Newcomer secured cards: no U.S. credit history?

Trade-off / confirm: $200–$5,000 deposit is held as collateral and does not replace monthly payments. Customized Cash Rewards Secured requires credit approval and a $200–$5,000 security deposit. The credit limit also depends on income and ability to repay. A deposit does not guarantee approval or a future upgrade. The issuer’s general online application FAQ requests an SSN and gross annual income; an ITIN or alternative-document route has not been confirmed for this specific card. Confirm the identity, residence and visa documents applicable to your application before applying. Collateral is held separately from monthly card payments. The current offer permits residential addresses in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., APO/FPO/DPO, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and U.S. Virgin Islands. Minimum age is 18, except Puerto Rico permanent residents must be at least 21. No excluded U.S. state was identified. Overseas civilian addresses outside the specified locations are not listed as eligible. Military and territory routes are not fully represented by the questionnaire; confirm those routes directly. No additional visa-category restriction was established. North Carolina governing law is not a North Carolina residency restriction. Source: https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/terms-and-conditions/?campaignid=4079151&productoffercode=6S&locale=en_US

Trade-off / confirm: $200–$5,000 deposit is held as collateral and does not replace monthly payments. Travel Rewards Secured requires credit approval and a $200–$5,000 security deposit. The credit limit also depends on income and ability to repay. A deposit does not guarantee approval or a future upgrade. The issuer’s general online application FAQ requests an SSN and gross annual income; an ITIN or alternative-document route has not been confirmed for this specific card. Confirm the identity, residence and visa documents applicable to your application before applying. Collateral is held separately from monthly card payments. The reviewed offer permits residential addresses in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., APO/FPO/DPO, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and U.S. Virgin Islands. Minimum age is 18, except permanent residents of Puerto Rico must be at least 21. No excluded U.S. state was identified. Overseas civilian addresses outside these eligible locations are not listed. The questionnaire does not fully represent territory or military-address routes; confirm directly with the issuer. No additional visa-category restriction was established. Source: https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/terms-and-conditions/?campaignid=4079337&locale=en_US&productoffercode=5S

Trade-off / confirm: $200–$5,000 deposit is held as collateral and does not replace monthly payments. Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured requires credit approval and a $200–$5,000 security deposit. The credit limit also depends on income and ability to repay. A deposit does not guarantee approval or a future upgrade. The issuer’s general online application FAQ requests an SSN and gross annual income; an ITIN or alternative-document route has not been confirmed for this specific card. Confirm the identity, residence and visa documents applicable to your application before applying. Collateral is held separately from monthly card payments. Current offer expressly permits residential addresses in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., APO/FPO/DPO, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and U.S. Virgin Islands. Applicants must be 18 or older, except permanent residents of Puerto Rico must be at least 21. No excluded U.S. state was identified. Overseas civilian addresses outside these locations are not listed as eligible. The questionnaire does not fully represent military-address exceptions or territory eligibility; confirm those routes directly with the issuer. Immigration/visa restrictions beyond the disclosed identification and underwriting requirements were not established. Source: https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/terms-and-conditions/?campaignid=4081896&productoffercode=9J&locale=en_US

Trade-off / confirm: Complete the required deposit within 35 days of approval; the $49 minimum is not guaranteed. Primary applicants must be age 18+ and provide a physical U.S. address, identity details, income and bank-account information. Capital One supports SSN or ITIN in its pre-approval/application route, so SSN is Conditional; a pending SSN application alone is not a confirmed substitute. Under-21 applicants face additional ability-to-pay requirements. The product page says a credit score is not required to apply, but approval still depends on income, existing debt, identity and issuer assessment. No specific visa category is established in the reviewed disclosures; immigration-category eligibility remains unconfirmed. Pre-approval is a soft inquiry; proceeding with the application is a hard inquiry. The issuer assigns a minimum refundable deposit of $49, $99 or $200 based on creditworthiness, for an initial credit line of at least $200; $49 is not guaranteed. Fund it in USD from a U.S. deposit account by electronic funds transfer within 35 days of approval. Each installment must be at least $20 in whole-dollar increments. Cash, checks and other money-transfer methods are not accepted for the security deposit. Additional deposit before activation and within the funding window can increase the initial credit line up to $1,000; this credit-line ceiling does not establish a universal maximum collateral amount. The live product page advertises 29.24% variable purchase APR as checked 2026-10-10; the linked June 30, 2026 general secured-card agreement lists historical 28.99%. Confirm the personalized offer. Sources: https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/platinum-secured/ ; https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/money-management/capital-one-preapproval/ ; https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/faq/ ; https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/money-management/how-to-apply-for-a-credit-card/ ; linked official secured-card agreement. No product-specific exclusion of any of the 50 U.S. states was established by the reviewed official disclosures. A physical U.S. address is required for the U.S. application route. Confirm territory and overseas/military address eligibility with Capital One. Virginia governing law does not limit eligibility to Virginia. The agreement treats permanently residing outside the U.S. as an account-default event; this does not establish a citizenship or green-card requirement.

Trade-off / confirm: $200 minimum refundable deposit; your approved maximum credit line varies from $1,000 to $3,000. Applicants must be age 18+ and provide a physical U.S. address, identity details, income and bank-account information. Capital One supports SSN or ITIN in its pre-approval/application route; a pending SSN application alone is not a confirmed substitute. SSN requirement is Conditional because an ITIN route is supported. Under-21 applicants face additional ability-to-pay requirements. Approval depends on identity verification, income, debt and credit assessment; no specific visa category or minimum score is established by the cited product page. A full application involves a hard credit inquiry; the preliminary eligibility check is soft. The $200 minimum security deposit must be funded in USD from a U.S. deposit account. Capital One allows 35 days after approval to fund the minimum, all at once or in installments of at least $20. Deposit more before activation to raise the initial credit line, subject to the individually assigned maximum of $1,000-$3,000; the $3,000 field is an upper ceiling, not a guaranteed deposit allowance for every applicant. The live product page advertises 29.24% variable purchase APR as checked 2026-10-10; the linked June 30, 2026 general secured-card agreement lists 28.99% and is historical rather than a current personalized offer. Confirm final terms before applying. Sources: https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/quicksilver-secured/ ; https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/money-management/capital-one-preapproval/ ; https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/faq/ ; https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/money-management/secured-card-deposits/ ; https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/money-management/how-to-apply-for-a-credit-card/ ; linked official secured-card agreement. No product-specific exclusion of any of the 50 U.S. states was established by the cited disclosures. A physical U.S. address is required for the U.S. application route. Eligibility for territories or an overseas/military address should be confirmed with Capital One. Virginia governing law in the agreement does not limit availability to Virginia. Exact immigration-category eligibility remains unconfirmed.

Trade-off / confirm: Requires Chime Checking and a funded secured deposit account. Requires Chime Checking eligibility, approval and an account in good standing. Age 18+, SSN, U.S. address and legal-residency identity requirements apply. Existing members may need an upgrade offer.

Trade-off / confirm: Choose a $200–$2,500 deposit in $100 increments; deposit and credit limit are equal. Credit approval includes income, existing debts and available credit information. After online approval, provide bank-account information within 14 days to fund the deposit by electronic transfer. Bank verification may be required. Confirm identity and address eligibility on the application.

Trade-off / confirm: An SSN is required for the underlying Current account. A Current Individual Account is required and the card needs separate approval. Current requires a U.S. SSN to open the account. The full card balance is due each billing cycle; available spending depends on money in the account. Reviewed 2026-10-12. Official source: https://support.current.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408091342491-Do-I-need-a-Social-Security-number-to-sign-up-for-Current

Trade-off / confirm: Credit union membership and approval are required Membership and credit approval requirements apply. DCU and First Tech now operate as divisions of First Technology Federal Credit Union. Confirm collateral, SSN/ITIN acceptance and eligibility directly with DCU. Reviewed 2026-10-12. Official source: https://www.dcu.org/borrow/credit-cards/visa-platinum-secured-credit-card.html

Trade-off / confirm: Deposit is assigned at $49, $99 or $200; $49 is not guaranteed. Approval is required; no credit score is required to apply, but available scores may be used. Fund the assigned deposit by electronic bank transfer within 35 days. Installments must be at least $20 in whole dollars. Confirm current SSN/ITIN and newcomer document eligibility on the application; the current product page does not establish these requirements. Current application terms accept addresses in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and U.S. military locations. Correctional-institution addresses are excluded. Other territories and foreign residential addresses are not listed as eligible; identity and underwriting requirements still apply.

Trade-off / confirm: Confirm the required deposit and newcomer identity documents before applying. Membership, credit approval and a refundable security deposit are required. Confirm deposit amount and acceptable newcomer documents with First Tech.

Trade-off / confirm: Requires U.S. citizenship or permanent residence; temporary visa holders do not meet this stated requirement. The current Plus-specific Important Disclosures (tc-sky1p-019.pdf, accurate as of 10/28/2026), linked from the live Plus page and the current Secured Plus application page, are used here. The current application uses a U.S. street address and a U.S. mobile number and states U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent residence; it accepts SSN or ITIN as the identification number. Earlier generic OpenSky cardholder-agreement text that accepted any government ID and permanent foreign address is not used for this Plus application because it conflicts with the current Plus application. Any 2023 non-Plus-specific article language about temporary visa holders is not used. MoneyLion application routing was excluded because the application presents RoarMoney terms rather than the Capital Bank OpenSky terms. No state exclusion was identified in the current Plus-specific application disclosures or cardholder agreement. U.S. citizenship or permanent residence and an address are required. State notices in the disclosures establish rights and obligations rather than excluded states. Confirm availability for U.S. territories directly with the issuer; nationwide/territory acceptance is not guaranteed by this record.

Trade-off / confirm: $29 annual fee and 3% foreign transaction fee. Credit approval and an individual TD collateral savings account are required. Fund collateral within 45 calendar days of approval; the deposit sets the credit limit and cannot be withdrawn while securing the card. Online and in-person applications are available. Confirm acceptable identity and residency documents with TD.

Trade-off / confirm: $300–$5,000 approved deposit sets the credit limit; monthly bills still need repayment. Available to U.S. residents; the secured-card rewards program requires age 18 or older. Approval, state-specific legal capacity and any additional underwriting criteria must be confirmed with the issuer. No numerical credit-score threshold is published on the reviewed product page. U.S. Bank secured-card instructions request a physical street address, SSN, date of birth, contact details, housing payment, annual income and income source. The citizenship question permits Yes or No; no particular visa category is guaranteed approval. SSN is Conditional because the published online process requests an SSN, while U.S. Bank separately confirms existing secured ITIN accounts may continue. New Altitude Go ITIN application acceptance was not verified; a pending SSN was not confirmed sufficient. Upgrade to an unsecured card requires an SSN. CreditCheck is Hard based on U.S. Bank’s published guidance about full credit-card applications; pre-approval may differ. Electronic deposit funding requires a U.S.-opened checking or savings account. Alternatively, mail a signed application and cashier’s check/money order. A denied application receives a full deposit refund. An existing U.S. Bank relationship is not required. The official terms link matches the current product page, but the pricing document did not expose readable text. Current APR, foreign-transaction percentage and other card charges remain unconfirmed. Sources: https://www.usbank.com/customer-service/knowledge-base/KB0319552.html ; https://www.usbank.com/customer-service/knowledge-base/KB0238161.html ; https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/credit-card-insider/credit-card-basics/does-applying-credit-card-hurt-credit.html ; https://rewards.usbank.com/benefits/card/AltitudeGoSecBenefits/program-rules U.S. residents only. No individual state exclusions were identified in the reviewed product and secured-application pages; state-specific eligibility and legal capacity were not independently confirmed.

Trade-off / confirm: $300–$5,000 approved refundable deposit sets the credit limit. Available to U.S. residents. Secured-card application instructions request a physical street address, date of birth, SSN, contact details, housing payment, annual income and income source; the citizenship question permits Yes or No. No particular immigration category is guaranteed approval. SSN: the published online application instructions require an SSN. U.S. Bank separately confirms existing ITIN holders may retain secured accounts, but this does not establish ITIN acceptance for new Cash+ applications. Confirm the application channel with the issuer; a pending SSN is not confirmed as sufficient. An SSN is required to upgrade a secured account to an unsecured card. CreditCheck is recorded as Hard based on U.S. Bank’s published explanation of credit-card applications; pre-approval checks may differ. Approval remains subject to underwriting. Deposit funding: a U.S.-opened checking/savings account, or a mailed signed application with cashier’s check/money order. A denied application receives a deposit refund. No existing U.S. Bank relationship is required. Current card APR, foreign-transaction fee and other pricing could not be verified from the restricted application terms. No numerical credit-score threshold or product-specific age requirement was verified. U.S. residents only. No individual state exclusions were identified in the reviewed public product and secured-application pages; state-specific eligibility was not independently confirmed.

Trade-off / confirm: Requires a funded Varo account, $200+ incoming deposits over the past 31 days and no overdue Varo Advance. Requires a Varo Bank Account with funds, no overdue Varo Advance and at least $200 incoming deposits over the past 31 days into Varo Bank and/or Savings. Underlying account identity and residency requirements still apply. Funds transferred to the secured account set available spending; this is not an unsecured loan.