PREMIER Bankcard® Secured Credit Card Review: A Card for Credit Scores Under 500

Quick Review

The PREMIER Bankcard® Secured is an accessible card aimed at people who have no credit or bad credit. Unfortunately, it’s not a great option unless your choices are limited.

Here’s what you need to know about it:

• It requires a deposit: To get the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured, you have to pay a deposit upfront, which can be as little as $200 or as much as $5,000. Your deposit amount determines how much credit you’ll get.
• It also has fees: Fees are common with cards for bad credit, but the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured is still more expensive than many other cards. When you open your account, on top of the deposit, you’ll pay annual fees of $50, plus fees for additional cards (if you want them).
• It offers credit limit increases: After a year, you may be able to get a credit limit increase without putting down any more deposit money. However, there are hefty fees for this (25% of the amount your limit increases by).

Pros & Cons

Who Is the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured Best For?

The PREMIER Bankcard® Secured is best suited to the following types of borrowers:

• People with limited credit: The PREMIER Bankcard® Secured website says the card is suitable for “people who are new to credit or have no credit” and also suggests that holders of credit scores under 500 may be eligible.
• People with no checking account: You might not have had a chance to open a checking account if you haven’t started working yet (for example). But you can get the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured credit card without a bank account, so there’s no need to worry about sorting one out before you apply for your credit card.

What the Crowd Says

The PREMIER Bankcard® Secured gets decent scores. There’s a mix of positive and negative comments in reviews from experts and cardholders.

Here’s how the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured was rated by a number of different review websites:

What Major Publications Say

The PREMIER Bankcard® Secured gets many positive ratings from experts. However, it’s not immediately obvious which features merit such positive scores, since the reviews don’t mention how exactly this card provides good value for money or other advantages.

The only plus point that many professional reviewers cite a lot is the card’s accessibility.

On the downside, there are lots of comments about how the fees and APR are too expensive (although this opinion isn’t unanimous). Many reviewers think that the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured isn’t one of the best options out there, and some recommend alternatives from issuers like Capital One.

What Cardholders Say

As of January 13, 2023, only one website features cardholder ratings on this particular credit card from First PREMIER Bank. The rating of 3.1 that the card averages on this site is neither particularly good nor bad, and customers’ reviews are mixed; some say that the card is a godsend, while others complain about shoddy customer service and other problems.

Here are some of the things most often said about the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured:

In more detail, most of the complaints are about:

• Expensive fees: People especially complain about the annual fees, the credit limit increase fees, and the fees for replacing lost cards.
• Problems relating to paying off the card: The two problems mentioned are the amount of time it takes for new credit to become available after you make a payment to your account, and First PREMIER Bank potentially making mistakes with payment amounts.
• Cards closed for no good reason: Reviews mention accounts being closed for a single missed payment or even when there were no missed payments at all.

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Rates & Fees

Fees

• Annual fee: $50
• Cash advance transaction fee: $8 or 5% (whichever is greater)
• Foreign transaction fee: 3%
• Late/returned payment fee: Up to $39
• Additional card fee: $29 per year
• Credit limit increase fee: 25% of the credit increase amount

Interest Rates

• Purchase APR: 19.90% (variable)
• Cash advance APR: 19.90% (variable)
• Minimum interest charge: $1

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Rewards

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Credit Limit

The PREMIER Bankcard® Secured credit card gives you a credit limit of $200–$5,000. The amount will depend on the security deposit you pay.

Credit Limit Increases

You can get an unsecured credit limit increase 13 months after opening your PREMIER Bankcard® Secured account if you’ve used your card responsibly and paid your bills on time. You won’t need to put down additional deposit money, but you will have to pay a fee. The fee will be equivalent to 25% of your credit limit increase.

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Benefits

Most Mastercard cards come with at least a few fairly basic benefits. Unfortunately, these aren’t guaranteed with every card, and benefits vary from card to card. However, it’s likely you’ll get some or all of the following:

Free credit scores

One of the unusual benefits that PREMIER Bankcard® Secured customers get is free FICO credit scores on their monthly credit card statements. These are updated quarterly.

Premier Credit Protection

This is an optional program that you can join by paying $0.89 for every $100 you borrow.

Opting for this means that if you pass away, your credit card bill will be paid for you. And if you’re unable to pay your credit card bills for one of the other reasons listed in the program, the monthly minimum payment will be paid for you.

Covered events include:

• You lose your job
• You are hospitalized
• You become disabled
• You need to take unpaid leave from work to look after a family member

Note that there are limitations on how much you can claim and when. Read the program’s terms and conditions carefully to find out more about what coverage you can get.

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How to Get a PREMIER Bankcard® Secured

Credit Score Required

The PREMIER Bankcard® Secured credit card website states that the card is for people who have no credit or are new to credit. It also says that people with credit scores under 500 may be eligible for the card.

First PREMIER Bank cautions that an acceptable credit score doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be approved for their cards. So they’re likely to consider a number of factors—not just your credit score—when they’re deciding whether to approve you for the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured credit card.

As the credit score requirements are minimal for this card, and secured credit cards are low risk for lenders, your approval odds are good. In fact, First PREMIER® Bank says that you can still be approved for the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured even if you have no credit score or prior credit history.

How to Apply

You can apply for a PREMIER Bankcard® Secured credit card on the PREMIER Bankcard website.

As mentioned, you won’t need a checking account to apply, but the process will probably include a credit check.

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Building Credit

Security Deposit

Note that it’s best to pay a larger deposit to get the highest credit limit you can. This is because your credit score depends partly on a metric called your credit utilization rate, which represents the proportion of your available credit you’re using. The lower your credit utilization is, the better it is for your credit score, and a higher credit limit is one way to lower your credit utilization.

Credit Reporting

Credit reporting is an important part of building credit, as your credit report is based on the information your lenders pass on to the credit bureaus. Many lenders report to only one or two of the major credit bureaus, but if you’re trying to build credit, it’s best to get a card that guarantees that it reports to all three.

Tips for Building Credit

You can use cards like the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured for building credit. However, you have to use your card in the right way for your credit score to benefit.

• Pay a higher security deposit: As we mentioned earlier, your credit score depends partly on something called your credit utilization rate, which is based on the proportion of your available credit you’re using. If your credit limit is higher, it’s better for your credit utilization and, in turn, your credit score.
• Keep your spending low: A lower balance helps your credit score in the same way that a higher credit limit does. The less credit you’re using, the better it is for your credit utilization rate, and good credit utilization helps your credit score.
• Keep up with your monthly payments: If you miss payments, you’ll receive late payments on your credit report, and your credit will suffer. On the other hand, timely payments will help your credit.

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FAQs

What bank issues the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured?

The PREMIER Bankcard® Secured is issued by First PREMIER Bank.

Does the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured have a grace period?

Yes, the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured has a fairly long grace period of 27 days.

A credit card grace period is the time from the end of your billing cycle to your payment due date.

If you pay off your balance in full by the due date each month, no interest will be added to purchases on your card during the grace period. However, if you have a remaining balance on your card from previous billing cycles, you’ll pay interest when you use your card during the grace period.

Can I withdraw cash from my PREMIER Bankcard® Secured?

Yes, you can use the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured to withdraw cash. When you do this, it’s called a cash advance. However, there are some limits to how much of your credit you can access in this way.

When you first get your card, you’ll only be able to take out 10% of your credit limit in cash advances (and only as long as you have available credit). After 90 days, this cash advance limit may increase to 50% of your total credit limit.

Note that, to get the 50% cash advance limit, you’ll have to fulfill certain conditions:

1. You must have paid your bills on time for two months in a row.
2. You must have had no payments that bounced in the past 60 days.

Can I use my PREMIER Bankcard® Secured anywhere?

Yes, you can use the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured anywhere that Mastercard is accepted—which is almost anywhere that takes credit cards.

You can also use the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured abroad. But watch out for the 3% fee on each foreign transaction you make.

Does the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured allow balance transfers?

No, the PREMIER Bankcard® Secured doesn’t allow balance transfers (when you transfer debt from one credit card to another).