The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® requires a security deposit between $300 and $5,000. Although you have to pay money upfront for this card, it’s free from annual fees, monthly fees, account-opening fees, and many of the other fees associated with credit cards for bad credit holders.
However, the amount of credit you can get is limited by the deposit you pay and the credit card requires you to have a U.S Bank savings account.
Table of Contents
Quick Review
The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® is an accessible credit card for people with poor credit or no credit. It’s a secured credit card, which means you have to put down a security deposit to open it.
The security deposit must be between $300–$5,000, and your credit limit will be equivalent to the deposit you pay. This means you need to pay a lot of money upfront if you want a good credit line.
In addition, the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® has a relatively high APR at 27.74% (variable). However, this is fairly normal with cards geared toward credit building—as are the lack of rewards and the underwhelming benefits.
The good news is that you don’t have to pay:
- Annual fees
- Monthly fees
- Account-opening fees
- Credit-limit-increase fees
Plus, the card allows cash advances, balance transfers, and foreign transactions, which many credit cards for bad credit don’t allow. And the $5,000 maximum credit limit is also higher than many secured credit cards.
All in all, the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® is a reasonable option for credit building, as it covers the essentials. However, it may be inconvenient if you aren’t already a U.S. Bank account holder, and there are generally better credit card deals available to borrowers with limited or poor credit.
U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Credit Card Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Credit card issuer: U.S. Bank National Association
- Regular APR: 27.74% (variable)
- Annual fee: N/A
- Security deposit: $300–$5,000
- Credit limit: $300–$5,000
- Grace period: 24–30 days
Additional Information
- Credit limit from $300 to $5,000 and dependent on your deposit.
- Cash advances are available.
- Foreign transactions are available.
- Balance transfers are available.
- You can add authorized users to your account.
- Credit reporting to all three bureaus.
- Access to free TransUnion VantageScore credit scores.
- Due dates are flexible.
- Fraud and identity theft protection.
- Zero fraud liability.
- Roadside dispatch as a cardholder benefit (emergency roadside assistance with services like towing, fuel delivery, and more).
U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Credit Card Feature Breakdown
In this section, we’ll look at some of the most important features of the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card.
Fees
- Annual fee: $0
- Cash advance fee: $5–$20 or 3%–5% (whichever is greater)
- Balance transfer fee: $5 or 3% (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: 2%–3%
- Late fee: Up to $41
- Returned payment fee: Up to $41
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 27.74% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 27.74% (variable)
- Minimum interest charge: $2
- Penalty APR: N/A
If you don’t pay your U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card balance in full each month, you’ll pay interest. The interest you’ll pay each year depends on your APR (“annual percentage rate”).
Notably, the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® doesn’t have a penalty APR (an increased APR that credit cards often charge if you miss payments).
Grace Period
The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card gives you a grace period of 24–30 days (beginning on the first day of the new billing cycle). The grace period allows you time to pay your bills in full without racking up any interest charges.
If you pay off your balance in full by the due date, your purchases during the grace period won’t accumulate interest. However, if you carry a balance from previous billing cycles, you’ll have to pay interest on any charges you make to your card during the grace period.
Rewards
The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® doesn’t offer any rewards.
This is fairly typical; many credit cards for borrowers with less-than-perfect credit don’t offer rewards. However, there are exceptions available on the market. So if rewards are important to you, do some more research to find a card that offers cash back.
Benefits
In terms of benefits, the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Credit Card includes the following:
- Roadside dispatch: This gives you access to a pay-per-use emergency roadside assistance program (e.g., for towing or fuel delivery).
- Visa Offers + Perks: This gives you discounts and savings on food and wine, shopping, sports, entertainment, and more.
- ID theft protection: This includes monitoring of the dark web for any fraudulent use of your personal information.
- $0 fraud liability: This means you get reimbursed for any fraud losses that result from unauthorized use of your account.
- Fraud protection: This service detects any abnormal spending patterns or other unusual activity on your credit card account and then alerts you.
- Credit tools: These include free TransUnion VantageScore credit scores along with email alerts to warn you of any major changes to your credit report, and a score simulator (an interactive online tool that predicts how various factors, such as whether you pay off particular debts, will affect your credit score).
Cash Advances
Various types of cash advances are allowed on the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card, but there are also cash advance fees. The fees are as follows:
- Convenience check cash advance: These are blank checks that you can use to pay off balances on other credit cards or make purchases, for example. The fee for this kind of cash advance is either 3% of the amount of each advance or $5 (whichever is greater).
- Cash advance/cash advance ATM: This type of cash advance on a credit card is when you use your card to withdraw money from an ATM or bank. The fee is either 5% of the amount of each advance or $10 (whichever is greater).
- Cash equivalent advance: Cash equivalent items include anything that you can easily use like actual cash (e.g., cryptocurrency, money orders, or traveler’s checks). The fee for cash-like transactions is higher—either 5% of the amount of each advance or $20 (whichever is greater).
Balance Transfers
A balance transfer is when you move debt from one credit card to another (which is a common form of debt consolidation). The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® offers balance transfers. However, because of the high APR, it’s not a great card to use for this purpose.
- Balance transfer APR: 27.74% (variable)
- Balance transfer fee: 3% or $5 (whichever is greater)
Security Deposit
Secured credit cards require a security deposit that will usually determine your credit limit.
To open a U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card, you’ll have to make a minimum deposit of $300 into a U.S. Bank savings account. U.S. Bank uses this money to ensure that you pay the secured card balance. The deposit is fully refundable.
When you pay the deposit, the money goes into a U.S. Bank secured savings account, where it’s insured in case of a bank failure and even earns interest. While your credit card account stays open and in good standing (i.e., you have no negative payment history), U.S. bank says that it won’t touch the money.
Getting your deposit back
U.S. Bank will return your deposit if they decide to let you upgrade to an unsecured credit card or if your account is closed.
Credit Limit
The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card will give you a credit limit of $300–$5,000 based on your security deposit.
Credit Limit Increases
If you want to increase your credit limit after you’ve opened your account, you can do this after 6 months (and again every 6 months thereafter) if your account is still under the $5,000 limit and in good standing.
Note that if you ask for an increase, you may get a hard inquiry on your credit report (a visible record that a lender checked your credit).
Credit Reporting
Credit reporting is an important part of building credit, as your credit report is based on the information your lenders send to the credit bureaus.
Lenders aren’t legally required to report your credit history; some lenders report to only one or two of the major credit bureaus, if any. Fortunately, U.S. Bank reports to all three credit bureaus.
Credit Building
Because the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card reports to all three credit bureaus, it’s great for building or rebuilding credit. However, you must keep up with your monthly payments to benefit your credit score; your credit will suffer if your payments are late.
Credit Score Requirements
Many issuers of secured credit cards claim that they do not check your credit or take your credit score into account when you apply. However, we contacted U.S. Bank, and they told us that they’re likely to check your credit report when you apply for the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card.
U.S. Bank also says that you can still be approved for the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® even if you have no credit score or prior credit history: According to the website, the card is for “customers with low or no credit who want to build or repair their credit history.” 1 This means that, as well as applicants without credit histories, applicants with credit scores that qualify as bad may be eligible for the card.
U.S. Bank also told us that they don’t have a preapproval option for the U.S. Bank Secured Visa®, so there’s no way to find out whether you’re likely to be eligible without a credit check. However, as U.S. Bank’s credit score requirements are minimal, and secured credit cards are low risk for lenders, your approval odds are good.
Application and Approval
You can apply for a U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card on the U.S. Bank website.
You’ll have to provide some personal information, which U.S. Bank will then use to decide whether you qualify for a credit card. As mentioned, this process will probably include a credit check.
Once you’ve applied for a U.S. Bank Secured Visa®, you may have to wait 7–10 business days for a decision. If necessary, you can check the status of your application by calling (800) 947-1444 (and choosing option 1).
Managing Your Account
You can log in and manage your U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card online—including making payments, viewing statements, and checking your due dates. Alternatively, you can download the iOS or Android apps.
You can also mail payments to the following addresses.
For payments sent by regular mail:
U.S. Bank Consumer Loan Servicing
PO Box 790179
St. Louis, MO 63179-0179
For payments sent using an overnight service:
U.S. Bank Consumer Loan Servicing
Payment/Payoff Processing
1850 Osborn Ave
Oshkosh, WI 54902
Customer Service
If you need help with your U.S. Bank Secured Visa®, you can find the customer service phone number on the back of your card. Alternatively, you can call the general customer number for U.S. Bank credit cards: (800) 285-8585.
For general inquiries and correspondence, you can also write to [email protected].
Lost or Stolen Cards
If your U.S. Bank Secured Visa® card is lost or stolen, you can report this by logging into U.S. Bank’s online banking services or by using their app.
Adding Authorized Users
You can also use U.S. Bank’s online banking services or app to add authorized users to your U.S. Bank Secured Visa®.
Should You Get the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® Credit Card?
FinanceJar Verdict
The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card is more or less on a par with many other cards geared toward credit building. Its downsides—a high APR, no rewards, and limited cardholder benefits—are fairly standard for credit cards available to borrowers with lower credit scores. However, the requirement to open a U.S. Bank savings account may be a major deterrent if you don’t already have one.
Apart from a comparatively high maximum credit limit (which can benefit your credit score by making it easier to maintain a low credit utilization rate), the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® doesn’t have too many outstanding features to recommend it. As such, if you want a card that comes with extra benefits or rewards, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Who is this card for?
- U.S. Bank account holders: If you already have a savings account with U.S. Bank, opening a credit card should be incredibly easy. So long as you’re prepared to allocate some of your savings funds to your security deposit, you can likely qualify for the U.S. Bank secured card and increase your credit holdings.
- Lower credit score holders who want to build credit: The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card is suitable for people with low credit scores. If you’re a bad credit holder or you’ve had rejections for other credit cards, it may be worth applying for the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® so that you can start building better credit by making timely payments on a regular basis.
Comparable Cards
To decide whether the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card is right for you, take a look at how it measures up against other similar credit cards on the market.
U.S. Bank Secured Visa® vs Citi® Secured Mastercard®
Like the U.S. Bank Secured Visa®, the Citi® Secured Mastercard® credit card is for people who want to improve their credit scores, and both cards require you to pay a deposit upfront.
In addition, the two cards have the following features in common:
- No annual fees, monthly fees, or account-opening fees
- No rewards
- No intro offers or welcome bonuses
- Credit reporting to all three bureaus
- Foreign transactions are available
- Flexible due dates
- Free credit scores
However, there are also some differences:
- The Citi® Secured Mastercard® has a slightly lower APR at 26.24% (variable).
- The Citi® Secured Mastercard® has a lower minimum deposit ($200), so requires less money upfront.
- The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® has a higher maximum credit limit than the Citi® Secured Mastercard® ($5,000 vs $2,500).
- The Citi® Secured Mastercard® has a penalty APR.
- The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® card has lower balance transfer fees.
Neither card is radically better than the other. But if you want a higher credit limit, you should choose the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® credit card. On the other hand, if you want to pay less upfront, consider the Citi® Secured Mastercard®.
U.S. Bank Secured Visa® vs Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card
Like the U.S. Bank Secured Visa®, the Capital One Platinum Secured card is for building credit and requires a deposit paid upfront.
In addition, the two cards share the following features:
- No annual fees, monthly fees, or account-opening fees
- No rewards
- No intro offers or welcome bonuses
- Credit reporting to all three bureaus
- Foreign transactions are available
- Free access to your credit score
However, they also differ in the following ways:
- The Capital One Platinum Secured has a slightly higher APR at 26.49% (variable).
- The Capital One Platinum Secured credit card has a lower minimum deposit of $49–$200.
- The U.S. Bank Secured Visa® has a much higher maximum deposit of $5,000 (vs. $1,000).
- The Capital One Platinum Secured card has no foreign transaction fees.
Which one of these cards you should choose will depend on your needs. If you’re most concerned about maximizing your credit limit, you should go with U.S. Bank. Otherwise, the Capital One Platinum Secured credit card is overall a better deal.
U.S. Bank Secured Visa® vs. Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Like the U.S. Bank Secured Visa®, the Discover it® Secured credit card is for people who want to improve their credit scores, and both cards require security deposits.
The two cards also have the following features in common:
- No annual fees, monthly fees, or account-opening fees.
- Credit reporting to all three bureaus.
- Cash advances and balance transfers are available.
- Foreign transactions are available.
- Free access to your credit score.
However, The Discover it® Secured card also has several advantages over the U.S. Bank Secured Visa®:
- The Discover it® Secured credit card gives you a reduced intro APR of 10.99% for balance transfers.
- The Discover it® Secured card gives you cashback rewards.
- The Discover it® Secured card gives you a marginally lower APR of 25.99% (variable).
- The Discover it® Secured has a lower minimum credit limit ($200).
- The Discover it® Secured credit card waives fees for your first late payment.
The major disadvantage of the Discover it® Secured credit card is that it has a lower maximum credit limit of $2,500. If you specifically need a credit limit over $2,500 and can afford the deposit for such a high limit, the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® may be a better option. Otherwise, the Discover it® Secured credit card has many more points in its favor.
