If you’ve built up good credit with a secured card, you can make the switch to an unsecured card with ease. Capital One has a reputation for grading customers who are responsible, and after months of on-time payments, you can request to remove the deposit requirement from your account. Your credit score should start to climb as well. Regardless of your reason for switching, you’ll have to do some research to get the best deal.
First, it’s important to consider what your credit score will be before you can switch from a secured card to an unsecured one. While the process will vary between credit card issuers, most will allow you to graduate to a new unsecured card after a certain amount of time. Also, you’ll need to keep your credit utilization ratio under 30%. Once you have reached this point, you’ll need to ask the card issuer about the benefits of switching from a secured card to an unsecured one.
Once you’re ready, you should contact your current provider and apply for an unsecured card. You should have no problems switching from one type of card to another, as long as you’re not in over your head with the payment terms. Your new secured card issuer may have an unsecured version of its card, so you can transfer the information from your secured credit card account. During this transition, you should be able to make your payments on time and maintain a low utilization ratio.
