Full Overview of Capital One Platinum Secured
desk of contents
- Professionals Defined
- Cons Defined
- Who This Card Is Finest For
- Excellent Advantages
- Commonplace Advantages
- Cardholder Expertise
- Safety Options
- Charges to Watch Out For
- Ultimate Verdict
Professionals
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Credit score limits might be bigger than the required safety deposit
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Safety deposit might be paid in installments
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No annual or international transaction charges
Cons
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Requires a checking account
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Comparatively low preliminary credit score limits
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No bonus affords or rewards program
Professionals Defined
- Credit score restrict might be bigger than your safety deposit: As a rule, secured playing cards provide an preliminary credit score line that’s solely as massive because the safety deposit you set down earlier than you get the cardboard. That may be the case for some individuals who obtain the Capital One Platinum Secured, too; they’ll want a $200 deposit to be granted the cardboard’s $200 preliminary credit score restrict. Different candidates with higher {qualifications}, although, could solely have to put down $49 or $99 to obtain the identical credit score line.
- Safety deposit might be paid in installments: For these on restricted incomes—which describes many, if not most, individuals who obtain secured bank cards—it may be a monetary stretch to amass the deposit required to get a secured bank card. The Capital One Platinum Secured means that you can pay that deposit in installments. Every cost should be at the very least $20, in an entire greenback denomination, and it’s worthwhile to have reached your complete deposit quantity not more than 35 days after being authorised for the cardboard.
- No annual or foreign-transaction charges: You pay nothing to get this card, aside from a refundable safety deposit. That’s not unusual for a secured card. Nonetheless, it is welcome nonetheless, because it means that you can apply all accessible funds when getting the cardboard to your safety deposit, which in flip maximizes your credit score restrict. Extra uncommon is that this card’s absence of a price on international transactions, which many playing cards—each unsecured and secured—levy a cost of two.7% or 3% on purchases you make when overseas or from international on-line sellers.
Cons Defined
- Requires a checking account: Opening a checking account might be difficult for individuals who are nonetheless constructing credit score, maybe as a result of they’re new to residing in the US. In different phrases, the type of people that could flip to a secured bank card to construct that very monetary monitor report. Acknowledging that some individuals are unbanked, choose secured playing cards permit you to depart a safety deposit or pay payments by way of such choices as cash orders and money funds made at main retail chains. Capital One Platinum Secured isn’t amongst these playing cards; funds should be created from a checking account.
- Comparatively low preliminary credit score restrict: Whereas the necessities to obtain the Capital One Platinum Secured are comparatively low, so is the credit score restrict you’ll be able to obtain from the cardboard, at the very least initially. While you first get the cardboard, you’ll be able to increase the preliminary $200 restrict by as much as $800, offered you deposit an quantity equal to the extra credit score you need. However an preliminary credit score restrict of even $1,000 nonetheless falls in need of the $2,500 and even $5,000 allowed by another secured bank cards. You do, nevertheless, have to pony up a deposit that’s equal to these sums to safe the excessive credit score restrict. That stated, this card has an unusually speedy course of for rising the credit score restrict. Capital One says they’ll assessment your credit score restrict after six months.
- No bonus affords or rewards program: That is strictly a card for receiving credit score and constructing your credit score rating, not one for incomes rewards or introductory perks. Many different secured playing cards equally lean on extras, however there are exceptions. Some secured playing cards provide cash-back rewards, even with a rewards match on the finish of your first yr. Sure secured playing cards additionally enable a stability to be transferred from one other card and carried on the secured card at a decrease APR, at the very least for a interval—a helpful function for individuals who have a secured card to rebuild credit score, and proceed to hold debt from different bank cards. The Capital One Platinum Secured permits stability transfers. It prices a 3% price for balances transferred at any supplied promotional APR, and no price for balances transferred on the common 30.74% variable APR. That fee possible is not a lot decrease, if in any respect, than what you are at the moment paying on one other card.
Who This Card Is Finest For
The Capital One Platinum Secured is right for individuals who would possibly battle, or fail in assembly, the standard deposit necessities to get a secured bank card.
In contrast to most different secured playing cards, you don’t want to carry the total greenback worth of your credit score line as a safety deposit in your account. A deposit as little as $49 might get you the beginning credit score line of $200. And it’s preferrred for individuals who may have time to give you the wanted deposit because it means that you can make funds of $20 or extra to construct towards the entire.
The Capital One Platinum Secured is a greater worldwide journey card than the Uncover It Secured. Whereas each playing cards don’t cost a international transaction price, Mastercard is extra broadly accepted outdoors the U.S. than Uncover or American Specific.
It's amongst a number of secured playing cards that don’t have any annual price, too. And people which are well-suited to worldwide journey. Not solely is Mastercard extra broadly accepted overseas than another card manufacturers, the Capital One Platinum Secured has no international transaction price, which makes it a helpful card to have for a visit overseas. Many different playing cards impose charges of two.7% or 3% on such transactions, and people prices can actually add up over the course of a trip.
Capital One Platinum Secured's Excellent Advantages
The cardboard prices no international transaction charges.
Commonplace Advantages
- Free emergency card substitute
- Free credit score monitoring through CreditWise
- Account alerts from Eno digital assistant
- $0 fraud legal responsibility
- Digital card numbers for on-line purchases
- Get entry to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days per week with on-line banking to entry your account out of your desktop or smartphone, with Capital One's cell app
Cardholder Expertise
Capital One acquired a score of 812 out of 1,000 in J.D. Energy’s 2022 buyer satisfaction survey, rating fifth on the listing, two factors shy of the phase common of 814. American Specific topped the listing with a rating of 848.
Capital One has two instruments to assist its cardholders lower your expenses when procuring. Its Capital One Buying device scans retailers that will help you discover the most effective value before you purchase on-line, whereas Paribus finds potential financial savings on on-line purchases you've already made and will get you a refund.
Cardholders can log into their account on the corporate's web site or cell app to pay their invoice or for info and inquiries about their card.
Customer support is on the market at 800-227-4825 or by way of bodily mail. In contrast to most card issuers, Capital One affords no customer support through electronic mail or on-line chat.
Safety Options
Capital One affords the standard safety perks to maintain cardholders protected, beginning with safety alerts. The issuer will ship notifications by textual content, electronic mail, or cellphone—no matter your desire—if it notices suspicious exercise in your card. Different commonplace perks embrace $0 fraud legal responsibility and the flexibility to lock your card whether it is misplaced, stolen, or misplaced—and from the cell app, a mode that isn’t supplied by all issuers.
Capital One additionally affords Eno, a device that screens for duplicate prices, tracks spending, and mechanically sends 24/7 fraud alerts. The device additionally immediately creates digital numbers for on-line procuring.
CreditWise screens your credit score info on the darkish internet and sends computerized alerts in case your electronic mail deal with or Social Safety Quantity is discovered. The device additionally supplies limitless free entry to your credit score rating and sends an alert when your credit score report modifications. CreditWise is free and accessible to anybody, even non-customers of Capital One.
In case you lose your card, Capital One will substitute it free of charge with commonplace supply taking just a few days.
Charges to Watch Out For
Whereas the Capital One Platinum Secured Card has no annual price it does carry a 3% stability switch price and a late cost price of $40. It's unlikely that the majority prospects might be transferring balances from different playing cards and incurring the switch price on condition that that is typically the primary card many individuals get when beginning their credit score journey. Nevertheless, the late cost price is one thing to concentrate on and might be prevented with well timed cost of card balances.
Ultimate Verdict
The Capital One Platinum Secured has no frills, rewards, or particular perks. As a substitute, it’s a primary secured card that, whereas not guaranteeing approval, goals to make buying and increasing credit score simpler for individuals who are constructing or repairing their credit score report. Nonetheless, the cardboard restricts you initially to not more than a $1,000 credit score restrict, regardless of how a lot you deposit upfront. There may be higher selections, then—secured playing cards that enable limits of $2,500, $3,000, and even $5,000—in case you have more money available for a deposit and need to instantly use your card for extra (or costlier) purchases.
The next credit score restrict also can profit you when you spend solely modestly since your credit score rating relies partly on what’s often known as credit score utilization. The much less of your restrict you utilize, the decrease the utilization, and the larger the increase to your credit score rating. These different playing cards—some even missing an annual price just like the Capital One Platinum Secured—might also earn you rewards within the type of money again in your purchases. As an example, the Uncover it Secured card has no annual price and means that you can deposit as much as $2,500 to get a credit score restrict of the identical dimension. It additionally has pretty beneficiant money again rewards which are matched on the finish of your first yr with the cardboard.
