Discover It® Secured Credit Card Review of April 2024

Last Update: March 12, 2023 • Credit Card Reviews •

Are you wondering about the benefits of this credit card? Before writing about them, we will list them quickly so that you can immediately see whether Discover it® Secured Card is your cup of tea.

What Should You Know Before Applying for This Card?

It is a credit card, not prepaid or debit.
It requires you to set a $200 refundable deposit.
You will get free Social Security number alerts.
You will earn cash back on each purchase.
There is no annual fee for using the card.
You will get free access to your FICO credit score.

The card is great for rebuilding your credit history and earning cashback rewards. On the other hand, we don’t recommend carrying a month-to-month balance or getting an extended credit limit.

If this card’s features attract you, continue reading the article to find more details about them.

Is Discover it® Secured Card The Right Card for You?

This card offers many benefits to people in need of a good credit card. Let us take a more detailed look at its features to help you make the final decision ‒ to get it or not to get it.

It is a credit card. Don’t treat it as a debit or prepaid card. It is important to know this because if you need to build your credit, this card can be of great help, which is not the case with the other two types of cards. Also, it imposes certain limits on your spending as a credit card, but this is only for your best.
$200 refundable deposit. It offers attractive terms partly because you are required to place a security deposit as a secured card. This amount of money generally serves as your spending limit. However, this card requires a deposit, which is in the lower range among secured cards. You should note that you will be asked to place the deposit when submitting your application for the card. In case you don’t get approved, you will get it back right away.
Free Social Security number alerts. This can really come in handy, considering the level of identity theft nowadays. Discover will monitor your SSN and alert you in case it has been used suspiciously.
Great rewards. This is the best-secured rewards credit card. You will earn 2% cash back on the first $1000 that you spend at restaurants and gas stations, which is almost double the average earning rate for cash rewards. You will also get 1% cash back for all other purchases, which is around the market average.
Fantastic first-year bonus. Now, this feature is what really sets the Discover it® Secured Card apart from the rest. During the first year, all your cashback rewards will be doubled. This is an excellent opportunity to save money by spending it. So, if you get a $100 cash back, Discover will pay you another $100 during this first-year promotion.
No annual fee. Discover it® Secured Card is one of the few secured credit cards with no regular fees ‒ annual, monthly, or one-time. We know that fees are one of the primary factors determining whether you will apply for a card, so this is a big plus.
Free FICO score. This card allows you to view your FICO credit score easily. You can view it free of charge on your monthly statements, mobile device, and online.
Good chances of getting approved. Discover it® Secured Card is great for those with no credit history or who want to rebuild their credit. Either way, if your credit score is lower than 670, you are very likely to get approved. However, there are conditions that you need to meet, like showing that your income can support monthly payments, that you have not recently declared bankruptcy, and that you have a U.S. bank account and a valid Social Security Number.
High APR. This is one of the rare drawbacks of the Discover it® Secured Card. It has a 24.49% variable APR, significantly above the average rate for a secured card. For this reason, you might want to reconsider using it to carry a balance from month to month. And this is not only the case with this card, but with all secured cards because you can practically only spend the money you have prepaid. You will understand that by doing this, you will pay interest on the loan.

Pros and Cons

With each paragraph of this article, you are closer to making your final decision. We want to help you even more by listing the advantages and disadvantages of the Discover it® Secured Card.

Pros:

No annual fee.
Great cashback rewards.
Great first-year dollar-for-dollar match promotion.
High likelihood of getting approved.
Reports to the three major credit bureaus.
Free FICO score.
Free Social Security number alerts.
Good for (re)building credit.

Cons:

High APR.
$200 minimum deposit.

Conclusion

That is pretty much everything you need to know about Discover it® Secured Card. As you can see, it has some amazing features but also some that you will not adore.

Luckily, there are many more positive sides to this secured credit card than negative. You will love the fact that it has no annual fee, as well as the possibility to earn a considerable amount of money through its cashback program, especially during the first year.

On the other hand, you might not like its high interest rate (24.49% variable APR) and the fact that you need to place at least a $200 refundable deposit.

Therefore, make sure you carefully weigh all the pros and cons and decide if this is the right card for you. Our opinion is that Discover it® Secured Card is among the best, if not the best, secured credit cards around, so we definitely recommend it.