Fees on Secured Credit Cards

Almost all credit cards secured or others will have fees and charges. When you are shopping for a credit card be sure to read the small print to find out what those fees are and how much they are. Your best bet, of course, are cards with few or no fees so do your homework.

Most secured credit cards charge the following fees:

• Application fee: Just for applying for a card also known as a processing fee
• Annual fee (sometimes billed monthly). Cost for having the card
• Cash advance fee. Cost for taking a cash advance, in addition to interest rates and finance charges.
• Late-payment fee. If your payment arrives after due date
• Over-the-credit-limit fee. If you go over your credit limit
• Credit-limit-increase fee. If you have your credit limit increased
• Set-up fee. Similar to application or processing fees
• Return-check fee. If your payment check bounces
• Other fees: Some banks charge
  - if you pay by telephone (that is, if you arrange by phone for payment to be transferred from your bank to the company)
  - to cover the costs of reporting to credit bureaus, reviewing your account, or providing other customer services.

Read the information in your credit card agreement to see if there are other fees and charges.