BankAmericard Secured Review: All the Features You Need to Build Credit

The BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card is Bank of America's secured card option. Secured cards are a way for people who don't have good credit to get a credit card by paying a security deposit. If you are trying to increase your credit score, the upfront cost can be well worth it, and this card also has some perks that can help you along the way.

But how does the BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card compete with the top secured credit cards? We'll cover what we like and what we don't in this review.

This credit card is a good fit for: Consumers who are new to credit or rebuilding credit and need a quality card that's easy to get.

Top perks

No annual fee

You don't need to pay an annual fee for the BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card. This is one of the most important perks to look for in credit cards for bad credit because you'll be able to keep the card open free of charge and build a long account history.

See more: Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards

Graduates to an unsecured card

Bank of America will review your account periodically to see if you qualify for an unsecured card. If you do, it will refund your security deposit. This is another feature you want to see with a secured credit card.

What's even better is that Bank of America is one of the faster card issuers when it comes to graduating to unsecured cards. While the typical timeframe is about 12 months for those who pay on time and don't use too much of their available credit, some cardholders have reported getting their deposits back in six months or less.

Flexible credit limit

This card offers credit limits between $200 and $5,000, and your credit limit is equal to your security deposit. That range of credit limits allows you to choose what works best for you. You could go with a $200 deposit to keep your initial costs down or pick a higher limit so you don't need to worry about maxing out your card or having a high credit utilization ratio.

Learn more: How to Increase Your Credit Score

Reports activity to all three credit bureaus

Bank of America reports payments and any other card activity to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you use your card correctly, then your credit score will increase with all three bureaus, which will eventually help you qualify for the best credit cards.

Free FICO® Score tracking

As a Bank of America cardholder, you can view your FICO® Score from TransUnion in your online account and the bank's mobile app. FICO is the most widely used credit scoring system, so this score provides an accurate gauge of how good your credit is.

This score is updated monthly. Every consumer benefits from knowing and understanding their credit score, but it's especially useful if you're trying to improve your credit because you can track your progress.

Read more: Best Secured Credit Cards

What could be improved

Foreign transaction fee

The BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card charges a 3% fee for foreign transactions, which includes transactions made in a foreign currency and transactions made or processed outside the United States. To avoid unnecessary fees, you'll need another payment method when traveling outside the country.

You don't need to meet any specific credit score requirements to get the BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card. Since this is a secured card, it's available to consumers with poor or limited credit histories. There are reports of applicants getting the card even with credit scores of 500 or less.

That doesn’t mean approval is guaranteed, though. Bank of America will evaluate your credit history and your current financial situation to decide whether to approve your application and how high to set your maximum credit limit. If you provide a security deposit in excess of what Bank of America calculates you can repay, then it will give you a lower credit limit and refund the difference.

You can review more card options on our list of the best starter credit cards for no credit.

• You're either trying to build credit for the first time or rebuild credit due to issues on your credit file.
• You want a card with no annual fee and free credit score tracking.
• You want the opportunity to graduate to an unsecured card.

Read more: Best Bank of America Credit Cards

Our credit card methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.