Secured Credit Card

Quick answer: A credit card that requires an upfront refundable security deposit, which sets your credit limit.

Secured cards are credit-building tools. The best report to all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) and graduate to unsecured within 6-12 months, refunding the deposit. Capital One Quicksilver Secured is the canon pick; Discover it Secured is a strong alternative but paused new applications as of 2026-06-02 pending a relaunch under new owner Capital One, and as of 2026-08-15 still hasn't reopened (WalletHub, updated 2026-05-28; MoneyAtlas, updated 2026-08-04).