Getting approved for a credit card can be challenging if you have poor credit — or no credit history at all.
The Self Visa® Credit Card is an innovative solution that bypasses the traditional credit card application process, making it easier to get approved while also building or repairing your credit.
But getting the card involves several steps, and comes with costs you wouldn't incur from other credit cards.
$0 intro for the first year, then $25
28.24% Variable
No credit and limited credit
- Easy to be approved with bad (or no) credit
- Effective tool for building credit
- Automatically be reviewed for credit limit increases
- No welcome bonus
- No rewards for spending
- $25 annual fee
Getting approved for a credit card can be challenging if you have a negative or non-existent credit history. The Self Visa® Credit Card offers an innovative solution that bypasses the traditional credit card application process, making it easier to get approved while also helping to build or repair your credit. However, getting the card involves several steps, as well as costs you wouldn't incur with other credit cards.
- *$0 annual fee for the first year only. $25 annual fee after. 28.24% Variable APR. Limited time offer.
- To be eligible for the Self Secured Visa you first have to have an open Credit Builder Account, make three monthly payments on time, have at least $100 in savings progress and have your account be in good standing
- There are no hard credit checks
- Minimum credit limit is $100
- Minimum security deposit is $100
- Credit limit increased as you make monthly payments towards your Credit Builder Account
Self Credit Card Review
The Self Visa® Credit Card offers two primary selling points over other secured credit cards: a non-traditional application process and a relatively low security deposit.
First, there's no formal application process. Once you meet the eligibility requirements, which include opening an affiliated credit builder loan, you can simply request a card if you want it.
Eliminating the "black box" uncertainty of credit card applications is appealing if you're concerned about getting approved, or if you're reluctant to further ding your current credit score by adding a hard inquiry on your credit report.
Second, the card has relatively low deposit requirements. Whereas most secured cards require a minimum security deposit of $200 to $300, you can get the Self Visa® Credit Card with as little as $100 down. Furthermore, you can pay your deposit over several months instead of up-front in a lump sum.
These features make the card more accessible if you're short on cash, though some secured cards may offer even lower deposit requirements depending on your credit history.
Self also advertises the card as a tool for building credit, which it can do. However, any loan or credit product that reports to the major credit bureaus will provide similar results, so while the opportunity to build credit is a positive feature of the Self Visa® Credit Card isn't unique to this card.
On the downside, the Self Visa® Credit Card is an expensive way to build credit. In addition to an annual fee, you'll pay finance charges on your Self Credit Builder Account loan.
The card doesn't earn rewards and offers few benefits beyond reporting your data to credit bureaus. So those finance charges constitute a hefty price tag for a card that offers you so little in return, especially considering the various ways you can build or repair credit inexpensively or for free.
Self Visa Credit Card Rewards
The Self Visa® Credit Card offers neither a welcome bonus nor ongoing rewards, so you won't get any return for spending you put on the card.
The lack of rewards is a major disadvantage to cardholders who could be earning cash back with other competing products.
For example, the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Secured Visa® Card offers cash back rates as high as 4% on select purchases, while the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card earns a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Those rewards translate to real money in your pocket, so missing out is costly.
Self Credit Card Benefits
The Self Visa® Credit Card doesn't offer common credit card benefits like travel insurance or purchase protection, but it offers several other useful features.
Credit Reporting
Like regular credit cards, Self reports your account activity to all three major credit bureaus, including balances, payments, and your current account status. This reporting helps you improve your credit score by building a credit history, which in turn helps you qualify for other credit cards and loans.
Visa Benefits
As its name implies, the Self Visa® Credit Card is a Visa credit card, so it can be used everywhere Visa is accepted.
The card comes with basic Visa benefits, including $0 fraud liability, lost or stolen card assistance, and emergency card replacement. Those features shouldn't influence your decision to get (or not get) the card, but they're nice to have.
No Additional Deposit Requirement
The payments you make toward your credit builder loan double as your security deposit, so you don't have to put down a lump sum to be eligible for the Self Visa® Credit Card.
The tradeoff is that accumulating the requisite $100 minimum balance takes time; depending on the amount of your monthly payments, you may have to wait several months to reach the threshold.
Flexible Credit Limit
You can select your own credit limit ranging from a minimum of $100 to the amount you've paid into your credit builder account, with a maximum limit of $3,000. As your account balance increases over time, you can similarly increase your credit limit in increments of $25.
Self may also consider you for an unsecured credit limit increase once you've had the Self Visa® Credit Card for six months.
Self Credit Card Fees
The Self Visa® Credit Card charges several fees that diminish its overall value relative to other secured credit cards.
Annual Fee
To start with, the card has a $0 intro for the first year, then $25. While that's modest compared to annual fees you'll find on premium credit cards, it's poor value when many credit cards with no annual fee offer superior rewards and benefits.
Other Fees
Next, you'll pay several fees associated with your Self Credit Builder Account loan, which you must have if you want the credit card.
The credit builder account has a 15.51% to 15.92% APR, with payments ranging between $25 to $150 monthly over a 24-month loan term. Finance charges will be higher for larger loan amounts — check this interactive pricing tool for examples. There's also a one-time $9 administrative fee when you open your account.
You may also incur interest charges when you don't pay your monthly statement balance in full. The Self Visa® Credit Card has a 28.24% Variable APR, which is well above the average credit card interest rate.
Other charges that may apply include late fees and return fees of up to $15 when you have a late or failed payment; a $3.50 expedited payment fee when you use a debit card to make payments toward your Self Visa® Credit Card balance; and an early withdrawal fee of less than $1 if you decide to close your Self Credit Builder Account early.
One fee you won't be subject to is foreign transaction fees, since the card can't be used for international transactions.
Self Credit Card Alternatives
As mentioned above, interested cardholders can build or repair credit at lower costs through some alternative options.
Self Visa® Credit Card vs. U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Secured Visa® Card
The Self Visa® Credit Card has an annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $25, while competitor U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Secured Visa® Card does not.
The $0-annual-fee U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Secured Visa® Card earns 4 points per dollar on dining and takeout, plus 2 points per dollar on common household expenses including groceries, gas, and streaming services. It earns 1 point per dollar on everything else, making it one of the most generous secured credit cards on the market. In comparison, remember the Self Visa® Credit Card doesn't earn any rewards.
U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Secured Visa® Cardholders even get a $15 annual credit toward streaming services after 11 months of card ownership, a benefit most non-secured credit cards don't even offer. It also doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, and the security deposit can be refunded after you graduate to an unsecured card.
There's very little reason to choose the Self Visa® Credit Card over the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Secured Visa® Card, especially since the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Secured Visa® Card doesn't require a separate credit builder loan and earns bountiful rewards on everyday purchases.
Read more in our U.S. Bank Altitude Go secured credit card review.
Self Visa® Credit Card vs. Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card
Similarly, the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card offers significantly better benefits than the Self Visa® Credit Card.
While its rewards are less generous than you'll find on the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Secured Visa® Card, they're still nothing to sneeze at: 5% back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One, and 1.5% back on all other eligible purchases. It doesn't have an annual fee, and doesn't charge foreign transaction fees so you can safely use it on international trips. You'll automatically be considered for a credit line increase with responsible activity, and the security deposit is also refundable when you graduate to an unsecured card.
Read more in our Capital One Quicksilver secured card review.
How to Get the Self Visa® Credit Card
The Self Visa® Credit Card is appealing if you already have a qualifying credit builder loan with Self, since you can add the card with no additional security deposit. It's also useful if you can't approved for other secured credit cards.
But you should only consider the Self Visa® Credit Card after you've exhausted other options.
Unlike most credit cards, the Self Visa® Credit Card doesn't have a traditional application and approval process. Instead, you can get the card by following a series of steps until you meet the eligibility requirements. Once you qualify, the choice to get the card (or not) is yours.
The first step is to open a Self Credit Builder Account, which is a type of installment loan known as a credit builder loan. Most installment loans (like mortgages or student loans) provide you with funds upfront that you repay over time. Contrarily, credit builder loans set those funds aside for you rather than giving them to you directly.
With the Self Credit Builder Account, the money you borrow is placed in an interest-bearing CD that is FDIC-insured. You then make monthly payments until the loan term is complete, at which point you'll receive the balance and any interest accrued, minus finance charges and fees.
After your Self Credit Builder Account is active, you'll need to meet three conditions to be eligible for the Self Visa® Credit Card:
- Make your most recent three monthly payments on time
- Save at least $100 in your Self Credit Builder Account
- Keep your account in good standing with no overdue fees
Once you're eligible, you can order your card with no further application needed and no hard inquiry on your credit report. You also won't have to put down an additional security deposit, since the money you've saved in your Self Credit Builder Account serves that purpose. You can choose your own credit limit ranging in increments of $25 from a minimum of $100 up to the total amount you've saved, with a maximum of $3,000.
When your Self Visa® Credit Card is up and running, it functions like other credit cards. You can use it wherever Visa is accepted in the U.S., and you'll need to pay your statement balance in full each month in order to avoid interest charges.
FAQs
What credit score do you need for the Self Credit Card?
There is no minimum credit score required for the Self Visa® Credit Card. Instead, you'll need to open a Self Credit Builder Account and complete a series of steps before you can qualify.
Does the Self Credit Card earn rewards?
No, the Self Visa® Credit Card doesn't earn rewards.
Is the Self Credit Card worth it?
The Self Visa® Credit Card is only worth it for folks who are working on building their credit score with a Self Credit Builder Account loan. If you already have a fair credit score or better, you'll want to consider one of the best credit cards on the market instead, as most of them come with generous rewards and benefits.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed the Self Credit Card
We compared the Self Visa® Credit Card to secured credit cards and similar products from other card issuers by evaluating several factors, including:
- Rewards earning potential — Does the card earn rewards at competitive rates? Is there a welcome bonus for new applicants?
- Benefits — Are the card's benefits useful? Are there any features that stand out?
- Fees and other costs — If there's an annual fee, do the card's rewards and benefits justify paying it? Does the card offer competitive rates on interest and other fees?
You can read more about how we rate credit cards at Business Insider for a closer look at our methodology.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
**Enrollment required.
