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Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. SHARE: damircudic/Getty Images February 15, 2022 Checkmark Bankrate logo How is this page expert verified? At Bankrate, we take the accuracy of our content seriously. "Expert verified" means that our Financial Review Board thoroughly evaluated the article for accuracy and clarity. The Review Board comprises a panel of financial experts whose objective is to ensure that our content is always objective and balanced. Their reviews hold us accountable for publishing high-quality and trustworthy content. As a staff writer for Bankrate and CreditCards.com, Sarah offers sound advice that will improve your financial life and help simplify topics like travel hacking and credit card rewards. Courtney Mihocik is an editor at Bankrate Credit Cards and CreditCards.com specializing in credit card news and personal finance advice. Previously, she led insurance content at Reviews.com and worked as the loans editor at The Simple Dollar. Cathleen's stories on design, travel and business have appeared in dozens of publications including the Washington Post, Town & Country, Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Fodor’s Travel, Departures and The Writer. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. 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 any card issuer. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Poor credit or a short credit history can make it difficult to get the kind of credit card you want. All hope is not lost, though. You can work your way up to a credit card with the kinds of rewards and perks you want by building your credit with a . A lower credit score typically signals to card issuers that issuing you a card may be risky for them. To mitigate this risk, they require security deposits. Once you’ve raised your credit score, it’ll be time to move on from a secured credit card and get your secured card deposit back. Do I get my deposit back from a secured credit card
You will get your secured credit card deposit back after the account is closed. Once you’ve increased your credit score with your secured card, you can simply close the secured card account—but you need to understand the risks first. will increase your and may temporarily lower your credit score. If you prefer to avoid that, consider having your secured credit card upgraded to an unsecured credit card with your card issuer. You will still get your security deposit back since the original account will be closed. When do you get your secured credit card deposit back
When the time comes for you to close your secured credit card account or , the issuer will return your secured credit card deposit. The funds from your deposit typically are returned in the form of a check, a statement credit or funds issued directly into your bank account. How your funds are returned, and the time it takes to get them back depends on the issuer. For example, with the , security deposits are returned as a statement credit within two billing cycles once your credit card is upgraded to an unsecured card. Other secured credit cards like the take up to 30 days to return your security deposit in the form of a check. How to get your secured credit card deposit refunded
Once you’re ready to upgrade to an unsecured credit card or close your secured credit card account, starting the process is simple. Reach out to your secured credit card issuer and follow these steps: Contact your credit card issuer. Reach out to your credit card issuer and find out what your options are for your secured credit card account. If there are account to an unsecured one with your issuer, work with them to find out what your next steps would be. If not, start to shop around for a new unsecured credit card. Submit your information to your card issuer. No matter what options your credit card company offers, when you close your secured credit card account, you’ll get your deposit back. To do this, you’ll need to submit your information to the secured card issuer so they can issue a refund directly to your bank account, send you a check or issue a statement credit to your new unsecured credit card. Shop around. If your secured credit card issuer doesn’t offer any unsecured options that suit your needs, start your search for a new unsecured credit card. Get your deposit back. Once your account is closed, and your issuer is sure there aren’t any other charges that will be posted to your account, your deposit will be returned to you. This process usually takes 30 to 90 days, but varies by issuer. If you haven’t heard from your issuer within this time frame, reach out to find out the status of your deposit. When to upgrade to an unsecured credit card
A secured credit card is a great way to help you reach your credit goals. To hit your credit score goals, you should keep your secured credit card for about a year. During this time, stay diligent about paying your credit card bills on time, completely paying off your card balance and keeping your . Once you’ve hit those goals and , it may be time to upgrade to an unsecured credit card. Whether or not you can upgrade your secured credit card directly to an unsecured credit card depends on what credit cards the issuer offers. If your goal is to upgrade your secured card to an unsecured card directly with your credit card issuer, look into cards like the . This card has a minimum deposit of $200, you’ll earn 2 percent cash back on gas stations and restaurants up to $1,000 in combined spending per quarter (1 percent thereafter) and you can upgrade it to the . The bottom line
There is a lot of misinformation floating around about secured credit cards, including what happens to your deposit after you’ve moved on from a secured credit card account. The truth is that secured credit cards are a great way to help consumers build credit, and as long as your account is in good standing, you’ll get your secured credit card security deposit back when you’ve closed the secured credit card or upgraded to one of your issuer’s unsecured credit cards. SHARE: As a staff writer for Bankrate and CreditCards.com, Sarah offers sound advice that will improve your financial life and help simplify topics like travel hacking and credit card rewards. Courtney Mihocik is an editor at Bankrate Credit Cards and CreditCards.com specializing in credit card news and personal finance advice. Previously, she led insurance content at Reviews.com and worked as the loans editor at The Simple Dollar. Cathleen's stories on design, travel and business have appeared in dozens of publications including the Washington Post, Town & Country, Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Fodor’s Travel, Departures and The Writer. Related Articles