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Discover it® Secured Review: A Standout Secured Credit Card

Review Updated
Lyle Daly
By: Lyle Daly

Our Credit Cards Expert

Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.

Packed with features that are rare among secured credit cards, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is an undisputed leader in this category. With no annual fee, this card is one to check out if you need to build your credit. In the Discover it® Secured Credit Card review below, we'll go over the card's many benefits and discuss other key points to consider before applying.

Ratings Methodology

Discover it® Secured Credit Card

Apply Now for Discover it® Secured Credit Card

On Discover's Secure Website.

Discover it® Secured Credit Card
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00 stars
Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor

Credit Score:
New/Rebuilding Under(579) Circle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.

Apply Now for Discover it® Secured Credit Card

On Discover's Secure Website.

Intro APR

Purchases: n/a

Balance Transfers: 10.99%, 6 months

Regular APR

27.74% Variable APR

Rewards Circle with letter I in it. 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically

1% - 2% Cashback

Annual Fee

$0

Welcome Offer Circle with letter I in it. Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year.

Cashback Match

  • This card is a great place to start when building your credit history. It offers perks rarely found in secured cards, including cash back, no annual fee, and Discover's innovative sign-up bonus.

    • Cash back rewards
    • Great sign-up bonus offer
    • No annual fee
    • Can graduate to an unsecured card
    • Minimum deposit amount
    • No credit score required to apply.
    • No Annual Fee.
    • Use your tax refund to fund your security deposit and start building your credit history. Your credit line will equal your deposit amount, starting at $200. Bank information must be provided when submitting your deposit.
    • Automatic reviews starting at 7 months to see if we can transition you to an unsecured line of credit and return your deposit.
    • Earn 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases – automatically.
    • Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app.
    • Get an alert if we find your Social Security number on any of thousands of Dark Web sites. Activate for free.
    • Click through to Discover’s website to see terms and conditions.
Rates & Fees External Link Icon

Full Discover it® Secured Credit Card review

This credit card is a good fit for: Cardholders with a thin or bad credit history who want to build credit while earning cash back rewards.

Top perks

No annual fee

Many credit cards for bad credit have annual fees that make improving credit more expensive than it needs to be. The Discover it® Secured Credit Card doesn't have an annual fee.

Up to 2% back

It's almost unheard of to get cash back from a secured credit card, but the Discover it® Secured Credit Card offers 2% cash back on the first $1,000 of spending at gas stations and restaurants each quarter. In addition, the card offers 1% cash back on all other spending.

Unlimited Cashback Match sign-up bonus

Sign-up bonuses are another one of those perks that secured credit cards practically never have. But Discover breaks the mold again here and will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. This sign-up bonus is only available during the first year and for new cardholders, but it can be particularly lucrative since the match is unlimited. For example, if you earned $250 back during the sign-up bonus period, Discover will kick in another $250.

FICO® Score for free

Discover provides you with an up-to-date FICO® Score. By having this credit score available, you can monitor your progress in building your credit.

Graduate to an unsecured card

One of the biggest perks of the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is that it can convert into a traditional unsecured Discover credit card. After as few as seven months of on-time payments, you may be eligible to have your security deposit returned, thus turning your secured card into an unsecured credit card.

No foreign transaction fee

Quite a few cards tack on a 3% foreign transaction fee for international purchases, but the Discover it® Secured Credit Card isn't one of them.

Alternatives to consider

  • If you're building credit for the first time: It's possible to qualify for the Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card without any credit history. Since it's an unsecured card, you won't need to pay a security deposit and can save money upfront.
  • If you can't afford a $200 deposit: The security deposit on the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card can be as low as $49. While this card doesn't earn rewards, it also doesn't charge an annual fee and can graduate to an unsecured card.

Read more: Best Secured Credit Cards

As of May. 25, 2023
Image for
Image for
Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00 stars
Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50 stars
Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Apply Now for Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card

On Petal's Secure Website.

Apply Now for Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

On Capital One's Secure Website.

Read Full Review
Read Full Review
Rates & Fees

Credit Rating Requirement:

Fair/New to Credit Under(669) Circle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.

Credit Rating Requirement:

Fair/New to Credit Under(669) Circle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.

Welcome Offer:

—

Welcome Offer:

N/A

Rewards Program:

—

Rewards Program:

N/A

Intro APR:

Purchases: —

Balance Transfers: —

Intro APR:

Purchases: N/A

Balance Transfers: N/A

Regular APR:

17.74% - 31.74% Variable

Regular APR:

29.99% (Variable)

Annual Fee:

—

Annual Fee:

$0

Highlights:

  • No fees whatsoever. No late fee, foreign transaction fee, annual fee, or any-other-kind-of-fee, fee.
  • Variable APRs range from 17.74% - 31.74%
  • Up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments.
  • 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away
  • 2% - 10% cash back at select merchants
  • $300 - $10,000 credit limits
  • No credit score? No problem. If eligible, we'll create your Cash Score instead.
  • See if you're pre-approved within minutes without impacting your credit score.
  • Build credit alongside hundreds of thousands of Petal card members.
  • Petal reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
  • No deposits required
  • Card issued by WebBank

Highlights:

  • No annual or hidden fees. See if you're approved in seconds
  • Building your credit? Using the Capital One Platinum Secured card responsibly could help
  • Put down a refundable security deposit starting at $49 to get a $200 initial credit line
  • You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
  • Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
  • Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
  • Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
  • Get access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with online banking to access your account from your desktop or smartphone, with Capital One's mobile app
Apply Now for Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card

On Petal's Secure Website.

Apply Now for Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

On Capital One's Secure Website.

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What could be improved

High deposit requirement

The minimum required deposit of $200 could be too expensive for some consumers. Even though this is a minor quibble, there are secured cards where you could potentially pay a smaller deposit.

Find the best credit card for your needs

Compare credit card rewards, fees, APRs, and more using our side-by-side comparison tool.

Compare cards

Suggested credit score

Since this is a secured credit card, there's no minimum credit score to get it. You can qualify for this card whether you have no credit history or you have bad credit because of an issue on your credit file.

This credit card is right for you if:

If you have either bad credit or no credit history at all, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is one of the best credit cards you'll find. Most credit cards that target consumers with bad credit don't offer many perks, and some even take advantage of cardholders by charging exorbitant fees.

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is a welcome change from all that. Consumers who need to improve their credit and who can afford the minimum deposit should strongly consider applying.

Read more: Best Unsecured Credit Cards

FAQs

  • Your credit limit for the Discover it® Secured Credit Card will equal the size of your deposit. The minimum deposit is $200. This will mean a $200 credit limit.

    The maximum amount you can deposit will be set by Discover, but it can't exceed $2,500.

  • Your new Discover card should arrive within two weeks of being approved. But the average time from approval to delivery seems to be around seven days.

    You can often get an instant decision when you apply online. In some cases, Discover may require additional information for review. If that happens, it could be several days before you get a decision. This could mean your overall wait time is longer.

  • You can get a larger credit limit for the Discover it® Secured Credit Card by making a larger deposit. The credit limit will equal the size of the deposit, which can range from $200 to $2,500.

Our Credit Cards Expert

Lyle Daly
By: Lyle Daly

Writer

Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.