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Discover it Secured Credit Card: Credit Builder With Great Cash-Back Rewards

This secured credit card's features rival a traditional, unsecured credit card.

Discover it® Secured Credit Card

8/10 CNET Rating CNET rates credit cards by comparing their offers to those of their categorical competitors. Each card is individually evaluated through a formula which reflects the standards and expectations of the contemporary market. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards
Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Learn More

Discover it® Secured Credit Card

8/10 CNET Rating CNET rates credit cards by comparing their offers to those of their categorical competitors. Each card is individually evaluated through a formula which reflects the standards and expectations of the contemporary market. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards
Intro Offer
Cashback Match™ 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.
Annual fee
$0
APR
28.24% Variable APR
Rewards rate
1% – 2% Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter.; Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
Rewards Rate
2%
Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter.
1%
Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.

At a glance

In exchange for a refundable security deposit, the Discover it®️ Secured Credit Card* could help you build credit with responsible use while earn rewards. It has one of the best welcome offers of any credit card, secured or otherwise. If you need to improve your credit scores, you could do much worse than the Discover it Secured Credit Card.

Our take

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card features the best rewards program of any secured credit card. Coupled with its strong welcome offer and affordable security deposit, it’s easy to see why it’s at the top of our best secured credit card list.

Like other secured credit cards, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is designed for users with no credit history or a poor credit rating. Secured cards let consumers build or rebuild their credit for the cost of a deposit that is proportional to the available credit line (usually equal to it). Most secured credit cards don’t charge annual fees, but they also lack perks like welcome bonuses or rewards back on spending.

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card flips that thinking on its head. Not only does it earn rewards, but it’ll also match what you earn during your first year with the card. It may have a smaller credit limit range, but it offers significant rewards back while letting users boost their credit scores with responsible use. The Discover it® Secured Credit Card can be a gateway to traditional, unsecured cards for first-time credit card users.

Discover periodically reviews cardholder accounts starting at seven months and promotes eligible consumers with good payment histories to unsecured credit cards. Anyone with poor credit or no credit at all, including students and young adults, should consider the Discover it® Secured Credit Card if they’re ready to handle a credit card responsibly.

Pros

  • Build credit with on-time payments

  • Earn one of the best welcome bonuses

  • Earn rewards at gas stations and restaurants

Cons

  • Requires a refundable security deposit

  • Rewards might entice you to overspend

Deposit limits and requirements

Discover has a credit limit range of $200 to $2,500, with a credit limit that is always directly proportional to the deposit amount. While the range is on the low end of the spectrum, it may be a benefit for anyone looking to reduce the temptation of overspending with their credit card. 

Your credit limit is determined by a combination of the credit limit range, your income and your ability to pay, which is determined by running a hard check on your credit. Not all secured card companies look at your credit score, but Discover does. However, the absence of a credit history isn’t a deal-breaker if you have some recorded income and cash for a deposit. A low credit score typically won’t exclude you either, though a lower credit score is likely to reduce your permitted credit limit. If you want to check the likelihood of being accepted without dinging your credit, preapproval is available.

Who should get this card?

The main point of applying for a secured credit card is to help improve your credit. You should pick this card if you:

  • Need to increase your credit score. Your credit score will likely improve so long as you remember to pay your credit card bill on time each month.
  • Have the discipline to budget. Rewards are a useful thing -- however, they might entice you into spending money you can’t afford to pay back.

Who should skip it?

While the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is a useful tool, it might not be a good fit for everyone. You should skip it if:

  • You’re unable to control your spending. This card offers rewards plus one of the best welcome offers around. If you won’t be able to stop yourself from overspending to earn more rewards, choose a secured credit card that doesn’t offer them.
  • You don’t want to put down a security deposit. You’ll need to deposit at least $200 before you can be approved for the card. If that’s out of your budget, consider an unsecured credit card instead. However, you might need better credit scores to be approved for it.

A closer look at the Discover it® Secured Credit Card

Rewards program and welcome bonus

This card’s rewards program is reminiscent of others in Discover’s portfolio. You earn 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants, on up to $1,000 in combined expenditure per quarter, then 1%. You’ll also earn 1% on all other purchases with no limit. But the welcome bonus, the Unlimited Cashback Match™ program, really boosts the value proposition. With this program, Discover will match all your cash back earned at the end of your first year as an account holder. When Discover disburses the match at your first account anniversary, you’ll have effectively doubled all of your earnings. But keep in mind, these rewards are worthwhile only if you’re paying your bill in full every month to avoid interest charges.

Even when compared to a traditional credit card, these are pretty decent rewards rates. The only other secured card on our radar that has a rewards program, the FirstTech Federal Credit Union Platinum Secured Mastercard®*, offers just 1 point (equivalent to $0.01 when redeemed for a statement credit) per dollar spent. 

Building credit with this card

Oftentimes, secured credit cards are meant to get the cardholder started in the right direction with building credit. Many issuers will automatically review your credit limit and deposit requirements at certain checkpoints, and some offer other benefits to help you track and improve your credit.

For the Discover it Secured Credit Card, beginning at seven months of being a cardholder, Discover will automatically review your account standing to determine if you qualify for a promotion to a traditional card, at which point Discover will issue you a refund of your security deposit. As another perk, Discover will populate your statement with your FICO score for free to help you learn how your actions affect your credit.

Comparable cards

Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card is arguably the other best secured credit card on the market. Instead of focusing on rewards, however, this card focuses on ease of access. If you’d rather your credit not be checked, or need to ease into credit-building without the threat of racking up interest, this is hands-down the best choice for you.

There is no credit check with this card -- your credit limit is determined by your deposit amount, period. And there are no minimum or maximum thresholds for your credit limit. There’s no interest** either, because payments come directly out of your deposit each month. To re-up your credit limit, simply add more to your deposit. It functions more like a debit card, but this card still reports to the credit bureaus to help you rebuild.

To apply for Credit Builder, you must have received a single qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more to your Chime Checking Account. The qualifying direct deposit must be from your employer, payroll provider, gig economy payer, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit OR Original Credit Transaction (OCT). Bank ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, verification or trial deposits from financial institutions, peer to peer transfers from services such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo, mobile check deposits, cash loads or deposits, one-time direct deposits, such as tax refunds and other similar transactions, and any deposit to which Chime deems to not be a qualifying direct deposit are not qualifying direct deposits.

The secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted. Please see the back of your card for its issuing bank.

**Out of network ATM withdrawal fees may apply. See here for details.

FirstTech Federal Credit Union Platinum Secured Mastercard®

FirstTech’s Secured Mastercard is another secured credit card that unconventionally offers a rewards program. However, the program is much more basic than that of the Discover it Secured Credit Card, and there is no welcome bonus. You simply earn 1 point per dollar spent on all purchases, with a $0.01 redemption value. Discover clearly has the edge, but this is a worthy alternative if the Discover it Secured Credit Card isn’t the right choice for you. 

There is no balance transfer fee with this card, which would be noteworthy if it wasn’t a secured card. If you have the cash to cover the deposit on the secured card, you’re better off using that to pay off the balance you’re considering transferring.

Discover it® Chrome

If you were to choose a congruent traditional card from Discover’s lineup, it would be the Discover it® Chrome*. It offers the exact same rewards and welcome offer as the Discover it Secured Credit Card, but it also offers an introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months (17.24% to 28.24% variable APR thereafter) in exchange for your minimally “good” credit (typically a FICO score of 670 or above). However, if you have a good credit score, you may want to shop around for other cash-back credit cards depending on your spending habits.

Alternatively, the Discover it® Student Chrome* offers the same rewards and welcome bonus -- though the 0% introductory APR offer is only for six months on purchases (17.99% to 26.99% variable APR thereafter) -- but you do not need to have credit previously established to be approved, and you must be enrolled in a qualifying educational institution.

How Discover it® Secured Credit Card compares to other cards

CNET’S PICK
Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Learn More

Discover it® Secured Credit Card

8/10 CNET Rating CNET rates credit cards by comparing their offers to those of their categorical competitors. Each card is individually evaluated through a formula which reflects the standards and expectations of the contemporary market. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards
Intro Offer
Cashback Match™ 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.
Annual fee
$0
APR
28.24% Variable APR
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Rewards rate
1% – 2% Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter.; Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
First Tech Platinum Secured Mastercard®
Learn More

First Tech Platinum Secured Mastercard®

6.5/10 CNET Rating CNET rates credit cards by comparing their offers to those of their categorical competitors. Each card is individually evaluated through a formula which reflects the standards and expectations of the contemporary market. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards
Intro Offer
No current offer
Annual fee
$0
APR
13.50% to 18.00% (Variable) when you open your account, based on your credit worthiness
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Rewards rate
1x Earn 1 rewards point for every dollar spent on your everyday purchases. There’s no maximum and your points never expire.
Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card
Apply Now

Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card

7.5/10 CNET Rating CNET rates credit cards by comparing their offers to those of their categorical competitors. Each card is individually evaluated through a formula which reflects the standards and expectations of the contemporary market. Credit card issuers have no say or influence in our ratings. How we rate credit cards
Intro Offer
No current offer
Annual fee
None
APR
N/A
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Rewards rate
N/A This card doesn’t offer cash back, miles, or points
Apply Now
On Chime’s secure website

FAQs

This type of credit card usually requires an upfront deposit equal to the credit limit. So, for a card with a credit limit of $500, you’d need to deposit $500. Secured credit cards are still subject to late and rejected payment fees and generate interest on outstanding balances. As such, a secured credit card presents lower risk to card issuers and allows them to extend lines of credit to borrowers who don’t have good credit or meet the minimum credit score threshold.

Credit scores are calculated by looking at a variety of factors related to your personal credit, including length of credit history, payment history, amounts owed, new credit and credit mix. The exact weight of each factor depends on the score model (FICO, VantageScore or other) and your own credit history. If, for example, you have no credit history, the other factors may be weighted more heavily. (Check out this article for more information on credit scores.)

After opening a secured credit card account, it will take around one to two months for the secured credit card issuer to report it to a major credit bureau, at which point it will begin impacting your credit report and your credit score. Then it takes several additional months before the account’s activity is substantial enough to make a difference. If you maintain a low or $0 balance and manage the rest of your finances well, you could raise your score several hundred points in a year or two, but it’ll depend on your particular situation. If you have a longer credit history with a number of issues, it will take longer. If you have a shorter history, each month’s activity will play a much larger role.

Our approach

We review the cards that are in the highest demand and offer the best benefits. We scour the fine print so there aren’t any surprises when you open an account. We find the key factors that make a card stand out and compare them to other top cards. That way, readers can opt for a different card with similar features if our pick isn’t right for them. Our reviews are regularly checked and updated to incorporate new recommendations, as well as to reflect changes in offers and the market. 

*All information about the Discover it Secured Credit Card, FirstTech Federal Credit Union Platinum Secured Mastercard, Discover it Chrome and Discover it Student Chrome has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.

The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.

Jaclyn is a CNET Money editor who relishes the sweet spot between numbers and words. With responsibility for overseeing CNET's credit card coverage, she writes and edits news, reviews and advice. She has experience covering business, personal finance and economics, and previously managed contracts and investments as a real estate agent. Her tech interests include Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company and Neuralink.