OpenSky Secured Credit Card Review

If you have concerns about having never heard of OpenSky, they are backed by a large bank.  OpenSky® is issued by Capital Bank N.A., a Maryland bank that offers both business and regular consumer (you!) banking products.  Capital Bank is a subsidiary of Capital Bancorp, which is a publicly traded company with over $1 billion in assets, and a member of the FDIC.

While they do operate some brick and mortar branches in the Northeastern United States, their credit card offering is issued online. 

The OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card is an interesting product. While it comes from a relatively unheard of bank, it avoids many of the pitfalls of the big banks we've all grown to know.

For starters, the APR offered is relatively low - especially for those with poor credit or past bankruptcies. Interest rates for customers in this bucket can easily be over 25%. OpenSky is a refreshing product in this sense.

Other fees are relatively minor, too. For starters, the annual fee is a manageable $35. You may find some secured cards that chard no annual fee, but cards for those with bad credit can also charge well over $100 in annual fees or monthly surcharges. The foreign transaction fee is a standard 3%, and returned payments are a reasonable $25. Many returned payments are $40. No one likes to see fees tacked on to their credit cards, but OpenSky  is far from the worst.

This part is important - and unique to the OpenSky Secured Visa.  In order to get approved for this product, the bank relies on financial information in order to demonstrate that you have the ability to repay your bill. There is no hard credit inquiry to apply.

Almost all credit cards will require that a hard credit inquiry be conducted before they extend you a line of credit. This can leave those with bad credit in worse shape than before they applied. This is because a hard inquiry will typically decrease a credit score by 3-5 points in the short term. Such a small number may not seem like a lot, but if your score is already in trouble anything you can do to safeguard those points count. 

In short, this means that your credit score doesn't matter when you apply for the OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card. 

What is the OpenSky Secured Visa's Security Deposit?

Great question. If your application is accepted for the card, you'll be asked to supply a security deposit. You can choose to put down between $200 and $3,000. This amount will be used to determine your line of credit. For example, if you deposit $1,500 your line of credit would be $1,500.

Your security deposit will not earn interest, but it is FDIC insured. Some banks will offer the ability to earn interest on your security deposit. The amount of interest earned is generally so small that we wouldn't make this a primary consideration, unless you are making a substantial security deposit when you open your account. 

What FDIC Insurance Does OpenSky Offer?

FDIC insurance is offered through Capital Bank. This means that if anything were to happen to the bank while they were holding on to your funds, the FDIC would insure your deposit against bank failure (up to $250,000). 

Does OpenSky Return the Security Deposit?

Yes. As long as you close your account in good standing (which means you do not owe OpenSky any more money on your bill or have other outstanding fees), your security deposit will be refunded within eight weeks of closing your account. Unfortunately, there's not a process to upgrade your card to an unsecured card. This is one of the biggest negatives of the OpenSky Secured Visa. 

OpenSky Secured Visa Reddit Reviews

The users on Reddit are split, but there are many complaints centered around accounts not being opened or cardholders not receiving their security deposits back in a timely manner.

In our experience, security deposits can be confusing, so we'd take this with a grain of salt. A card will not be opened before the bank receives a fully funded security deposit. As a new applicant, you will not receive a card until this happens. This can be lost in the excitement of expecting a new card. 

OpenSky also states that it may take up to 8 weeks to receive your security deposit back after closing an account. This allows time for the account to be closed and ensure that there aren't any pending charges on the account.

We understand the frustration with not receiving a security deposit back in a timely manner or getting lost in the strings attached with submitted a security deposit when a new customer is excited about a credit card. 

OpenSky Secured Visa BBB Reviews

While Capital Bank is not BBB accredited, there have been some complaints lodged on the site. The overall tone is similar to the reviews on Reddit. 

Conclusion

If you supply OpenSky with a proper security deposit and close your account in good standing, you are very likely to avoid the pitfalls of many of the concerned reviewers. The lack of complaints around customer service and security is otherwise positive.  

If your credit profile isn't in the best shape, and you want to start using credit responsibly in order to build some positive payment history, OpenSky might be worth considering. Also, if you're someone that is likely to carry a balance, the OpenSky offers one of the lower APRs available for those with bad credit. 

If your credit tends to be more in the “average” ballpark (a FICO score between 600-650), you may have some better options, like the Petal Visa. 

Overall, this is not a bad card to help those with bad or damaged credit start to build a credit profile. Payment history is reported to the three main credit bureaus. This can be useful to those looking to pad their credit profile with newly established positive payment history. The annual fee is a bit of a bummer, but for those with limited options, the ability to apply without a hard credit inquiry can mean the world.