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- Primor Visa Gold Secured Card Review
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Offer status
This credit card is no longer available in the market. Please see our best credit cards list for alternatives to consider.
Green Dot may be most well-known for its prepaid debit cards, but it also offers credit cards for bad credit -- like the Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot. You can get this card no matter what type of credit history you have. Since it's a secured credit card, you need to pay a security deposit to open it. Most consumers will have no trouble getting approved, but is it a good option to improve your credit? We'll share the good and the bad in this Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot review.
Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot
Rating image, 4.0 out of 5 stars.
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.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.
Bottom Line
The annual fee is justifiable for cardholders wanting to secure among the lowest APRs you'll find in this category.
Annual Fee
$49. $29 Additional Card Fee
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Ongoing APR
9.99%
Welcome Bonus
N/A
Highlights
- Credit lines available from $200-$5,000
- Your credit limit matches your deposit
- No minimum credit score required
- Low fixed 9.99% APR rate on purchases
- No processing or application fees
Full Primor Visa Gold Secured Card review
This credit card is a good fit for: Consumers who are rebuilding bad credit and haven't been able to get approved for any cards that don't charge an annual fee.
Pros
- No minimum requirements
- Flexible credit limit
- Reports to all three credit bureaus
- Low interest rate
Cons
- Annual fee
- Can't graduate to an unsecured card
Top perks
No minimum requirements: This card doesn't have any minimum approval requirements. Whether you have bad credit due to issues on your credit file, or no credit history at all, you should not be denied because of your credit. Officially, Green Dot says that approval is contingent on verification of your identity and address and successful funding of the card's security deposit.
While there's no guarantee of approval, you don't need to worry about poor credit being a roadblock.
Flexible credit limits: Your credit limit will be equal to your security deposit, and you can choose to deposit between $200 and $5,000. This flexibility is nice because it allows you to either put down more for a higher credit limit or pay a smaller amount if you don't have much saved. A higher limit can help raise your credit score by keeping your credit utilization ratio low.
Reports to all three credit bureaus: Green Dot reports your activity with this card, including your balance each month and your payment history, to the three national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). That's a feature you need in a credit-builder card, because it's important to improve your credit with each of those bureaus.
Low fixed APR: The Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot has one of the lowest APRs you'll find on any credit card. It also offers a fixed rate instead of the variable rates most credit cards offer, so your APR can't change without advance notice from the card issuer.
What could be improved
$49 annual fee: A glaring issue with this card is its $49 annual fee, which will be charged to the credit card when you open it. If you pay a $200 security deposit, your $200 in available credit will immediately drop to $151. That would also put your credit utilization at 24.5% before you've even used your card.
Considering you already need to pay a security deposit to get the card, an annual fee is somewhat excessive, but also somewhat justified for the APR that's among the lowest flat rates you'll find in the bad credit category. For people with good credit, it may be preferable to use a no-annual-fee card, because that way you can keep your card open without having to pay for it every year.
Graduation to an unsecured card: Some secured credit cards offer the opportunity to "graduate." That means after making enough on-time payments, the card issuer refunds your security deposit and changes your secured card to an unsecured card.
With the Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot, graduation isn't an option. You probably won't want Green Dot holding on to your deposit forever, but you'll need to cancel the card to get your money back.
Suggested credit score
The Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot is available for consumers with any type of credit and credit score. You can get it if you're credit invisible, meaning you don't have enough activity on your credit file to have a credit score yet. You can also get it if you've had some issues, such as missed payments or even a bankruptcy, that have resulted in a bad credit score.
Alternatives to consider
- If you want to earn rewards: The Discover it® Secured Credit Card gives you 2% cash back on up to $1,000 worth of purchases each quarter at gas stations and restaurants. Plus, it won't charge you an annual fee.
- If you want to work towards a higher credit limit over time: The Capital One® Secured Mastercard® is another card that won't charge an annual fee. You'll need to make a security deposit of $49, $99, or $200, depending on your credit, in order to get a credit line of at least $200. After that, you could also get an automatic credit line increase in as little as six months.
As of Jan. 05, 2021
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| Discover it® Secured Credit Card |
Capital One® Secured Mastercard® |
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Rating image, 5.0 out of 5 stars.
5.0 stars
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.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. |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5 stars
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.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. |
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Apply Now
On Discover's Secure Website. |
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| Read Full Review | |
| Rates & Fees | |
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Credit Rating Requirement: |
Credit Rating Requirement: |
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Welcome Bonus: Double cash back within 1 year |
Welcome Bonus: N/A |
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Rewards Program: Cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. |
Rewards Program: N/A |
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Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: 10.99%, 6 months |
Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
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Regular APR: 22.99% Variable APR |
Regular APR: 26.99%, variable |
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Annual Fee: $0 |
Annual Fee: $0 |
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Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Apply Now
On Discover's Secure Website. |
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Capital One® Secured Mastercard® is temporarily unavailable on The Ascent. All information was collected independently from the issuer. Some items may be out of date.
This credit card is right for you if:
The Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot is an option to consider if you need to rebuild bad credit because of negative items on your credit history.
The fact that almost anyone can get this card is a big plus for consumers with bad credit scores. Better yet, the low APR is a rare find, even in cards for people with good credit.
Unfortunately, it falls short in that it charges an annual fee and it never provides a way to move up to an unsecured card so you can get your deposit back. Applicants will want to wight those downsides with the low APR, which rivals or beats what you'd get with a personal loan.
It's best to start by looking at secured credit cards with no annual fee that can graduate to unsecured cards. If you can't qualify for one of those, then try the Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot.
About the Author
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.
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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team. The Motley Fool has a Disclosure Policy. The Author and/or The Motley Fool may have an interest in companies mentioned.
The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Visa.
