Most secured credit cards have no minimum credit score — that’s the point of the category. Your deposit covers the bank’s risk, so your score mostly stops being the gatekeeper. But “no minimum score” and “everyone gets approved” are not the same thing, and the difference determines which applications succeed.
The requirements, card by card
Here’s what the secured cards we’ve reviewed actually require, taken from each issuer’s own disclosures:
| Card | Credit check | Minimum deposit | Annual fee | Score requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSky Secured Visa | None | $200 | $35 | None — no credit pull at all |
| OpenSky Plus | None | $300 | $0 | None — no credit pull at all |
| Capital One Platinum Secured | Underwritten | $49, $99, or $200 | $0 | No minimum score, but the application is reviewed |
Terms verified August 25, 2026 against OpenSky’s FAQ and pricing disclosures and Capital One’s product page.
The two kinds of secured card applications
No-credit-check: a few issuers, OpenSky most prominently, don’t pull your credit at all. Their FAQ says it directly: there is no credit check, and approval is possible “whether you have poor credit or no credit.” A 450 score, a bankruptcy last year, or no credit file whatsoever — none of it enters the decision, and no hard inquiry is added to an already low score.
Underwritten: mainstream issuers require no minimum score but still review your application. Capital One’s page states its secured card doesn’t require a credit score to apply, and its pre-approval check has no score impact, but the application is evaluated, and approval isn’t guaranteed. What blocks these applications usually isn’t the score itself: it’s active bankruptcy proceedings, unpaid balances already owed to that same bank, or income that doesn’t clear the review described below.
What secured cards do require — every one of them
No-credit-check doesn’t mean no requirements. Every secured card, including OpenSky’s, requires:
- The deposit: $200–$300 minimum on the cards above, refundable. For most applicants this is the real barrier, not the score.
- Income you can state. Federal ability-to-pay rules apply to secured cards too: under Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.51), an issuer “must not open a credit card account” without considering your ability to make the minimum payments based on your income or assets and current obligations. This is why even OpenSky can decline an application.
- A bank account to fund the deposit, and identity verification: being 18+ with a U.S. address and an SSN or ITIN for the issuers we cover.
If you’re denied anyway
A denial from an underwritten card isn’t a dead end — it’s routing information. The issuer must send you an adverse action notice explaining why; read it, because it tells you which lane to switch to. If underwriting is the obstacle, the no-credit-check cards remove it entirely. If the deposit is the obstacle, the no-deposit route exists with real trade-offs; our guide to cards for a 500 credit score walks all three lanes, and the $1,000-limit question covers what starting limits actually look like.
Your next move
Pick your application to match your file. For thin or moderately damaged credit: start with the Capital One Platinum Secured review ($0 fee, deposit as low as $49). For recent serious derogatory marks: go where there is no underwriting to fail, the OpenSky Plus review. Then follow the six-rule process that makes any of these cards work: how to use a secured card to build credit.