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I was doing so some research a few months ago regarding secure credit cards. I came across a few articles which recommended Orchard Bank (a division of HSBC). I was trying to find a credit card for emergency purposes as my fiancé and I purchased a home a year ago and if anything happens, it would be nice to have a credit card. It is also nice to have one if I ever need to rent a car even though most places accept debit cards now, credit cards are still easier to use for that purpose. Of course, I also knew that it would help my credit if I used it occasionally and paid it on time. At the time I applied (which does not affect your credit rating because I checked my credit report recently), they wanted $200 to secure a card with a $200 limit. My credit score has improved a little bit since buying a house as well as financing a car and paying those on time, I knew having a credit card would help as well. I didn’t have the $200 to put up for a security deposit at the time, so I didn’t request the card. A few months later I reapplied and was approved with a low limit and no security deposit required. I had to pay $19 to process the application which was electronically deducted from my checking account.

There are fees associated with this card; however they are all disclosed. I knew before ordering that there is annual fee of $96 which comes out to $8 a month and no interest is charged on the fee. The APR varies and can be as little as 13.99% up to a maximum of 24.99%. I was well aware of these fees and the possible (and probable) high interest for purchases made on the card.

My card arrived about a week after I ordered it. It was delivered by regular mail in a generic looking envelope. I called to activate the card and was talking to someone in India. Although they were in India and had an accent, I could least understand them but the call quality was not the greatest. I don’t know why these companies don’t just do what some companies do and have their customer support work out of their homes in the US. He was convincing enough to sell me optional plan protection, something that I am probably going to cancel.

I used the card initially to sign up for a rental car company’s loyalty program. This normally costs $50 a year but since they are our company’s approved rental car merchant, they extend this to associates for no charge. They do require an active credit card and temporarily authorize it for one dollar. I went to Orchard Bank’s web site and set up my account and when I logged in I saw the pending authorization.

Orchard Bank’s website is pretty user-friendly. I was able to view a lot of information including the pending charge which was nice. I could see when my next payment was due even though I really didn’t have any activity at that point. After the billing cycle ended I still had no activity, but I received the bill for eight dollars for the annual fee and the eleven cents for the optional protection. I set up my bank account information and scheduled the payment to be taken out of my account about a week before it was due, and it was. Since the payments are electronically deducted, it may take a couple of days for the transaction to go through. You can also choose to be notified by email or text message if a transaction is over a certain amount ($100, $200, etc) so I chose to do that.

I used my card afterwards to pay for part of a set of badly needed tires for my car. The amount was over the amount specified and I was notified by email of the transaction the next time I checked my email. This transaction occurred in the current billing cycle, but when the bill for $8.11 was due I paid $20 to bring down the balance a little bit. I have yet to receive the bill for this transaction, but I expect the interest to be high, so if it’s not it will be a nice surprise.

In conclusion, the Orchard Bank MasterCard has a lot fees and interest associated with it, but it may be one of many tools a person can use to help rebuild their credit. It is also nice to have for emergencies or renting cars. The customer call center is in a foreign country, but the person I spoke with was nice enough.

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