Citi Secured Mastercard

The Citi Secured Mastercard is a straightforward credit-building tool: a secured card with no annual fee from a major bank. Its job is to report on-time payments and help you establish a history, not to pay you back for spending. Be clear about the tradeoffs: the card earns no rewards, carries a 25.99% APR, and charges a foreign transaction fee, so it is a poor fit for carrying a balance or using abroad. Keep the balance low, pay in full every month, and treat it as a stepping stone toward an unsecured card once your score has improved.