Update: We’re republishing this as a lot more people are reporting their secured card unsecuring.
In case you didn’t know, Discover offers a secured card called the Discover it secured card. This is probably the best secured card on the market for a few reasons:
- No annual fee
- Has a good rewards program (1% cash back on all purchases and 5% cash back in rotating categories)
- Free FICO Score
One thing we weren’t sure about was whether this card would unsecure to the regular Discover it card, or if cardholders would need to do a separate application. This is important because if a secured card does not graduate then cardholders would need to cancel the card to get their security deposit back (harming their average age of accounts in the long run and causing another hard credit pull). User oilcan12 from the myFICO forums recently had their secured card graduate to the regular Discover it card. Here are the key details:
- Credit limit remained the same
- Discover did a soft pull on their TransUnion credit report one day before their one year card anniversary
- Account age and history stayed the same
[Read:Â Increase Your Chances Of Receiving The Discover it Secured Card]
It’ll be interesting to see if all cards (with no negative history) graduate, or only select card holders. All in all this is another big positive for Discover’s secured product. Unfortunately it’s not possible to apply for this card directly, you have to apply for the regular Discover it card and if you’re denied you might be offered the secured card. Hopefully Discover plans to allow consumers to apply for this card directly in the future, as this should provide increased competition in the sub-prime credit card market.
Update: Another reader has reported being unsecured, their experiences followed by the letter they received below:
Discover secured card, returned deposit automatically (no request) 20 days before anniversary. I called to request on 25th Phone Rep said there was not even any indication this used to be a secured card. So I checked my mail and here it is.
You can read more about secured credit cards here, or view our best secured cards here.
OK EVERYONE I STARTED WITH THE CARD 10 MONTHS AGO SECURITY DEPOSIT OF 200 AND KEPT PAYING AND MAXING OUT RECENTLY I PAID THE CARD AND DIDN’T USE IT FOR 2 MONTHS I GOT A EMAIL SAYING MY ACCOUNT IS NOW REGULAR AND THEY UPPED MY LIMIT FROM 200 TO 1000 AND A EMAIL SAYING I SHOULD GET MY SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK IN A CHECK WITH IN 5 TO 10 DAYS
Hi Everyone, After i read some of your comments here I wanted share my experience with DIscover It Secured credit card with you and hope that helps and answers some of your questions. I have been denied for regular discover it card due to no history and it suggested me to apply to a secured one and that is why i have applied this card since it is one of the best unsecured credit cards over there and it was implying that my secured credit card would graduate to an unsecured one after 6 months of responsible use. My wife also got a secured credit card from Capital One and why i am mentioning that is to compare her progress with mine. I have started with $750 limit and i chose this limit when it asked me how much would i want. And after couple weeks i learned that this card can go up to $2500 limit if i can put that much deposit and it was saying this amount will be returned to me after it graduates to an unsecured one. And i did deposited $2500 to raise my limit as much as possible to help balance utilization and higher credit limit also boosts my credit score. And i have used my credit card for 6-7 months. I usually kept my balance at below 10% and paid the entire balance right away before the due dates. After 6-7 months i have received an email then a letter saying that my credit card has been graduated to an unsecured one with the same limit and they have also returned my $2500 deposit back in 3-4 business days. Now i have requested another credit increase after my credit card graduated and i have been denied. When i called and asked the reason they told me they need some more history with my unsecured card. Oh and i also wanted to mention that i have switched my card benefits to regular Discover it one with 5% rotating category after i learned that is possible at any time meaning you don’t need to wait your card to graduate for that feature. So now i will use it some more and request a credit increase. And before i got this card my wife got a Capital One Platinum secured credit card and she has no graduation option and they don’t increase her limit also her card has almost no good benefits. Compared to her card discover credit card is much better choice. For the people who is new to credit history and credit score i would like to say at the moment my credit score on Discover FICO credit score feature is 786 which is 6-7 months history on this card. And i have credit history for 7-8 months in total. I have two credit cards and i am an authorized user for another credit card. I have also a car loan on my name which i think i was not supposed to get… Read more »
A couple months after I turned 18 I tried applying for the Chase freedom and was declined. I then tried applying for the regular discover it card and was declined. I was hoping to get lucky and be approved with absolutely NO credit history but of course I wasn’t. I then applied for the Discover secured card and was approved and I then loaded it with $300. I had the card 6 months and they graduated me and gave me a $2500 limit. After the sixth statement I received my first credit score of 750 and that’s when I got the letter in the mail. Couple days later my credit limit jumped to the 2500. I used the card and sometimes even maxed it out but I ALWAYS paid the card off and left a $3 balance to rollover on the statement effectively giving me a 1% utilization rate. I love the card and the customer service. They congratulated me on several different occasions when I called them which just put the cherry on top.
I may as well add in my input. I applied for a regular discover card in October of 2015. I was obviously denied since I had never had a credit card. I got accepted for a secured card and added 800 as my limit. Now that it’s been 15 months, I still haven’t had my account graduated. Turns out my credit was on some type of suspension (without my knowledge) because I was a minor when my information was stolen and the suspension was an alternative to a freeze. Made a lot of sense since I couldn’t see a FICO score via Discover!
Hopefully my account will finally graduate once I reach the end of another billing cycle. Each month after a year of opening the secured account, Discover will review the information to see the account’s eligibility to graduate. My credit’s on point so we’ll see!
It’s been 15 months with this secured card. But they never gave my $300 back. Although my balance on this card is zero. But I did have some balance on city & capital one. They said they will evaluate my account each month after one year celebration to give my money back.
They will give you tour deposit back once it becomes unsecured or you cancel the account with a 0 balance.Make sure your other accounts are in good standing and credit scores are at the minium 600’s like 620.
At last they gave my deposit back. The key is keep your balance zero and do not touch your card or made any transaction for two to three months. And there you have it.
What was your scores when they unsecured your card?
My quick answer
$550 deposit on a secured Discover it card for 8 months, they reviewed my account for a $750 non secured card and returned my deposit.
All 3 CB’s had an average of 625 CS.
It’s ridiculous– they give you a rewards card and then you’re not supposed to use it to gain said rewards. How dumb.
Did your unsecure?
I want to start off by saying without this unsecured card I would be no where in the credit world. Through this card, I now have a capital one with a $2,000 credit line, and American Express at $1,000 a Best Buy at $2,000 and I am financing a BMW 2013 3 series at $19,000.00. I pay ALL my balances in full at the end of the month. I have had this card for over a year but have not received my security back. They have not even tried to contact me to get it back. When I ask they say it is an automatic thing there is no one that you can speak to about it. I have decided to just go with the flow and forget about the $200.00 I have decided to accept the loss because this card took me VERY far. I am only 19 years old, and am greatful. My credit score is a 721 btw if anyone was wondering. 🙂 Remember pay your card in full and keep your balances LOW. Those are both HUGE impactsbon your score.
Awesome job Brandon. I have had my card almost a year now and it has helped me so much.I’m hoping for an unsecured line.My credit scores are in the 640’s now.It should not be a problem either way.I think everyone should give the card a chance as well as keep all your other accounts in good standing and don’t have any new collections to come up.
I’m looking at having my girlfriend sign up for this card. She has no credit history. If she fills out an application and is declined, how will they let her know she qualifies for the secured card? Email? Letter in the mail? Instantaneous on-screen notification?
It pops up as a counter offer right after you apply. It will say something like you are denied, but you qualify for a secured Discover card. Then you have like 2 days to give them a security deposit.
Same deal, but rather than sit around I up and cancelled. I started to get suspicious with this company when they implemented the whole increase your limit by giving us an additional deposit stunt, why would I throw you more money with no clear answer on if I’m getting it back? This whole push on passing out secured cards with hopes is a sham, cancel you account and enjoy your own money.
You sound stupid, it’s your credit that would suffer. If you’re concerned about it graduating then you don’t need credit cards to begin with. It’s called patience. Get some from somewhere. I added more money to my secured card and 2 months later they sent all my money back because it graduated and I had gotten a CLI in the process.
I agree with Danny–enjoy your own money. I’ve had Discover IT chrome for almost 2 years and still haven’t gotten my measly $300 back, or a CLI. The free FICO that they give me has gone up, not down during that time. So, honestly, what’s the point? Discover is not doing me a favor, rather the other way around. I think I’ll stick with my checking account and live within my means.
Why does everyone on this forum kowtow to banks and credit card companies? ‘ooooh, I hope I get this card, ooooh I hope I get that one..’ Realistically more like, ‘I hope I’m approved so I can buy a bunch of crap and be on the hook for high interest payments the rest of my life’. *yawn* Stuff isn’t everything.
Amygdala, they are also good for emergencies, not just buying crap.
Learn how to make a point without insulting people. Just as important as good credit and CLI’s.
I have had this card for 16 months. I have a car on my credit that was paid perfectly and is paid off and I have this card. I have a $1,000 balance and range from $200-$900 in balance. I can not get them to unsecure it. I am not really frustrated about that, but if you’re denied, they cannot tell you why and thats what is frustrating. I paid off two things on my credit report and there is nothing left. Yes, I do fluxuate in balance, but I always pay 5x my minimum at least and I have made large payments, 300,550,700,650 to pay the card off. The problem is that I need to use my card. I am a student and I use it a lot and then I pay it off in a big chuck. They will not secure. I guess I need to pay it off and just not touch it but that is not possible for me right now. Frustrated.
Denise,
Kudos to you for being so responsible with your use of credit however, your utilization on this card is way too high! They will not feel secure about releasing your funds til you show less need of the credit. Maybe split the amount between other cards. Remember that a total payoff is not the only factor. Always keep balance below 30% (below 20% is ideal) and pay balance off before the statement prints. Check online or call them directly to find out when your statement closes. Hope this helps!
That should not be the standard that a ‘Credit’ company should follow though. I have Capital One secure card, 100% utilized, in 6 months, Capital One increased the credit limit of $300 from $200 making it a unsecured $500 credit card, my credit history sucks bad, I am rebuilding it.