This offer is no longer available on our site: Citi® Secured Mastercard®

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3. Citi® Secured Mastercard® review: A simple card to help establish and build credit

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reviews

2.7

Rating: 2.7 out of 5.

N/A

Annual Fee: $0

This content is curated by Intuit Credit Karma’s Editorial team using data from members who were approved for this card or similar cards, or who self-matched this card or similar cards. Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse this content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Here’s the average credit limit of members who matched their Citi® Secured Mastercard® or similar cards.

% of members by credit limit range

The average credit limit for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is $2,604, with $200 being the most common.

Here’s the average credit score of members who matched their Citi® Secured Mastercard® or similar cards.

% of members by credit score range

The average credit score for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is 607, with 584 being the most common. Note this is just one of the deciding factors when it comes to getting approved.

Member stats

Updated daily

47.8%

Average credit utilization (or what percent of the card’s credit limit is being used) of members who matched with this card or similar cards.

43 years

Average age of members who matched this card or similar cards.

$79,529

Average annual income of members who matched this card or similar cards. Note: Income may be estimated for some members by Credit Karma and may differ from members’ actual incomes.

Pros and cons

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Available to people who are new to credit or who are working to build their credit

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Reports to all three major credit bureaus, helping you build credit if you use it responsibly

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Minimum $200 required for security deposit

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High variable APR

What you need to know about the Citi® Secured Mastercard®

Citi’s secured credit card is a super-basic card that can help you build a positive credit history if you use it responsibly.

Approval with limited credit history

The Citi® Secured Mastercard® was designed for people with minimal credit history. Instead of running credit reports for approval, Citi will review things like income and debt, any credit information, and other factors viewed as important to lending you a line of credit. But if you’ve had a bankruptcy in the previous two years, you won’t qualify for this card.

Build credit history with responsible use

All credit activity is reported to the three major credit bureaus. Making your payments on time and in full can help build up your credit history — and you may eventually qualify for an unsecured card.

Required security deposit

The Citi® Secured Mastercard® requires collateral to reduce the risk of you not paying off your credit balance. This is what your security deposit is.

If you fail to pay your card balance, Citi can use the money from your security deposit to pay your bill. It’ll likely close your account if this happens. Your security deposit depends on your history, but it will be a minimum of $200.

The security deposit is usually refundable — either after a certain amount of time of careful use or once you close and pay off your account. That means you shouldn’t rely on getting your security deposit back soon.

High APR

At a variable 26.74%, the Citi® Secured Mastercard® has a high annual percentage rate (the amount of money that you pay a creditor to borrow money from it) for both purchases and balance transfers. It’s higher than average, but that’s typical for secured cards.

But if you pay your card off in full and on time every month, you may not have to worry about the APR at all.

What else you need to know

• The annual fee is $0.
• The 24/7 online banking allows you to review transactions and balances, make online payments and receive mobile alerts to monitor account activity, all of which can help you stay on track financially.
• There’s a 3% foreign transaction fee that applies to international purchases.
• The Citi® Secured Mastercard® doesn’t offer additional rewards you may find with other credit cards. (Rewards aren’t very common with secured cards, so this isn’t unusual.)

Who this card is good for

The Citi® Secured Mastercard® credit card is a bare-bones secured credit card for establishing credit. If you’re a newbie credit cardholder, this card may offer the tools and resources you need to build and maintain a positive credit history.

The key phrase for this card is “bare bones” — there are other secured cards out there that offer better perks.

Not sure this is the card for you? Consider these alternatives.

• Discover it® Secured Credit Card: This card is a good option for people who want rewards with their secured card.
• OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card: This card can be a good option if you want a credit card but have no credit history or have negative credit history.