICO score 58 points in 3 months. I have been using CK for around 4 months now and it has helped me trmendously.  I have read so many extremely helpful reviews on here!  Between this website and MyFico.com I have raising my Fico score from a 591 to a 649 and I now qualify to purchase my first home!  I am 28 and have made some mistakes in my past and have been very irresponsible, but I am proof that it can be done.  It took me around 4 months for this score jump and some money to pay off some bills, student loans, collection accounts, (you name it I had it lol), but I'm getting there and I couldn't be more thankful for websites like this one :)

While this card has its benefits, it's pointless to apply for it.  It's an $89 processing fee PLUS a $75 annual fee which is $164 that you will never get back. You can get the same benefits with a capital one secured credit card.  I paid the $89 processing fee then the woman in customer service said I have $225 available because of the annual fee.  I immediately cancelled to get my $89 back, applied for capital one secured and was approved for $99 security deposit that I will actually get back!  Plus the annual fee is almost 1/3 with capital one.  $37.  So instead of losing $164 to get a $300 credit limit, You lose, worse case, $236 with $199 that you get back, and it's easier to get approved for the capital one card.  With capital one you will have to pay either $49, $99, or $199 deposit based on your credit.  But as I said, you get it back in the end.  Plus with on time payments in your first 5 billing cycles, your credit limit will be increased.   So essentially, you are getting the same benefit with much less cost.  It may cost a little more upfront, but you get all but the $37 annual fee back when you close the capital one card.