Sable Secured Card: No credit history or credit check required, plus earn cash back

When you're new to building credit, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Secured credit cards help you get started by offering features of traditional credit cards — a credit limit, interest charges and sometimes even rewards — but with the added requirement of making a security deposit upfront.

Those who have past credit mistakes, bad credit, limited / no credit whatsoever or are without U.S. citizenship should consider, specifically, the Sable Secured Card. Cardholders earn up to 2% cash back, and interested applicants don't need a U.S. credit history or Social Security Number to apply.

There is no credit check either, so applying for the card will not affect your credit score (aka no hard inquiry on your credit report) and getting approved can be a pretty seamless process.

Credit newbies, take note: Here is what you can expect with the Sable Secured Card.

• Welcome bonus
• Rewards
• Benefits
• Rates and fees
• Bottom line

As a welcome bonus, Sable Secured Card members will get a dollar-for-dollar rewards match at the end of their first year of card membership, which automatically doubles their cash-back earnings. So if you earned $300 of cash back in the first year, Sable will double that, leaving you with $600 in cash back.

Sable Secured Card members earn unlimited 2% cash back on purchases made with Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, Uber Eats and Whole Foods, as well as 1% everywhere else.

Beyond the cash-back rewards and annual match, Sable offers benefits when you use your card that you would traditionally find with an unsecured credit card. These include cell phone protection in the event of theft or damage (including a cracked screen), rental car insurance, extended warranty coverage on products purchased with the card, guaranteed zero liability on unauthorized purchases, satisfaction guarantee on most purchases that you don't want within 60 days of buying them, plus price and purchase protection.

According to Sable's website, secured cardholders can graduate to a traditional credit card 3X faster than with other secured cards, or in as little as four months after opening their account (though this is not guaranteed). Upgrading to unsecured credit requires paying your credit card bill on time every month, making over 15 purchases a month (including at least one over $250), maintaining a $500-plus credit limit for the last four months and receiving a minimum of $500 monthly via direct deposit into your Sable Bank Account in the last four months.

Sable reports to the credit bureaus monthly so you can see your credit score effectively increase when you exhibit responsible behavior.

The Sable Secured Card has no annual fee nor late payment penalty fee. There is a 2% foreign transaction fee on purchases made outside the U.S.

Like with most secured credit cards, new Sable cardholders will have to pay a security deposit upfront, which becomes their credit limit. For instance, paying a $1,000 security deposit would mean that your credit limit is $1,000. There is no minimum deposit required and you can deposit up to a maximum of $10,000. These secured funds are returned once you either reduce your credit limit (the amount returned equals how much you reduced credit limit by), get upgraded to an unsecured credit card or close your account with Sable.

In order to take out the Sable Secured Card, you have to have a Sable Bank Account to fund the deposit, but the good news is that the Sable Debit Card offers 1% cash back on the same services as the credit card.

The Sable Secured Card charges a 10.49% variable APR, which is considerably low compared to other credit cards, though we recommend always paying your bill on time and in full to avoid interest and late-payment fees altogether. This is even more important with secured credit cards since carrying a balance eats away at your credit limit, or the deposit you put down initially. You'd essentially be paying interest on a loan you gave yourself to take out the card in the first place.

The Sable Secured Card makes most sense for those lacking a credit history or needing to rebuild damaged credit. Sable gives cardholders the ability to build credit while also earning cash back.

An alternative option would be the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, which has no annual fee and offers 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter, then 1%. Plus, you can earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases automatically.

Discover's rewards are similar to Sable's in that new card members in their first year only will have their cash-back earnings automatically matched.

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For rates and fees of the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, click here.