OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card review: An easily accessible way to rebuild your credit
This card takes a straightforward approach to repairing credit.
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Snapshot
3.1
Bottom line
The OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card is a solid choice for rebuilding your credit. The card has lenient credit requirements, and you may be approved with no credit history. While other secured cards have fewer fees and more significant perks, the OpenSky Visa card is a great place to start rebuilding your credit toward the cards you really want.
Best for low-interest credit-building
Intro offer
N/A
Annual fee
$35
Regular APR
24.64% (variable)
3.8
Cardholder rating
Extra perks
Meets needs
Online tools
Customer service
3.1
Bankrate score
Cost of membership
Ease of building credit
APR
Features
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OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card overview
If you want to build your credit but you have bad credit or no credit history at all, your first step might be looking into secured credit cards. With the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card, you can be eligible for a credit line increase after six months with no additional deposit required.
Its simple application and lack of credit check can make a world of difference if you need a credit card after bankruptcy.
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Rewards
- Earn up to 10 percent cash back through OpenSky Rewards merchant offers
Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- Annual fee: $35
- Regular APR: 24.64% (variable)
- Foreign transaction fee: 3 percent of each transaction
- Cash advance fee: Either $6 or 5 percent of each cash advance, whichever is greater
- Late/returned payment fee: Up to $41
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Credit-building features
- Flexible credit limit
- No credit check to apply
- Reports activity to all three credit bureaus
- Path to upgrade to the OpenSky® Gold Visa® Unsecured Credit Card
- Eligible for credit line increases within six months
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis
OpenSky Secured Visa Card pros and cons
Pros
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All three credit bureaus will receive monthly card updates, which can help boost your credit score when used responsibly.
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Since you can have a credit limit of up to $3,000 with a matching deposit, you can more easily keep your credit utilization ratio low.
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With no credit check required, it’s possible to get this card with no credit history.
Cons
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Unlike many competitor cards, this card charges a $35 annual fee.
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You can't take advantage of any welcome offers.
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You’ll only earn rewards with offers at specific merchants that must be linked to your card in advance.
How to build credit with the OpenSky Secured Visa Card
The OpenSky Secured Visa Card is a valuable tool for people looking to establish or improve their credit history. Here is a short step-by-step overview of how you can effectively build credit with the OpenSky Secured Visa Card:
Take advantage of its flexible credit limit when you first apply: The OpenSky Secured Visa Card offers a flexible credit limit that is determined by the amount of the security deposit that is put down. This can help you properly manage your spending while gradually increasing your credit limit over time as you work to demonstrate responsible credit behavior.
Keep track of your progress along the way: Regularly monitor your credit report to ensure you are on the right path toward building your score. This gives you the chance to adjust or improve any habits that may be hindering your goal toward improving your credit standing.
Try to secure a higher credit limit in six months: The OpenSky Secured Visa Card provides a pathway for you to request credit line increases within the first six months of account opening. By showing good credit management habits, such as making on-time payments and keeping credit utilization low, you can secure a higher credit limit to further boost your credit score.
Upgrade to the OpenSky® Gold Visa® Unsecured Credit Card once you've built your score up: With proper use of the card, you have the opportunity to upgrade to the OpenSky Gold Visa Unsecured Credit Card. This transition to an unsecured credit card can signify improved credit status and could offer additional benefits and perks.
Continue to practice patience and persistence: Building credit takes time, so be patient and consistent in your efforts to improve your credit score. By using the OpenSky Secured Visa Card responsibly and following good financial habits, you can develop a positive credit history over time.
Why you might want the OpenSky Secured Visa Card
The OpenSky Visa card is a decent option if you’re building or rebuilding your credit. It has traditional credit-building features plus you might have the option to upgrade to an unsecured card after six months if you use your card responsibly.
Unsecured card upgrade: Eligibility for unsecured card within six months
One of the most appealing features of the OpenSky Visa Secured card is the potential to upgrade to the OpenSky® Gold Visa® Unsecured Credit Card after six months if you maintain a positive credit history while using the card.
The catch is that you need to be invited to receive this unsecured card, which is exclusively available to OpenSky Secured Visa and OpenSky Plus® Secured Visa® cardholders. However, the card’s website doesn’t provide clear information on the OpenSky Gold Visa's rates and fees, perks or benefits.
Credit limit: High possible limit
Your credit limit is determined by how much you deposit into the account with a maximum deposit of $3,000. The potential for a high credit limit with the OpenSky Secured Visa is a great perk, which offers a maximum credit limit higher than many of the best secured credit cards.
If you deposit less than $3,000 to start, you can increase your limit at any time by adding more money to your OpenSky security deposit. With a $3,000 credit limit, you can more easily set how much you can spend each month to help maintain a low credit utilization ratio.
Credit-building: Solid features
When you open an OpenSky account, the issuer won’t check your credit. Instead, you’ll pay a refundable security deposit between $200 and $3,000 that you get back when you close the account and have paid your balance in full. Your deposit reduces the lender’s risk, which is why it doesn’t need to check your credit and ding your credit score with a hard pull.
OpenSky also reports all of your payments to the three credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. This reporting will help build your credit because your on-time payments with the card show up on your credit report at each bureau. Just remember to avoid any late payments since this can significantly lower your credit score.
Why you might want a different secured card
Though the OpenSky Visa can help you improve your credit score, its drawbacks are tough to ignore, such as a lack of perks and hefty fees.
Signup bonus: No welcome offer
The OpenSky Secured Card doesn’t offer a welcome bonus. Like many secured cards, it focuses on helping you build your credit rather than delivering additional benefits. Once you get your credit built up, you can switch to a credit card that offers a traditional signup bonus.
However, some secured cards offer welcome bonuses. For example, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card offers cash back rewards on purchases and has a one-of-a-kind welcome bonus that will match your spending dollar-for-dollar at the end of your first year.
Cardholder perks: No notable benefits
The OpenSky Secured Card has several benefits for building credit and offers traditional Visa perks, but doesn’t offer anything to make it stand out. You’ll receive standard Visa benefits, including $0 fraud liability, 24/7 pay-per-use roadside dispatch and 24-hour assistance if your card is lost or stolen. In case you’re worried about identity theft, the ID Navigator tools monitor the dark web for your personal information and alert you about any suspicious activity.
Although these features are beneficial to the average credit-builder, they focus mainly on managing your account. Other secured cards, even unsecured cards for limited credit, may offer richer perks than OpenSky’s standard features.
Rates and fees: A pesky annual fee
The $35 annual fee for the OpenSky Secured Card is higher than most secured cards. For example, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card has no annual fee and doesn't charge many extra costs. Meanwhile, the OpenSky Secured Visa has an annual fee and a 3 percent foreign transaction fee.
However, the purchase APR is much lower than most other secured cards at 24.64% (variable) APR, which is only a bit above the current average interest rate. Even better, it’s not a range of APRs, so you’ll know exactly what APR you’ll get when you apply for the card.
The card also features fees that are typical costs for most cards, and they may not affect you if you use your card responsibly.
We tried it: Here’s what our experts say
Bankrate editor Steve Dashiell recommends the OpenSky Secured Card because it has everything you need to help improve your credit score.
Bankrate staff insights
"While I didn’t use a secured card when I needed to rebuild my credit score, I can attest that the OpenSky Secured Visa has all you need to get the job done. If you want to build credit, you really want three things out of your credit card: you want it to report to all three credit bureaus, you want it to have a reasonably large credit limit and you want it to have as few fees as possible.
The Chase Freedom I used to build credit did all of these things, and the OpenSky Visa does nearly all of them just as well. The annual fee on the card is a sore spot, but depending on your credit score and financial history, you might think of it as the small cost of gaining the ability to rebuild credit.
If you qualify for a similar secured card that lacks an annual fee, go for it. But if you’re dedicated to building credit and confident in your finances, this card can be worth the price of admission."
Steve Dashiell, Bankrate credit cards editor
How the OpenSky Secured Card compares to other secured cards
Despite the fact that other cards are less expensive and more rewarding, the OpenSky Visa is a solid, cost-effective option for building credit. But you may find that one of its rival cards is a better match for your needs.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Up to 10% cash back rewards on purchases at over 40,000 retailers.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match - only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
Rewards rate
Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, automatically. Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Is the OpenSky Secured Visa right for me?
The OpenSky Visa Secured Card is a great pick for credit-builders. It could be a solid choice over other secured cards if:
- If you have no credit at all.
- If you specifically need a card for bad credit.
- If you want a reasonable APR.
- If you want to build your score with a simple-to-use card.
- If you want credit-building features to get you on track.
- If you don’t mind paying an annual fee to get an above-average initial credit limit, as you can get a higher initial credit limit than many secured cards (provided you can put down a high deposit) without a credit check.
Alternative picks
If the OpenSky Secured Visa doesn't feel like the best choice for you, you may want to consider a different card — like one with flat-rate cash back on all purchases if you're interested in earning rewards, or one with a lower annual percentage rate if you're interested in saving on interest.
Frequently asked questions
How we rated this card
Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring credit cards for students and people building credit, including each card’s cost, APR, credit-building tools and more.
We analyzed over 50 of the most popular cards designed for students and people with no credit history, bad credit or a fair credit score and scored each based on where its key features stood in relation to others in its category.
Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score:
What cardholders think
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
