First Horizon Bank Secured Visa® Classic Credit Card

First Horizon Bank Secured Visa® Classic Credit Card Review

The Secured Visa® Classic Credit Card from First Horizons is just like the regular Classic Visa® Card except that this card includes a security feature. If you have poor credit or no credit history, at all, this may be the ideal card to help you get on your feet financially.

The First Horizon Bank Secured Visa® Classic Credit Card features no annual fee, saving you money as you build up your credit. Speaking of building credit, First Horizon reports your activity on this card to three major credit bureaus, so they’ll know the progress you’re making.

Additionally, there’s no guessing what you’re APR will be with one flat rate for all applicants. Keep reading to learn more about the features of this secured credit card.

Related Article: What Are the Easiest Credit Cards for Bad Credit to Get?

What is a Secured Credit Card?

The First Horizon Bank Secured Visa® Classic Credit Card functions almost like a regular credit card. However, most secured cards have a built-in feature that sets them apart from regular cards.

These particular types of credit cards are intended for people who have no credit or poor credit and need to get on good financial footing. If you are reading this review, you might be in one of those situations.

Having a good credit history is vital for many important financial matters, not just applying for credit cards. If you want to finance a car, get a business loan, or buy a house, lenders will be looking at your credit score to determine whether they can extend a loan to you. Even if you do get approved, you might have to pay a lot more in interest if you have no credit history or a bad credit history.

Related Article: What Are the Best Secured Cards for Rebuilding Credit?

When you apply for a credit card, many card issuers will approve you and determine your interest rate based on your creditworthiness. If you have a great track record with credit, you can expect for the issuer to approve you and offer you a low APR. This is because you have proven that you can be trusted with a line of credit.

If you don’t have any credit history (or have messed up your credit), the financial institution issuing the credit card has no way of knowing whether you will be able to pay off any balances. You’re considered high-risk, especially if you’ve had issues paying back debts in the past.

How the First Horizon Bank Secured Visa® Classic Credit Card Can Help

Banks don’t want to lose out on potential customers just because they don’t have the right credit rating for a regular credit card. That’s why banks like First Horizon offer secured credit cards.

Instead of looking at your credit history to determine your eligibility for a credit card, First Horizon will require that you submit a security deposit when you apply for the Secured Visa® Classic Card. This deposit serves two purposes:

• It acts as a collateral in case you cannot pay off your balance.
• The amount of your deposit becomes the amount of your credit limit.

When you pay First Horizon a security deposit, the bank can rest assured that if you cannot pay off any purchases you made with your secured card it has the funds to cancel the debt and close the account. If you do pay off your debt and decide to close your account, then the bank will return your deposit to you.

You should know that the security deposit equals your maximum credit limit. In other words, if you want a $1,500 credit limit then you submit a $1,500 security deposit.

The First Horizon Secured Visa® offers credit limits between $300 and $2000, making this card accessible to most any applicant. If you don’t have $2,000 at the time of applying, though, don’t worry. You can always increase your credit limit by adding to your security deposit at a later date.

First Horizon places your security deposit in a savings account. That money remains untouched until you close the account or the bank needs to use your deposit to cancel your debt.

No Guessing with Flat-Rate Interest

The First Horizon Bank Secured Visa® Classic Credit Card makes it simple to know what APR you’ll receive with a single, flat-rate interest. This is a feature of many – if not most – secured credit cards.

Because the bank isn’t looking at your creditworthiness to gauge what kind of interest rate you’re worthy of having, there is seldom an APR range. This lets you avoid one of the most nerve-racking parts of applying for a credit card: wondering what interest rate you’re going to get.

Many non-secured credit cards can offer a pretty wide range of APRs (annual percentage rates). The lower end of the spectrum can be attractive and allow you to keep a balance on your credit card without having to pay too much.

The higher end of the spectrum, on the other hand, can be quite a lot higher than the national average. There are some resources out there that can help you estimate what your APR will be, but you will never know for sure until you apply for a credit card.

So, why not just apply for a card and close your account if you don’t like the APR you received? Well, that tactic can seriously damage your credit rating. If you open an account and then close it immediately afterwards, the credit card issuer reports that to the credit bureaus. That activity appears on your credit history, and it can signal to credit card companies that you can’t be trusted to open an account.

With the First Horizon Secured Visa®, however, there’s no wondering involved. You’ll know what your interest rate is before you apply.

Should You Apply for the First Horizon Bank Secured Visa® Classic Credit Card?

You should apply for the First Horizon Secured Visa® Classic if you’re in the market if you have no credit or poor credit and cannot apply to regular credit cards. It features no annual fee and accessible minimum deposit requirements/credit limits.

The credit limits, however, can be lower than similar credit cards that other banks offer. Additionally, you may be able to find a secured credit card with a lower APR than this one.

Nevertheless, if you already do your banking with First Horizon, you may find it more convenient to have all your financial tools in one place. This will make it easier to pay your credit card bills right from your First Horizon checking account.

For more information on bad credit and bad credit cards, visit our Comprehensive Credit Cards for Card Reference Page, featuring the best current credit card offers, detailed advice, and tips to help you build your credit history.

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