"BOA Secured Card Good Or Bad?"
Bank of America Secured Visa® Card Review
Written by: akcredit on 2013-01-10
Overall Satisfaction
Customer Service
Rewards
Account Management
Delivery Time
akcredit's review: 
Hi FG,
Well this is my story with BOA Secured Card. On DEC-2011 I got a $500 BOA Secured card for my wife to build credit. $39 AF with this card and 20.24 APR. I used it for every thing and paid it off every week and keep a low balance 50 or under. It did help her credit within the year as she got Cap one $500 ($750 now), Chase Freedom $500, Macy's $300($1000 now) and Discover 2500. You can upgrade after 12 months for a unsecured card and get your money back.
Well here is my problem with them on Dec-2012 I should upgrade. Well I got sick and I couldn't make it in DEC-2012. So came yesterday and went to the bank and called the credit department. We talked about the card and told them I wanted to upgrade to a Cash Rewards card. They told me Ok we can do that and started the process. I asked if there is an anuual fee they said yes because the card when we applied had it. I said OK Online it said no annual fee, how come I had to pay for it.
They said because the card already had it we cant waive it. They said you can apply for a new card and get a non annual fee. I told them can you back date it where on the credit report says I got from DEC-11, they said no. I said cancel the card its not worth it for me for an annual fee of 39, Chase and Discover don't charge an annual fee for there cards and I get cash back. They canceled the card and said in 10 days I should receive my money. I went and paid it off right away.
To me cash back card are not worth any annual fee. If it was a rewards card like a miles or points card its worth it. I would happily pay 95 for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or 65 for the SPG Amex card they are worth it, Cash back not so much.
Is BOA secured good or bad?
Yes it is good card as I got great prime cards out of it. It does help your credit and they do report to all 3 CRA. There customer service is good and online is good too. But to me its not worth it to keep them for a 39 AF, I would go to Chase or Discover.
Hi FG,Well this is my story with BOA Secured Card. On DEC-2011 I got a $500 BOA Secured card for my wife to build credit. $39 AF with this card and 20.24 APR. I used it for every thing and paid it off every week and keep a low balance 50 or under. It did help her credit within the year as she got Cap one $500 ($750 now), Chase Freedom $500, Macy's $300($1000 now) and Discover 2500. You can upgrade after 12 months for a unsecured card and get your money back.
Well here is my problem with them on Dec-2012 I should upgrade. Well I got sick and I couldn't make it in DEC-2012. So came yesterday and went to the bank and called the credit department. We talked about the card and told them I wanted to upgrade to a Cash Rewards card. They told me Ok we can do that and started the process. I asked if there is an anuual fee they said yes because the card when we applied had it. I said OK Online it said no annual fee, how come I had to pay for it.
They said because the card already had it we cant waive it. They said you can apply for a new card and get a non annual fee. I told them can you back date it where on the credit report says I got from DEC-11, they said no. I said cancel the card its not worth it for me for an annual fee of 39, Chase and Discover don't charge an annual fee for there cards and I get cash back. They canceled the card and said in 10 days I should receive my money. I went and paid it off right away.
To me cash back card are not worth any annual fee. If it was a rewards card like a miles or points card its worth it. I would happily pay 95 for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or 65 for the SPG Amex card they are worth it, Cash back not so much.
Is BOA secured good or bad?
Yes it is good card as I got great prime cards out of it. It does help your credit and they do report to all 3 CRA. There customer service is good and online is good too. But to me its not worth it to keep them for a 39 AF, I would go to Chase or Discover.
3 Comments
Comment 1 by roughdraft
Re: BOA Secured Card Good Or Bad? 
on 2013-01-10
This card used to be really popular before the financial melt down. When all the banks started drying up, BofA secured card became really hard to get. I tried a few times, no luck. If they allowed more people to get it, and did a good job of converting it over to a prime card, then it would be a great choice. Too bad it didn't turn out better. There are some great reviews on here about this card, but like I said, check the dates and some of them are kind of old now.
on 2013-01-10 This card used to be really popular before the financial melt down. When all the banks started drying up, BofA secured card became really hard to get. I tried a few times, no luck. If they allowed more people to get it, and did a good job of converting it over to a prime card, then it would be a great choice. Too bad it didn't turn out better. There are some great reviews on here about this card, but like I said, check the dates and some of them are kind of old now.
Comment 2 by wanderer
Re: BOA Secured Card Good Or Bad? on 2013-01-10
Findings ... had the exact same situation you described. They handled me the same way. Because BOA has lost their edge since the financial meltdown I closed my account which was a BOA Cash Rewards Card as I had better prime cards. Note, my CL was a secured $1,000 and they graduated me with a $500 increase for a total of $1,500 CL unsecured (returned the deposit) and they refused to waive the annual fee or increase the CL. BOA lost their edge and is no longer a big player. Once they sold part of their FIA Credit Card porfolio they evn slid farther. Used to be a big prime player. Won't go back!
on 2013-01-10 Findings ... had the exact same situation you described. They handled me the same way. Because BOA has lost their edge since the financial meltdown I closed my account which was a BOA Cash Rewards Card as I had better prime cards. Note, my CL was a secured $1,000 and they graduated me with a $500 increase for a total of $1,500 CL unsecured (returned the deposit) and they refused to waive the annual fee or increase the CL. BOA lost their edge and is no longer a big player. Once they sold part of their FIA Credit Card porfolio they evn slid farther. Used to be a big prime player. Won't go back!
Comment 3 by akcredit
Re: BOA Secured Card Good Or Bad? on 2013-01-17
Thank you Roughdraft and Wanderer;
I had this card before when I started credit back in 2004. At that time I started with 1000 CL and they gave me 2500 CL after 12 months. then after 9 months they gave me 5000 CL. Because I had good credit I even got a rewards card from them It was a Dodge Visa. The card in the past was a good card.
My problem with them is there policy is not like other banks. Even Chase is better with this scenario. For example; My wife got approved for the Sapphire Preferred card last week. Say after 6-7 months we wanted to downgrade to a regular sapphire card Chase will let you do that with no problem.
To me BOA Secured card is good to get for only a year. And maybe get a different prime card with in the year like Discover or Chase.
on 2013-01-17 Thank you Roughdraft and Wanderer;I had this card before when I started credit back in 2004. At that time I started with 1000 CL and they gave me 2500 CL after 12 months. then after 9 months they gave me 5000 CL. Because I had good credit I even got a rewards card from them It was a Dodge Visa. The card in the past was a good card.
My problem with them is there policy is not like other banks. Even Chase is better with this scenario. For example; My wife got approved for the Sapphire Preferred card last week. Say after 6-7 months we wanted to downgrade to a regular sapphire card Chase will let you do that with no problem.
To me BOA Secured card is good to get for only a year. And maybe get a different prime card with in the year like Discover or Chase.
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Disclaimer: This content is not provided by Bank of America®. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Bank of America®. Review content is powered by Finance Globe.
