I’ve seen some secured credit cards that charge more than $200 in fees just for the first year! Obviously I can understand why they have to charge something, but $200? Are you kidding me?! Take a look at this Citi Secured MasterCard review to see how it compares to the others…

The Citi secured card application lists the annual fee as being $29. I don’t see mentions of any other fees besides that.

The application lists 18.24% for purchases, 25.24% for cash advances, and 29.99% for the penalty APR when it applies. Those were the interest rates as of Feb. 2011.

  • You include a check or money order for an amount between $200 and $5,000 with your Citibank secured credit card application. That amount becomes your security deposit. You will be billed for your annual fee at a later time.
  • Your security will be put into a Certificate of Deposit (CD). The credit limit on your Citi secured credit card will be up to the amount of money that’s in this CD.
  • There is a grace period of at least 23 days after your credit card billing cycle closes. If you pay your entire balance in full before that time, you will not be charged any interest.
  • After having and using the Citi secured MasterCard for 18 months, you “may become eligible” for an unsecured Citi Platinum MasterCard.

The application for the Citi secured credit card says you have to be at least 18 years of age and be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien. Either way, you will need to provide a copy of your government-issued photo ID (non-US citizens must provide either a copy of their passport or Mexican consular ID).

In order to apply you will also need to prove your address. If you are a U.S. citizen your driver’s license or passport will work. However if you are non-US citizen you need to provide a copy of your recent utility bill, bank account statement, or phone bill (cell phones don’t count).

You will either need to go to a local Citibank branch and bring all the required things – or – you can download the Citibank secured credit card application on their website and mail it in with your payment and document copies.

Credit Card Forum advertises some Citi credit cards, but we don’t advertise this one. Regardless, I still think it’s a good choice for a secured credit card. The annual fee for the Citi secured MasterCard is pretty reasonable and the requirements are fairly standard.

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