HORRIBLE SERVICE! i charge $2-5k/mo primarily for business and always pay in full. then, on an overseas trip, my card is stopped. that is ok. i know that it is prudent to check for fraud. but, i couldn't call bankamerica collect. ATT rejects the collect call number on the back of the card, saying that it is not in their system. i then call the 800 paying (while paying $1 per minute). they, can't call me back. i would strongly encourage any business user traveling overseas NOT to use Bankofamerica visa!!!

I got this card to establish credit and I paid a security deposit on it. Problem is they return the deposit without interest. Who reads fine print anyway? It must have been there, but it seems illegal. A year later, it now has a 1K credit limit, and is unsecured. This, and establishing a credit history were the only good things about the card. Calling customer Service is beyond a nightmare.

i would like to recommend this card to everyone thats looking for a credit card

I'm using the card to establish credit. I had no credit whatsoever. I find it a fairly reasonable credit card. You get out from it what you put into it. Use it wisely, pay it off before the statement closing date and do it all over again the following month. Pretty simple if you ask me. I'm not worried about interest rates or what not. I pay my balance off in full before the closing date. Every month on the closing of my statement BofA reports my balance to all three credit bureas. My credit score has gone up 14 pts in 6 weeks since recieving the card. Once I left a 10 percent credit to debt ratio on there and paid it off the week it posted to my credit report, just to see if it would make a difference the following month. Building credit isn't rocket science. Someone loans you money, pay them back when they expect payment and next time they'll let you borrow more money. I recommend keeping your balance around 30 percent of your total credit limit and pay it off as soon as you possibly can. Be patient and your credit will be reputable. Pretty simple if you ask me....

My credit score is awful, and I do not have just mild credit problems like others here. Mine is just horrendous. College was bad for me, but hey, at least I have a degree! Anyways, this card has helped me improve my credit in the few short months I have had it and it's easy to pay since I am already a BOA customer. Hopefully I will get a credit increase and a deposit back soon!

12911 BARRANCA LN NORWALK CA 90650

The Bank of America Secured Credit card is good credit card to rebuild or repair your credit history. I opened this card 1 year ago with a $300 deposit and use only once in 1 year thinking that Bank of America will upgrade my secured credit card to an unsecured credit card automatically. Since it didn't happen after waiting for 1 year, I called Bank of America to unsecure my secured credit card. My request was approved and I got a credit limit increase from $300 to $500. http://creditrally.blogspot.com/2009/12/unsecured-bank-of-america-platinum-plus.html

I had this card for 3 1/2 years until last week. I received the card offer in the mail in May of 2006 when I had HORRIBLE credit. I paid a $99 collateral and received a $500 credit limit. I never went over my credit limit and NEVER paid late in the entire time I had the card. One year later they sent me a check for $99 and started reporting my card as an unsecured credit card. I did NOT receive any interest on my deposit. My credit has dramatically improved since then including; purchasing a car without a co-signor, obtaining a mortgage almost a year ago, and approval for 3 other unsecured credit cards. Last week I went to my BoA to change my last name due to marriage. All they had to do was send me a new card with my new name on it. Instead, I received a letter from BoA saying that my account was being closed due to "a pattern of late payments with other creditors". I immediately called the number listed on the letter to ask what was going on since I have not paid late on any credit cards since 2004 and all my credit accounts had been settled since Jan of 2006 (BEFORE BoA even offered me this card!). The representative on the phone told me that I had just settled my Target credit account in March of 2009. It is Jan of 2010! I told him that I had settled that account in Jan of 2006, and even if I HAD just settled my account in Mar of 2009, I had NEVER had a late payment in more than 3 years with BoA, so there was no reason to close my account. The rep was EXTREMELY rude to me and gave me a huge lecture about how if I dont pay the bill, they are out the money since its an unsecured card. I wouldnt care so much since this card only has a $500 limit and the interest rate is 16.24% which means I NEVER used it since my interest rates on my other cards are all less than 12%, but by closing the account they are HURTING my credit because now I have less available credit and my average account length will be shortened. Those two factors both affect your credit score. The rep was so rude and uncaring that I will be closing all my BoA accounts because of this.

Hi everyone. I posted on here back in 2006 about me applying for a secured Bank of America card. I got my card in April 2006. My credit wasn't very good when i got the card; but it was a very good card. Low annual fee of 29.00 and no other fees period. A grace period which can avoid you interest fees period; along with total security protection in case the card is stolen. Customer Service was a dream; they even refunded a overlimit fee for me because i had never been overlimit before. My visa card was unsecured in August of 2008 which is about 2 years and 4 months from when i opened the secured card account. I did not receive a credit limit increase but did get my full security deposit back. If your credit doesn't improve much while you have the card then this is probably what will happen to you. However i am very pleased with this card and plan on keeping it for the rest of my life. It's nice to have a credit card with a big bank and not a bad credit bank like first premier or orchard. I would recommend this card to anybody who is able to get approved for it. This was not the 99/500 offer it was a fully secured credit card. I still am very happy with it.

Jason brother, did you even READ my review? Liliah sister, what the heck are you talking about? You probably could have qualified for a normal credit card to begin with! Try a different bank!

I'm lucky enough to have a BofA account so I can easily pay my card off with one click. There has been no issues on my end and would suggest this card if you need to build your credit. Just note, after one year call and get your deposit back (by check) so they will raise the credit limit and unsecure the card, which means it reports to the credit bureau has a regular credit card. This helps build your credit even better compared to them reporting it as a secure card, which one reviewer stated they did.

I was declined for this secured card, which I did not know was possible with a secured card. Don't get me wrong, I screwed up my finances. I just don't understand the point of a secured card that you can get declined from. Not a big deal, just annoying, I would not have wasted my time appling had they said up front.

Don't buy into the hype. Bank of America's policies on all of their products have significantly slanted toward the benefit of the bank and not the consumer. They are one of the worst banks to do business with and they always insure that you grossly overpay for their services and have many ways to make that happen. WHAT's WORSE, this card is only available to people with very mild credit problems as you can tell just from the writeups here. Those with real credit problems will not "qualify" for this card! I know unbelievable. You have to "qualify" for a card that uses YOUR money to rebuild your credit. Ludicrous. And typical of the heavy negative bias in BofA's business policies.

After poor credit this is a great card for improving your credit score.

I applied for this card mailed them my check and in about two weeks I received my card. I applied and sent my money to another bank for a secured card and was denied. Overall they mean secured if you send them your money you will receive your card. Oh, I forgot they also send you a cute little mini credit card if you request it. Thanks

I called customer service to ask about the partially secured card, but no one knew what I was talking about. I applied for the unsecured card, was denied immediately online, but was approved for an unsecured card with intial $300.00 deposit. Sent funds received card in about three weeks. Its an easy secured card to get with a low annual fee $19.00.

I decided to start building a credit history and i was surfing their website for an appropriate card. And i had the oppurtunity to chat with various agents online on different times. They are usually very friendly. One day i was on the BofA website and chatting with an agent as he answered my numerous questions, just as i decided to apply for the Secured Platinum Visa with a deposit of $300, he said i should not apply for it cos he has a better card for me with no deposit at all. I was surprised and pleased and so i applied for the BofA Platinum Visa Plus through the link he gave me. This card is a unsecured card. I was rejected but instantly got preapproved for this great special card 'Partial Secured Platinum Visa' at a $99 collatoral deposit. It has a credit line of $500 with an APR of 19.24%. I really felt i got a treat as i am getting greater credit line with less money. I applied on 02/08/07, my deposit was cashed on 03/12/07 and i am waiting and counting days to see my card which God knows when it'll arrive. So in short it looks like a good card to me and offcourse with lots of waiting to do inbetween!

A few months back, I decided that it was now time to start building credit being that I am 23. I applied to regular credit cards and even student cards and was declined because of my lack of credit history. So I decided to try the route of a secured credit card. I did searches online and found that BofA had really good ratings for their secured card. So I decided to apply. I mailed in a personal check of a $400.00 deposit along with my application. About a week later, I recieved a letter in the mail from BofA saying that I needed to remit a deposit of at least $300.00. I called BofA and told them I had already mailed them a deposit. They told me to check with my bank to see if the check cleared. The check never cleared. I decided to cancel the check and report it as "lost in the mail". I didn't want to take any chances. So I sent in a deposit of $500.00. A few days later, a woman with an accent that I could only understand every other word, called me from BofA. She said something about a $400.00 and $500.00 check. I told her my problem and that I had cancelled the first check of $400 and for her to put the $500 check through. She said "Ok" and "sorry for the inconvenience." Obviously, they recieved the first check, they probably just misplaced it. So a week passed, and I recieved my credit card. YAH!! I activated it online and tried to enroll in the online banking. It said it was unable to. So I decided to call BofA and enroll over the phone. I was then told my account was closed. It had closed a few days ago!!! I said, "how could that be? I just recieved my card yesterday and applied a few weeks ago" They said that I had "insufficient funds and there were no longer funds available to serve as collateral for the secured card". Anyway, I was transferred from one associate to the other. Each employee was very, very friendly, and to my surprise speaking clear english. They fixed the problem and put in my check of $500.00 . Eight days later my account reopened. The foreign woman I had spoken to must of tried to put in both checks of $400 and $500 and that's why it came up as insufficient funds. Who knows. My advice to everyone: If you don't understand someone over the phone or anywhere for that matter, ask to speak with someone who IS AN AMERICAN WHO SPEAKS CLEAR ENGLISH. If they don't like it, ask to speak to a manager. I will also say that if you have absolutely no credit history whatsoever, or have applied to regular credit cards and have been declined, apply for this card. You are almost guaranteed their secured card. It is a great starter card. So overall, everything worked out after that. Just a miscommunication. They have very friendly, willing associates trying to fix my problem.

Just got my deposit back and now its unsecured credit card so far so good the apr is variable so far it hasn't reach over 18.00 apr like my other bad credit cards. I am staying with bofa for has long as they don't sell themselves to another company like household bank sold to HSBC and that's another story. You should try to get this card is very good for bad credit

I got a special offer to open an account with $99 to get a $500 credit limit. I am souposed to get the money back after a year and start reporting as unsecured lets see that was a year ago.

On April 20th, 2006 i found out that they have mailed my bank of america card and that i should receive it in the mail in 7 buisness days. Which means it took about a day over 2 months just to receive the card so make sure you dont mind waiting for processing, ect... to receive your card. The only thing that gets me about this card is that it reports as a secured card. National City has a secured card with a 15.9% rate and $39.00 annual fee and it reports to all three credit reporting agencys as a UNSECURED credit card.

First of all i would like to say what a great card this is compared to other cards that help to build your credit. I have no credit period and need a card to help me establish a credit rating/record. I have seen certain banks who charge up to a $150.00 annual fee and up to a $96.00 Participation fee (billed on a per month basis of around $8.00)for a unsecured card. In my opinion it is much better to get a secured card which offers a low annual fee (compared to some offers) and no application, acceptance, or one-time fees. However so far i have not even recieved my card yet. I mailed my acceptance application along with my $800.00 deposit (in the form of a MONEY ORDER) on March 01 2006. As of April 04 2006 they have not even opened the savings account yet with the money or mailed out a card. The only progress so far is they have cashed the money order. I will report on this matter later on as well (If i ever get the card) to let people know how long it took to get the card unsecured and credit limit increases and things of that nature. Overall I would say a GREAT card to help you build credit as long as you do not mind waiting for the card.

I opened this card in March 2006 in an effort to rebuild my credit. I was attracted by the reviews on this website, the ability to transfer funds online to increase the limit was a big selling point. However I received a letter yesterday 4/01/06 (I am hoping this was an April Fools!) stating that they have changed the way they administer the secured savings account. It is no longer a savings account just a ledger amount. Therefore no interest is earned on the money. In addition you cannot transfer money online to increase the limit. You have to send funds to the bank in Arizona. The rep I talked to admitted they changed the set up so as not to pay interest to the customer! I am disappointed, one would think that a leader in online banking such as Bank of America would take a step forward, not back as has occured. Despite this slight annoyance the features of the card are great, car rental insurance etc. This is not a card to rack up big balances on, but a great tool to rebuild credit.

I like many consumers overextended myself and subsequently paid the price with a damaged credit report. This cards give you the flexiblity of having a little credit or a lot of credit, it's all up to you. If you like banking online, you can transfer funds either from another BOA account or an account outside the bank to increase your savings account which is linked directly to your credit line. Credit increases are processed instantly. I've called on my cell phone before during lunch and by the time I got back to the office, my increase was already posted. The only downside that I found was that you couln't call the secured credit card service representatives directly, you had to go through the main BOA customer call center. Within 6 months, BOA unsecured my account and increased my credit line. Unlike other secured cards (Orchard Bank) that only promised to review your account and increase your credit, I was actully surprised when I received my letter congratulating me on building a solid history with BOA and I was to be rewarded. I've checked my credit report during the time the card was secured and BOA does not report as a secured credit card. My credit has substantially improved that I applied for and was approved for an AMEX card just last week. I've been so happy with BOA's service and flexiblity, that I will have my BOA card for a very long time.

Applied for the card on 26Apr05 Check cashed 04May05 ($250) Received card on 19May05 (three weeks) Made online transer from BofA account to secured savings raised limit From initail 250 to 700 instantly. Made one purchase on 20May05 First statement closed on 22May05 Reported to EX on 25May05 with the first statement amount and 700 dollar limit reporting. In one months time from 26Apr05 to 25May05, applied got card made puchase, statement closed, card reported, not too bad.

I had perfect credit up until 1999 when my wife's business started having problems - I tried to "bale her out" but ended up ruining our credit files. Avoided bankruptcy but had to settle with 5 credit cards, 3 student loans, and 2 revolving loans - many months late, collection agencies got rough with me, etc. Very bad credit report. Couldn't even take family on vacation - needed credit card for rental car and hotel reservation deposit, etc. Mailed application to Bank of America April 20 along with $3000.00 bank check. Got a bit nervous that perhaps my credit was sooo bad that I wouldn't even be able to get a secured card approved. Called them May 5 to check on application. Unbelievably friendly and knowledgeable customer service!!! Very different experience!!! They inormed me that I had been approved and that my card would probably arrive today. It did! I have a B of A Platinum Visa credit card with $3,000 credit limit backed up by an interest accruing savings account (yes, they do pay interest - not much - but on $3,000 it will add up over time). I called Customer Service to find out how I could check my savings account balance, interest rate, and deposit more funds to raise my credit limit - they walked me through all of my questions - very nice. Bank of America's Customer Service is a unique and totally different (pleasant) experience - I think even tlak radio host Clark Howard would have to give them a big thumbs up!!!!!

I am in the process of rebuilding my credit from a disaster of my own making. I have opened this account to hasten this process. Customer service is great! The online options are wonderful so I have opened a checking account with BOA also. I transferred 100.00 into my savings acct and my credit line was raised the next day! So becuse BOA has been so proficient I am having 100.00 per pay period deposited directly into the linked savings acct. In doing this I will have a 3000.00 credit line by the time the card is unsecured AND I will demonstrated the ablity to budget and save. The account rep at my local branch told me that another customer did exactly the same thing and BOA unsecured the card plus raised the credit limit 2000.00. I am excited about doing this for myself! I will post agin at the 6 month mark.

I applied to this card because I did not have any credit history. I deposited five thousand dollars and received a platinum card. After a year, my account was upgraded to an unsecured account. Everything went smoothly, as simple as this. I am really appreciative of Bank of America's secured card program. It is an excellent program for people without any credit history.