UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card Review

Who is the UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card for?

Appropriately nicknamed the 'The Comeback Card', the UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card, issued by the OneUnited Bank, is made especially for those with an extremely poor credit score. This card helps raise credit scores through a secured credit line and comes with OneUnited’s How to Rebuild Credit Program. If you’re looking to improve a poor credit score by maintaining a secured credit card, the UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card may be a great card for you to look into. This aspect of the card can be especially beneficial to students who are starting to build credit, or people who have damaged their credit and are looking for second chances. 

No Initial Bonus or Cash Back

Just like with other credit cards made for those with a poor credit history, the UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card has no rewards rate or welcome offer. This card was made to help those increase their credit score slowly and steadily through timely payments, not indulge in big expenses to reap rewards. It is important to note that since this is a secured credit card, you must first submit a security deposit in order to utilize the card. Security deposits are the norm for secured credit cards, as they allow the credit card issuer to be assured that you are capable of paying your dues in the case that you default on payments. 

Other Benefits

Although this card is quite direct in its target audience, there are a few benefits that might be appealing to general credit card owners. First, OneUnited Bank will report monthly to all three credit bureaus as you utilize this credit card. This makes total sense as this is an official Visa secured credit card, not a prepaid card. Although this is industry standard with most other credit cards, it’s good to know that the UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card, which was designed to help raise low credit scores, also has this feature. When your credit score is reported to all three of the major credit bureaus, your credit score is better known and accessible whenever your credit score is pulled. 

Additionally, no minimum credit score is required to obtain this credit card. This can be very important to hopeful owners who have had no success in credit card applications elsewhere. As long as you are able to make a minimum deposit of $250, there is a great chance of being accepted by OneUnited Bank. The amount that you put in as your security deposit, is generally the amount of credit you receive. 

Annual Fees

Since this card is targeted towards those who have had a poor history of repaying debt, the UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card has an annual fee of $39. However, this is quite minimal compared to the excessive fees other credit cards directed towards poor credit scores. In our opinion, the annual fee associated with this card is definitely worth it if you’re struggling to find a bank willing to offer you a credit card. You can use this card to build a better credit score so that you can in turn get a credit card with more features, rewards, and no fees. 

APR

Similarly, UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card’s APR for purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances is at a normal fixed rate of 17.99%. There is a discounted balance transfer rate for the first 6 months after opening an account of 9.95%. This discount can be extremely useful if you’re looking to transfer your debt to pay it off more easily. Whether that be student and auto loans or other credit card debt, you have the chance to pay lower interest on existing debt.  However, you should not seek to obtain this credit card for its APR as it offers a lower amount of months for which the APR lasts and doesn’t offer 0% APR as other credit cards oriented for this purpose are. With this in mind, seek to only transfer debt over that is small and that you believe you can pay in within the 6 months, as that will ensure that you take full advantage of this offering. 

Conclusion

Overall, the UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card is a great choice among credit cards marketed towards poor credit histories. With a decent annual fee and APR and no penalty APR, this credit card can be a great first step towards rebuilding your credit history. In addition, if you are a student starting out on your credit card journey, this card can offer you a good deal for building your credit from the ground up. 

You can apply for the UNITY Visa Secured Credit Card online here.