Citi® Secured Mastercard®: review

The Citi® Secured Mastercard®, from our partner Citi, offers a path to building credit for eligible applicants with limited credit.

Unlike a debit card, it reports monthly credit history to all three major credit bureaus and doesn’t charge an annual fee.

Access to a FICO score online helps cardholders track their credit scores, effectively manage their credit histories and take control of their financial futures. 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• No annual, monthly or setup fees
• Secured credit lines from $200 to $2,500
• Access to FICO score online
• $0 liability on unauthorized charges

Cons

• High regular and penalty APR
• Foreign transaction fee
• High cash advance fee
• Cannot have filed for bankruptcy within the past 2 years

Rates, fees & offers

• Annual fee: $0
• Bonus offer: N/A
• Intro APR: N/A
• Ongoing APR
  APR: 22.49% Variable APR
  Penalty APR: up to 29.99%
  Cash Advance APR: 25.24%
• Balance transfer fee: either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
• Foreign transaction fee: 3%

Review

Reports to all three credit bureaus

While Citi doesn’t outline a direct path to qualifying for an unsecured card as a next step, this card is designed to help you build credit.

If you make on-time payments each month, they will be reported to the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, TransUnion and Experian — and allow you to build your credit history over time.

Then you will be able to apply for other credit cards that require good to excellent credit and come with rewards and other perks.

No Annual fee

Unlike some secured cards on the market, this one charges an annual fee of $0. While you have to provide a security deposit of at least $200 to open the card, that money will be returned to you when you close the card in good standing.

That makes it preferable to many unsecured cards that target people with no credit and pile on outrageous fees — annual fees of up to $99, monthly fees and even application fees.

Other Card Benefits

• Free FICO Credit Score: Access a free FICO credit score, updated monthly.
• $0 Fraud Liability: Cardholders are not liable for unauthorized purchases.
• Citi Identity Theft Solutions: This service can help cardholders get their lives back on track if they are a victim of identity theft.

How to request this card

Applying for a credit card is very simple and you can do it through the app or website. But you need:

• Social Security Number
• Gross income
• Employer name (if applicable)
• Rent/mortgage amount

Did you like this card? Click on the button below and get yours right now.