Visa Credit Cards > Bank of America Secured Visa® Card

Bank of America Secured Visa® Card

Credit lines available from $300 to $10,000
Set your own credit limit
Build or reestablish your credit

Other details about this card:

Available Reviews

I applied for their regular Visa in may 2006 and was denied, but they said I could send in a deposit for this secure card. The APR is a High 18%, but it is worth it if you are trying to establish or reestablish credit. In december 2007 they released my $500 deposit. So, hopefully after a few months they will give me an increase.

Peace and Love!

Got denied for whatever it was I was applying for with BofA but was offered the 99/500. Sounded like a good idea, and so far so good. I just hope I get a big ole increase and converion when my probation period of 9 months is over with so we can have a good Christmas 08!

i have bank of america checking..they declined me w/credit card because of my bankrucpty in 2003..however they did offer this card...did not get the $99/500 deal.. they still have it I asked the chat lady on line....

i\'ll get this card once i get my tax /rebate LOL

I thought they was only approving me for the $300/$5000 secured card..to my dismay,..I logged on my account and they offered me the $99/500!!!

I should be getting my cards in a few weeks since i paid them right away...I just plan on using this card to show them that I could pay a monthly bill!!! Watch me now!!!

Meya where you\'ve been?!!!

First, let me thank all of the folks at on the forum of FG who helped me make this decision you guys and gals are awsome.

I went online and chatted with one of their CSR's who suggested that I apply for the regular BofA card (what she called their starter card). I let her know that I am in the process of credit rebuilding so I took a chance and was offered the 100% secured card. I have sent off my check and should be getting my new secured BofA card soon. I know that being diligent with my payments I will be on my way to a improved credit score.

I am so glad that I found this site.

I had a major credit setback 4 months and totally destroyed credit. All 3 scores below 500. I decided to go secured route and I was approved for this card. APR 15.99 AF $29

I applied to this card and got it, but it required a deposit which I paid from my bank account. It also required a 29.00 a year fee, its a good card I got my picture on it, as well as the bank reports to the major 3 credit agencies every month. By having this and 2 other cards Ive jumped up 29 points in 2 months.

Tried for a Bank of America Platinum Visa card but was denied with a counter offer of the secured card. They also stated if I use this card well they would upgrade me to an unsecured Bank of America Platinum Visa card. Scores EQ 697 EX 715 & TU 719. Also, BK 09/2001. Still haunts me.

I happened to be doing a little online banking with my BOA checking acct and when I logged off, I checked out their credit cards. An online CRS appeared and spoke to me about their credit cards. I explained that I was rebuilding my credit and she began telling me about a secured 99/500 credit card that BOA is currently offering to customers who are rebuilding their credit. She advised to apply for the Visa Platinum Plus card and once I get denied that a counter offer of 99/500 will appear. It did and I applied. I'll give them the $99.00 bucks once my app is received. I hope everything goes thru for me because I kept saying that I need just one major bank to trust me with their "prime" card and allow me demonstrate that I will maintain a positive history with them. Hopefully BOA will afford me this opportunity which will open new doors for me with other cards. I have two credit cards currently, Imagine and Rewards 660. I receive CLI's on both but let's face it, they are no BOA, and if I take care of them I will definitely take care of the BOA card. I read everyone's review on this card and did not find one negative comment. Thanks for reinforcing my decision guys.

Forgot to add this review. I have been a customer of B of A for about 2 years now and because of that, I utilize online banking where I can check the details of my account. Less than 24 hours after I accepted the 99/500 counter-offer (they debited my account on the spot of course), I checked my account the next morning and the 99/500 account was already setup. So I don't need to worry about any extra logins I can just manage all my B of A accounts from one screen. That is so cool!

Is the economy that bad?? How can you get denied for a secured card?? After the online application was completed 2 minutes later I got the denied email

Hello FN,

I just love this site! While rebuilding my credit, I applied for and received this card Nov 2007. I secured it with a $500.00 deposit. I didn't make any additional deposits. My usage was minimal, but when I did use it, I paid it in full before due date.

Today, I was pre-approved for 3 of BOAs unsecured cards. The three choices were all for a $1500.00 CL. They included the rewards Visa or MasterCard, or the BOA Amex., accelerated rewards. No annual fees on none of the cards. The apr 9-19% with 0% on balance transfers ( I forget for how long) I did not request a balance transfer as all of my cards are zero balance.

I will say that out of the 3 reporting bureaus, Equifax reported this card as "secured", initially I was concerned but didn't worry to much about it. It didn't seem to hurt me. I started off with 3 secured bank cards and a Crown Jewelry account to rebuild my credit. They helped me to get my scores to the point where I could purchase my home. I'm a disabled Army Veteran and missed my Army days, so as a treat I purchased a Hummer H3 through the Capital One blank check auto loan program, other cards I have obtained are:

Discover
Best buy MC reward Zone
Capital One Master Card
Wal-mart
Lowes
Credit One (might close)
Crown Jewels (they report a small usage to the CB's each month even if you don't purchase anything)
Kays
aafees star MC (Military Xchange aka PX)
Venue
Pay Pal
BOA Amex

I also still have the three Secured cards I began with:

Bank of America (will close & get deposit back)
Orchard Bank (going to work see what I can get here)
National City (:who by the way owns my home :) 6% 30yr fixed at the beginning of the "Mortgage Crisis"

I hope this help those who are just getting started, hang in there, all the advice that I have read through is right on target, it's exactly what I did, and believe you me, it works.

Good Luck to all and a hardy thank you to my military comrades, hooah!

~Tia~

i opened my account with boa in 02/2008. it was a secured card because of my credit history...(bankruptcy) i initially put $300 in the account to get it started, i then added an additional $600 over the past few months for a total credit line of $900 well today i called to get the card upgraded and they released my secured funds back to me and they also gave me an additonal $500 limit for a total of $1400 credit line it was well worth taking the time to open this account and manage it. it only took 10months and 2 weeks of a good payment history

OK so i finally got the card less than 7 days ago. Was kind of surprised i got it. I saw the money taken from my bank account before i got approval email.

Some info about me:

I'm 21 years old, a college student. I've never had a card and so my credit score is zero. My parents do own 2 houses (under mortgage) so that might have helped get the card.

Well i'm happy that i got the card, now i have to make sure i actually buy stuff, prolly the metro cards i need($50-$60 a month). My limit is $300 cuz i know i'll never spend over $100 in a month. I did try to make a joint account with mom who has a $16,000 credit card limit with Bank Of America, but i was denied because i didn't have a credit history. Hopefully can have a decent credit score within a year.

I don't really like how the card looks (compared to discover card) but it's better than nothing. I also wish their online site looked better, it's looks very basic and utterly simple. The activation process was very simple and straight. I actually made the online account thing before activating and it worked. Other than that, yeah happy i got the card. Waiting for the annual fee to slap me in the face.

I gotta thank everyone here on this forum cuz i was deciding between this and Wells Fargo Secured credit card (We have a mortgage with them) but everyone seems to like BoA better and i'm happy i did so big THANKS to ALL YOU PEOPLES!!!

Hello every one, I was advised about 8 months ago by meya and jim that this was the way to go. In regards to rebuilding my credit score. So i made the move to get the secured card and also i already have a saving account with them that i opened last week. The funds have been deducted and i got the approval e-mail. So all is well on the road to perfect or near perfect credit. I will make sure too make deposits on this card monthly so that i build up my secured limit to atleast 1000$. I started it with the min of 300$. thanks again every one. Ill only use this card for my gas trips and then pay it off in full every month like clock work.

I applied for this card a week ago after reading these reviews. The $$ was debited from my account a day later but the application status online still said it was still pending. Today the online status said it was approved yay!!! I can't wait to get the card in the mail, increase the limit and add my husband to it. Like clockwork, I plan to pay the entire balance every month. I spoke the CS and they said 9 months to get it unsecured. Does anyone know what that unsecured limit is? I plan to secure a total of $1000. My card should be in the mail end of next week. Time to fix my credit mess.

It has been over 4 years since I was with BOA and I have realized that they are not going to let me back in their good graces without me reaching out 1st (due to the current economy). So, I decided to use the remaining money of my tax return this year ($800) and go the secured route. Everyone here in the network has said it is one of the easiest and quickest secured cards to get, so I figured I would go with it and see where it takes me. Plus, I didn't use my tax return on something silly (although the flat screen tv would look really nice in my new house, but I can wait for that) lol.

My scores at the time, were EQ-598, TU-615, and EX-604. And I have about 5 CO's left on my CR from 5-6 years ago.....

As some of you know, I've been rebuilding my credit. My scores started around 550. When I first applied for BofA secured card I was turned down.

I then applied for Orchard Bank Secured MC which I still have and recommend (had it for 6 months). I opened a Crown Jewelers card (so easy to get) with a 2500 credit line and a First Premier Centennial Gold (the worst of the bunch with fees) with a 250.00 credit line. I regret opening this last one, but maybe it helped a little. Should I close it down folks (well I'll ask about that it the forum).

My scores have jumped now to 605, 620, and 627 (EX, EQ, TU). So I recently was approved for a GEMoneybank Paypal Buyer Credit account for 400.00 (high interest but no annual fee).

So, I came back to BofA for a second try at their secured card at Colonative's advice (thanks). Bingo....approved. I was getting ready to mail a money order in to try for us bank secured one, but this one is even better in terms of annual fee/interest rate. It is one of the better secured cards so I am very happy...application process was easy and I didn't have to mail anything in...their annual fee is low!.....just gave checking info...online rep. made it go smooth! So, if you are denied try again after reaching about 620. Hooters denied me, but will try them again next year, maybe. Don't know why they are so picky given that they are giving it out to almost everyone else (ugh).

Hope this little review helps folks out. I've got a plan to rebuild and it is working!

Hello everyone, I open this account on 10/08 and received a letter in the mail today stating that they will return my 2k deposit and unsecure my card and add an additonal 500 cli for a total of 2500. Took seven months to unsecure which is cool cause i expected to have it unsecured in a minimum of 9 months. Opened the card with a couple collection accounts and my score on 10/08 was anywhere from 560-580. Now my score is between 630-650. I opened the card with a 500 deposit and made additional deposits to get it to 2k. Used the card heavily and always PIF. I highly recommend this product if you're building or reestablishing credit.

Ok, so after reading previous posts on how great this card is, I finally applied for one and here's where I am so far.

May 5, I applied online with a $300 deposit from my checking account from another bank. Have had that checking account for about 6 months now. I have no credit history.
May 7, Preauthorized Debit BANK OF AMERICA BOA CARD posted on my checking account
May 13, Received email from BOA re: decision; online status said I've been approved (Yay!)
May 20, Got my card in the mail
May 21, Made an additional $300 deposit in their banking center (because my initial $300 limit wouldn't get me anywhere, if I kept my utilization low). The teller told me that they can't transfer the funds electronically, so I would probably have to wait another week for the limit increase to appear on my account.

Well, this card is very easy to get because I have never been employed. I just got out of college. :)

Apart from the fact that the secured deposit does not earn an interest and you can't make additional electronic transfers to the account, this card is great in terms of the low annual fee and how fast it unsecures.

Citi Secured Credit offers more or less the same features, but it unsecures in 18 months.

Definitely go for the BOA Secured Visa.

I recently applied for this card trying to improve my credit scores. I was approved and open the account up with an initial CL of $1500.00. After receiving my card I called CS and increased my security deposit an additional $1000.00 for a total CL of $2500.00. Since then I have moved my account to B0fA and haven't had any problems so far. I will increase my deposit an additional $3500.00. I know this will be a long process in rebuilding my credit; hopefully they will see the dedication and promptness in payment to graduate me to unsecured.

I applied for this card yesterday because I was ready to graduate to a prime card, any way, I filled out my application and wanted to secure the card with $300.00, and hit the submit button, after about 30 seconds is says Congratulations! Your application has been recieved! So I checked my email later in the day to only find out that I had been declined! I called them and wanted to ask some questions about why I was denied and the gentlemen I spoke with was short with me on the phone and said that they would be mailing me a letter with the reasons! Whatever! Oh and by the way they pulled my Experian File, dont know what my score was. Just though I would share this information.

After speaking with a my financial consultant, a mortgage lender, and an online representative from Bank of America, I applied for a Secured VISA. For thirteen months, since purchasing a new 2008 Honda Accord, I have been current on my auto payment, and have been diligent in attempting to rebuild my credit history. There are a few derogatory items on my credit report that I am presently working with a credit advisor on clearing up, mostly medical bills. There is only one line of credit on my credit report. In applying for a Secured VISA card, using money that I clearly have and that Bank of America is free to check into, I attempted to open up another trade-line, at NO RISK to Bank of America. Rather than try and build a good new customer relation, Bank of America thought it would be of more interest to them if they would just decline my application. As a certified high school teacher here in South Carolina, I will be letting many of my friends and colleagues, some of whom may already be Bank of America customers, know of this experience.

Well I’m happy for the reason being that I just applied on 10/20/2009 for the b of a secured card and in order to apply for the b of a secured card we have to go to the branch cause they do not have it online no more well and from their the banker mails the application so it takes one week to get your results so I called to check on the status of my application by phone to the secured card department and to my surprise they told me that i was approved and that they have already deducted my 500.00 from my savings and I do have one charge off from 2003 and as well I have student loan 120 day late payment from 10 months ago by the way i did pray to god because I’m trying to rebuild and i wanted to be approved they also pulled Experian and my score with Experian is 641 so now I have 2 secured card new millennium just open in 9/2009 and as well b of a secured as of 10/2009 and kays for 4,500 should i apply for wells Fargo secured or should I just stay like this.

[Edited by Finance Globe. Changed capitalization.]

I got this card to help give me a boost from 530's to over 600's. Its taking a while because I have collections that are still being paid off. The great payment history I have on this card has helped me secure 4 different loans at my credit union ranging from $700 to $4300.

am new immegrant to the us (6 months) and applied for this card the day i opened an account in bofa but declined so i decided to do it again with walmart store card and sears store card and declined to both, finally i decided to do it again after i went to the bank and talk to one of their emplyees and was so pissed telling her its my money that used to the card and she said lets do it again, checked my online bank account and boom a new account added for platnium plus visa credit card with 0 credit score for all three bureas, didnt recieved the card yet

Applied for card w $300 deposit. Kept calling customer service to check the status. Was approved via phone with a rep. Received my card approx 2 weeks later. Yay! Rebuilding my credit.. glad to have been approved.