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Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. His work with Motley Fool Money and The Motley Fool has appeared syndicated in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
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Offer status
The Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot is no longer available for new applicants and card details may be out of date. We suggest reviewing alternatives to consider in this review or checking out the best credit cards for bad credit.
Green Dot may be most well-known for its prepaid debit cards, but it also offers credit cards for bad credit -- like the Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot. You can get this card no matter what type of credit history you have. Since it's a secured credit card, you need to pay a security deposit to open it. Most consumers will have no trouble getting approved, but is it a good option to improve your credit? We'll share the good and the bad in this Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot review.
4.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Credit Score:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Poor Under(579)
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
300-579
580-669
670-739
740-850
Credit Score
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Poor Under(579)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
9.99%
Rewards
N/A
Annual Fee
$49
Welcome Offer
N/A
The annual fee is justifiable for cardholders wanting to secure among the lowest APRs you'll find in this category.
No minimum requirements
Flexible credit limit
Reports to all three credit bureaus
Low interest rate
Annual fee
Can't graduate to an unsecured card
Credit lines available from $200-$5,000
Your credit limit matches your deposit
No minimum credit score required
Low fixed 9.99% APR rate on purchases
No processing or application fees
This credit card is no longer available for new applicants and card details may be out of date.
Credit card comparison
We recommend comparing options to ensure the card you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of standout credit cards.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Best for cash back on rotating categories
Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year.
1% - 5% Cashback
Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Intro:
Purchases: 0%, 15 months
Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months
Regular:18.49% - 27.49% Variable APR *Rates as of December 12, 2024.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Best for cash rewards on everyday spending
$200 cash rewards
Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
2% cash rewards
Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
Intro:
0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers
Purchases: 0% intro APR, 12 months from account opening
Balance Transfers: 0% intro APR, 12 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers
4.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Best for unlimited rewards on purchases
25,000 points
25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases
1.5 points per dollar
Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open.
Intro:
0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases. 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends, 18.49% - 28.49% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers will apply. A 3% fee for 60 days from account opening, then 4% fee applies to all balance transfers.
Purchases: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases
Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days
This credit card is a good fit for: Consumers who are rebuilding bad credit and haven't been able to get approved for any cards that don't charge an annual fee.
Top perks
No minimum requirements
This card doesn't have any minimum approval requirements. Whether you have bad credit due to issues on your credit file, or no credit history at all, you should not be denied because of your credit. Officially, Green Dot says that approval is contingent on verification of your identity and address and successful funding of the card's security deposit.
While there's no guarantee of approval, you don't need to worry about poor credit being a roadblock.
Your credit limit will be equal to your security deposit, and you can choose to deposit between $200 and $5,000. This flexibility is nice because it allows you to either put down more for a higher credit limit or pay a smaller amount if you don't have much saved. A higher limit can help raise your credit score by keeping your credit utilization ratio low.
Reports to all three credit bureaus
Green Dot reports your activity with this card, including your balance each month and your payment history, to the three national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). That's a feature you need in a credit-builder card, because it's important to improve your credit with each of those bureaus.
Low fixed APR
The Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot has one of the lowest APRs you'll find on any credit card. It also offers a fixed rate instead of the variable rates most credit cards offer, so your APR can't change without advance notice from the card issuer.
What could be improved
$49 annual fee
A glaring issue with this card is its $49 annual fee, which will be charged to the credit card when you open it. If you pay a $200 security deposit, your $200 in available credit will immediately drop to $151. That would also put your credit utilization at 24.5% before you've even used your card.
Considering you already need to pay a security deposit to get the card, an annual fee is somewhat excessive, but also somewhat justified for the APR that's among the lowest flat rates you'll find in the bad credit category. For people with good credit, it may be preferable to use a no annual fee card, because that way you can keep your card open without having to pay for it every year.
Graduation to an unsecured card
Some secured credit cards offer the opportunity to "graduate." That means after making enough on-time payments, the card issuer refunds your security deposit and changes your secured card to an unsecured card.
With the Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot, graduation isn't an option. You probably won't want Green Dot holding on to your deposit forever, but you'll need to cancel the card to get your money back.
Find the best credit card for your needs
Compare credit card rewards, fees, APRs, and more using our side-by-side comparison tool.
The Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot is available for consumers with any type of credit and credit score. You can get it if you're credit invisible, meaning you don't have enough activity on your credit file to have a credit score yet. You can also get it if you've had some issues, such as missed payments or even a bankruptcy, that have resulted in a bad credit score.
The Primor Visa Gold Secured Card is right for you if:
The Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot is an option to consider if you need to rebuild bad credit because of negative items on your credit history.
The fact that almost anyone can get this card is a big plus for consumers with bad credit scores. Better yet, the low APR is a rare find, even in cards for people with good credit.
Unfortunately, it falls short in that it charges an annual fee and it never provides a way to move up to an unsecured card so you can get your deposit back. Applicants will want to wight those downsides with the low APR, which rivals or beats what you'd get with a personal loan.
It's best to start by looking at secured credit cards with no annual fee that can graduate to unsecured cards. If you can't qualify for one of those, then try the Primor® Visa Gold Secured Card by Green Dot.
Our credit card methodology
At Motley Fool Money, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.
We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how Motley Fool Money rates credit cards.
FAQs
The credit limit for this card is equal to the size of the deposit. The minimum deposit is $200, which equals a $200 credit limit. The maximum deposit is $5,000 for a $5,000 credit limit.
No, this card does not upgrade to an unsecured credit card.
Yes, you can use this card anywhere Visa cards are accepted.
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Discover Financial Services is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Lyle Daly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Mastercard, Target, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Discover Financial Services and recommends the following options: long January 2025 $370 calls on Mastercard and short January 2025 $380 calls on Mastercard. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Visa.
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