i didnt even get past the rude customer service lady - thank god i found this site and read the write ups as i was going to apply ...

I have had Applied Bank secured platinum visa for 2 months now. They have reported to all (3) bureau's even though they do not say they report to all three. They say they report to the credit bureaus. Also, I really like being able to make a payment with my checkcard and the balance updating the very next day. This is by far the best card I have ever had. $9.95/month (no problem)...what a deal!!! No annual fee, no interest on my own money! What more could you ask for? 

U Update to my previous post.  I have now made 8 payments of $50 each in the last 7 months, my total balance is now $179 on a $300 credit limit (lots of fees), and Applied Bank still continues to screw me.  They report me as 1-2 payments behind on my credit reports, demand two payments now, and want one of those payments to be $159, or about 88% of my total balance. They hound me constantly on the telephone and have ruined my credit even more simply because I had to skip one payment 8 months ago due to hardship.  They have no way of sending a message to them via your website login, list no correspondance address, and make sure that the only way you can contact them is via telephone, where you can't make a record of the contact without breaking the law.  And, just to add insult to injury, if you call them, its not toll-free....you have to pay to call a long distance number. I can't wait to pay off this card, close my accound, and take that Wells Fargo Secured card offer for only $18 a year!!!  Avoid these loan sharks at all costs!!!

I have this card I swalled the $259 bullet and got the card thinking as long as it reports to all three beuroes it will be good. But guess what it only report two and not to equifax. second you cannot increase your secured credit limit.

I remember there being many more reviews on this card in the past... anyways, Applied bank now offers unsecured cards. Their site also lists an option to upgrade. In talking with their customer service, secured card customers are never eligible to upgrade to an unsecured account regardless of history. In order to do so, you must apply for the secured card. This offers no incentive to me to keep this card now. No interest is nice, the monthly fee is manageable, but no hope for a better card in the future is dismal. Sorry, Applied bank. Your days with me as a customer are numbered.  

 Avoid Applied Bank at all costs.  I have an account with a 300 credit limit (before they changed this card) and missed a payment due to financial issues.  My account is below the credit limit, I have made 7 payments of $50.00 in the last 6 months, and they still report me as being 2 payments behind and want $190 on a $243 balance as one minimum payment!  That's 78% of my balance as one payment!!! Stay as far away from these ripoff artists as you can!!!

I checked this one out too, when it was reviewed as a number one pick on another site. When I checked it out the terms for the card had changed from those on the reviewing site. Initially it looked better, but then I saw all the details on the terms link (which is on the second page and very small, the fees are horrible. If you plan on running a large balance on the card from month to month, it may not be too bad at the 0% interest, but that won't help people build credit up as quickly as charging 10-30% of the available balance and paying it off will (no interest fees anyway if you use it that way). If you need a secured card to build credit try Public Savings or Orchard, they have considerably better terms that are clearly spelled out.

They're not crooks. They are offering a service to those that have truly horrible credit. That being said, there are better secured cards out there, in my opinion. But, if you've literally tried everywhere else and have been repeatedly denied, at least this company will give you something. Keep a secured card for about a year, get a few cards from other issuers that don't have annual fees, and then either upgrade your secured card to an unsecured card or close the account.

This is a Secured Credit card...

The Deposit they Require will be your Credit limit for this card. It will be returned to you after the card is payed off and closed.

Secured Credit Cards are meant to help people with bad credit, by building credit history.
Some Secured Credit Cards turn into Unsecured credit cards after 12-18 Months of payment. (Unsecured means you get your deposit back and keep the card)

thanks toofar, you did a good thing exposing those crooks