Although the Self card and account combo can be great for building credit, there may be better choices for most credit builders. If you want to keep costs low and credit-building simple, you may be better off with a traditional secured card or another credit-building card.
Annual fee: This card costs more to hold than other options
This card costs $25 annually, and the Self Credit Builder Account requires a $9 administrative fee to get started. These costs are on the low end of credit card fees, but other secured cards don’t charge them.
Secured credit cards require refundable deposits to get started. However, these start-up costs are returned to you when you close your card account in good standing. The Self charges the card’s $25 annual fee every year in addition to any initial deposit you transfer from your Credit Builder Account. Although the card can be costly to your credit-building strategy, it may be worth the extra cost if you want a healthy credit mix on your credit report.
If you aren’t interested in paying fees in addition to a deposit and the potential interest charges that come with using credit, you might be better off with a secured card with low or no fees.
Finance charges: Costs may be greater than other secured options
In addition to your annual fee and potential interest charges, the Self Secured Visa card is linked to a required Credit Builder Account with finance charges.
You’ll pay a finance charge with your credit builder account based on your chosen payment plan. This amount can be anywhere between $89 and $533. Pricing information on Self’s website can give you a better idea of how much you should expect to pay.
You’ll build credit history as you make payments, but this makes the Self Secured Visa a relatively costly card. Considering the money you pay each month will sit in your deposit account until your loan term ends, it can mean tying up thousands of dollars into an account you can’t withdraw from for up to two years.
Consider the minimum credit builder account payment of $25 monthly. Over two years, this is $600 of your money you can’t use — except for expanding your Self Secured Visa card’s credit limit. Then, when you close your account, Self will charge you an $89 finance charge and any other outstanding charges before returning the remainder of your deposit to you. This deposit amount is much more than the minimum required on a secured credit card. Over two years with another secured card, you could build credit using a lower deposit amount and possibly benefit from credit limit increases or account reviews that open the gate to unsecured cards.
A diverse credit mix is a great way to build credit, but traditional secured cards can be more affordable if you just want to hold a credit card to build credit with.
Maintenance: Complicated start-up and upkeep process
Compared to a traditional secured card or a credit card for bad credit, the Self Secured Visa may be the most complicated option. Because you link your Secured Visa to your Self Credit Builder Account, it can be tricky for first-time cardholders to maintain good standing with the fixed payment loan account and their credit card balance.
If you’re looking for simplistic, easy-to-track payments, the Self card might be more complicated than you’re hoping for. A secured card can be more straightforward because some allow for automatic payments and don’t have the added layer of a credit-building loan.
Staff experience: Here’s what our experts say
When he was working on his credit score, Bankrate writer Ryan Flanigan focused his efforts on improving his score quickly so he could qualify for better cards and reap more benefits in the future. He thinks the Self combo could make a lot of sense as a starting point, giving you a chance to build credit and then move forward without paying a ton of fees.
I never liked the idea of tying up money for months on end in a security deposit, so I like that you don’t need an upfront deposit for this card — you can just pay a low annual fee as you build a better score. One thing I learned when starting my credit journey was to check my score frequently and move on as soon as I was eligible for better cards. I wanted to get out of credit-building mode as quickly as possible so I wouldn't be stuck paying excessive fees and missing out on rewards.
— Ryan Flanigan, Writer, Credit Cards