The First Latitude Select Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
REVIEW

Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Will be offered an unsecured credit card (First Digital Mastercard) if you pay on-time consetitively for 6 months No credit checks or hard inquiries - guaranteed approval Accept those with discharged bankruptcy in credit report Free Vantage Score from Experian	Annual Fee increase after second year

No Credit Checks and Low Security Deposit Requirements

The First Latitude Secured Mastercard distinguishes itself as a secured credit card that does not check your credit when you apply and has a very low minimum security deposit of $100 which is lower than most of its' peers. It is marketed by First Progress which also issuers secured credit cards under the First Progress brand. It is ideal for rebuilders who have been denied other secured or unsecured rebuilder credit cards and want to avoid another hard inquiry, but will also appeal to those looking for a secured credit card with a low security deposit requirement.

Card Details

Annual Fee	$39
Regular APR	24.49% *Variable
Security Deposit Requirements	$200 - $2,000
Credit Checks	No credit checks or hard inquiries

Competition

Card	Annual Fee	Regular APR	Min Deposit
First Latitude	$25 1st Year Then $35	24.49%*(V)	$200 - $2,000
First Progress Prestige	$49	15.24%	$200 - $2,000
First Progress Select	$39	19.24%	$200 - $2,000
First Progress Elite	$29	25.24%	$200 - $2,000
Opensky	$35	22.39%	$200 - $3,000
Sable One	$0	See Website	$10 - $10,000
Chime	$0	N.A. - Pay in full	No min or max
Self	$25	23.24%	$100

Compared with other First Progress Credit Cards

Since First Latitude is marketed by First Progress, we will start our comparison here. As you can see from the table above, First Progress has three secured credit cards marketed under the First Progress name. They are similar in most aspects. For example, First Latitude and all First Progress credit cards do not check your credit or do any hard inquiry and you will definitely be approved as long as you fund your security deposit. Secondly, both have partnered with First Digital and offer a pathway to an unsecured credit card. If you pay your bills for 6 consecutive months, both First Latitude and First Progress will invite you to apply for the First Digital Mastercard.
One area which is different is that First Latitude has a lower minimum security deposit requirement of $100 whereas First Progress has a $200 minimum requirement. This feature will appeal to some of you who want to tie up as little money as possible in your security deposit. Another difference is the First Latitude annual fee increase after the first year from $25 to $35 and you have to pay the annual fee monthly from the second year onwards. Despite the increase in annual fee during the second year, it is still competitive with First Progress and other secured credit cards.

First Latitude will be preferred by people who want to deposit as little as possible to their secured credit card.

Compared to other No Credit Check Secured Credit Cards

There are other secured credit cards that do not check your credit when you apply. One of the most prominent one is the Opensky credit card. As you can see from the table above, they are both quite similar in annual fee and security deposit requirements. Like First Latitude, Opensky also provides a pathway to an unsecured credit card. But Opensky does it a little differently. They have their own unsecured credit card called the Opensky Gold Card, with a $35 annual fee and starting credit limit of $500. In terms of fees and credit limits, the Opensky unsecured Gold credit card is better than First Digital. Opensky states that they "may pre-approve you for the Opensky Gold Card" after six months. In contrast, First Latitude will "invite you to apply for the First Digital Mastercard" as long as you pay on-time 6 consecutive monthly payments.

Opensky also has another feature that that First Latitude does not have. And that is they may increase your credit limit without the need for additional security deposit. So overall, the Opensky gives First Latitude a tough competition though you can get away with only depositing $100 with First Latitude. With Opensky, the minimum security deposit requirement is $200.

Compared to Other FinTech Secured Credit Cards

There are other secured credit cards issued by new Fintech companies that are worth comparing to. Two of them are the Chime Credit Builder Secured Credit Card and the Sable One Secured Credit Card. Like the First Latitude, both have no credit checks. They also have no annual fee (unlike First Latitude). As far as security deposit go, Sable One allows you to deposit anywhere from $10 - $10,000. Hence, they have a lower and higher limit compared with First Latitude. Chime has no minimum or maximum security deposit requirements though you have to pay in full every month. Having said that, Chime allows you to use your security deposit to pay your bills and replenish it every month. In a sense, it works like a prepaid card.

Thought both Sable One and Chime have some nifty features, they both require you to set up an online banking account with them. In Chime's case, you also need to do a certain amount of direct deposits first before you can get their secured credit card. If you do not mind going through these hoops, then they are in many aspects better than First Latitude. However, unlike First Latitude, they do not provide you to an obvious pathway to an unsecured credit card.

Pros: What We Like

• Will be Invited to apply for unsecured credit card - We like the fact that First Latitude has partnered with First Digital Mastercard and invite you to apply for it if you pay your bills for 6 consecutive months. That means that if you pay your first 6 monthly bills on time, you will receive that invitation. This provides a relative quick pathway to an unsecured credit card.


• No Credit Checks - First Latitude does not check your credit when you apply and you will definitely get your card as long as you fund your security deposit.


• Low Security Deposit Requirement - The minimum security deposit of $100 is much lower than most secured credit cards, most of which have a $200 minimum. This makes First Latitude one of the most affordable secured credit cards.

Cons: What We don't like

• Annual Fee Increase After 1st Year - First Latitude increases their $25 annual fee to $35 from the second year onwards. Very few credit card do that. Having said that, their annual fee (both first and second year) are reasonable and within the range of what most secured credit cards would charge.

Our Take: Low Deposit Minimum, No Hard Inquiry and Pathway to Unsecured Credit Card

The First Latitude Secured Mastercard is one of the few secured credit cards that does not your credit when you apply and will definitely ship you your card if you fund your security deposit. This is an important because though you think it is easy to get approved for a secured credit card because you actually put up a security deposit, in reality, many rebuilders have been denied secured credit cards.

If this describes you, then you would want to consider a card like First Latitude because you know you will definitely be approved. Furthermore, the minimum security deposit deposit is very low at $100. Many of you rebuilders are also strapped for cash and this low $100 minimum security deposit requirement can also help some of you a lot.

On top of this, if you pay your monthly bills on time for 6 consecutive months, First Latitude will invite you to apply for the First Digital Mastercard (whom they have partnered with). This gives you a relatively short time to move from a secured to unsecured credit card.

The one peeve I have about this card is that they increase the annual fee from $25 in the first year to $35 thereafter. To be honest $35 for an annual fee is very reasonable for a secured credit card but it would have been better if First Latitude kept it at $25.

You should also consider other secured credit cards that do not perform any credit checks because there are quite a few of them with different features that might interest you more.

To sum up, based on our evaluations and review, we give the First Latitude a 4 star out of 5 for having no credit checks, a low minimum security deposit and a pathway to an unsecured credit card through their partnership with First Digital. The increase in annual fee from the first year onwards prevents us from giving this card a higher rating.