Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card 2024 Review

A credit card can be a good way to build up your credit score. But qualifying for a credit card can be difficult if you have no or poor credit. That's where secured credit cards can help. 

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card is designed for people who are ready to establish good credit. 

This card has no annual fee or interest charges, even when you carry a balance. There's no credit check to apply and no minimum security deposit required either.

Wondering if it's the best secured credit card for building credit? 

Read our Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card review to help you decide.

Main Highlight: Build Credit With No Credit Check

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card offers purchasing power with the added benefit of helping you to build credit. 

Here's what you need to apply:

• A Chime Spending Account
• Qualifying direct deposits of $200 or more over the past 365 days

Now, here's what you don't need:

• A minimum credit score or income
• Large security deposit

If you don't have a Chime Spending Account, you'll need to open one first and schedule a direct deposit. But you can do that online in minutes. 

There's no credit check to apply for the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa. That's great if you have no credit history or bad credit. 

Once your account is approved, you can move money from your Spending Account to your Credit Builder card. This is the amount you'll be able to spend at any given time. 

So in a sense, you can decide what you want your credit limit to be. That's a change from other secured cards that might require you to put up $49, $99, $200 or more to get started. 

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card reports to the three major credit bureaus. So as long as you're making timely payments, you can start building positive credit history. 

Does This Card Offer Rewards?

Some secured credit cards offer a rewards program so you can earn points or cash back when you spend. 

That's a nice benefit to have, since it can save you money in the long run. Unfortunately, the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card doesn't offer a rewards program.

Whether this matters much to you can depend on why you're applying for the card.

If you're focused on building credit, this card can help you do that. And if you're able to improve your score enough you may be able to qualify for a rewards card later. 

What Else Do You Get With the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card?

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card is meant to serve a single purpose: Helping you to build credit. 

There are two features that can help you do that:

• Safer Credit Building
• Move My Pay

With Safer Credit Building, you can automatically pay your monthly balance with the money in your Credit Builder account. This way, you don't have to worry about late payments which could hurt your credit score. 

Move My Pay allows you to automatically move money from your Chime Spending Account to your Credit Builder account each payday. This ensures that you always have money available to spend on your card, which can help with budgeting. 

You can also withdraw cash from your Credit Builder card if needed. Chime allows you to get cash fee-free at more than 60,000 ATMs. 

If you're looking for other extras like purchase protection or extended warranty coverage, those aren't included. And since this isn't a travel rewards card, there are no travel benefits included either.

Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card Fees

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card doesn't have an annual fee or any other fees to speak of. 

That could make it a more attractive option compared to other secured cards. With some cards, for example, you might pay:

• Annual fees, charged at the time you open your account
• Account setup fees, charged at the time you open your account
• Monthly fees
• Late payment fees
• Foreign transaction fees

You'll also pay interest on balances. With the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card, you can avoid all those added costs. 

Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card vs. Other Secured Cards

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card is aimed at helping people build credit from scratch. 

But there are other secured cards that could be a better fit, based on your situation. Here are three other options to consider. 

Capital One Platinum Secured

The Capital One Platinum Secured Card is best suited for people who are attempting to rebuild bad credit. 

You can get pre-approved for this card with no impact to your credit score. There is a minimum security deposit that's required when you're approved. This may be $49, $99 or $200.

The initial credit limit for the Capital One Platinum Secured Card is $200. But you can increase your credit limit by putting up a larger security deposit.   

Capital One will review your account periodically to see if you qualify for a limit increase. That can give you more spending power and it could help to improve your credit score if you're keeping your utilization ratio low. 

Security deposits are refundable if you decide to close your account on good terms. You can view and track your credit score for free through CreditWise from Capital One.

There's no annual fee for this card, which is good. But you'll still pay interest on purchases if you carry a balance from month to month. 

Citi Secured Mastercard

The Citi Secured Mastercard can help you build credit history without paying an annual fee. 

With this card, you're required to put up a $200 minimum security deposit. The maximum credit limit allowed is $2,500. So you might consider this card if you're comfortable offering a larger deposit. 

You get free access to your FICO credit score and this card does report to the credit bureaus. But you won't earn any rewards on purchases. 

You do get Citi Identity Theft Solutions included, along with a $0 fraud liability guarantee. Those benefits can help you to protect your credit score as you work on growing it. 

OpenSky Secured Visa

The OpenSky Secured Visa is another credit building option for people with no credit or poor credit histories.  

This card also has a $200 minimum security deposit requirement. If you want a higher credit limit, you can deposit up to $3,000 instead. 

There's no credit check to apply so it won't impact your credit score. That's similar to the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card. 

Your deposit is refundable so you won't lose it if you decide to close your account, as long as it's in good standing. The OpenSky Secured Visa reports to the three major credit bureaus so it could help you to improve your score over time. 

There's a $35 annual fee for this card, which is actually less than what some secured cards charge. You'll also pay a 3% foreign transaction fee for international purchases. 

Final Verdict: Should You Apply for the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card?

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card could make it easier to build credit, without worrying about high fees or interest. 

This card could be a good fit if you:

• Have a Chime Spending Account or don't mind opening one in order to apply
• Want to build credit from scratch or rebuild a poor credit history
• Aren't interested in earning rewards on purchases made with your card

The lack of an annual fee or interest charges gives this card an edge over other secured options. But again, you'll have to open a Chime Spending Account to apply if you don't have one. 

If you're comfortable with your current banking situation, you may not need another account. But it may be worth looking into what Chime offers if you're at all interested in switching banks. 

Also, consider how important earning rewards might be. 

If you don't mind missing out on cash back or points, then the Credit Builder Secured Visa could be a good fit. And if you're able to improve your score enough you could eventually qualify for a card that does earn rewards.