Mr Credit Card
- No Credit Checks
- No Annual Fee or Foreign Transaction Fee
- Deposit Range: $10 - $10,000
- Unlimited Virtual Cards
- Earn 2% Cash back on Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Uber, Uber Eats, Spotify, and Whole Foods
- $25 statement credit if your credit score reaches 700 after one year using the card
- Can reduce deposit amount and hence credit limit
- Reports to all three major credit bureaus
- Mastercard Benefits - including cell phone insurance
At A Glance
The Sable One Secured Credit Card is arguably one of the best secured credit cards available to rebuilders today and it is absolutely feature packed. There is no credit checks so you will definitely be approved. There is also no annual fee and and no foreign transaction fee. The minimum deposit is very low (at $10) but you can also deposit up to $10,000 to get a large credit limit. Sable also allows you to reduce your security deposit (and hence you credit lines) any time. They also allow you to have unlimited virtual credit cards for extra security. You get to earn cash back rewards and Sable will even give you a $25 statement credit if your credit score reaches 700 after a year.
Card Details
| Annual Fee | $0 |
| Regular APR | P+6.99% |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | 0% |
| Security Deposit and Credit Limits | $10-$10,000 |
Key Features
No Annual Fee or Foreign Transaction Fees - Sable has no annual fee or foreign transaction fees. This makes it ideal to use the card abroad.
Deposit Range: You can deposit anywhere between $10 and $10,000. This is ideal for those of you looking for a low deposit secured credit card and also for those willing to put down a large deposit as well. Sable One also allows you to reduce your security deposit at any time. When you reduce your security deposit, you reduce your credit limit as well. This is a really unique feature that no other secured credit card has.
Earn Cash Back - Sable One is one of the few secured credit cards that lets you earn cash back for up to $20,000 in spending. You can earn 2% cash back on Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Uber, Uber Eats, Spotify, and Whole Foods and 1% cash back on other regular purchases. You can redeem the cash back into your Sable Banking Account. You can also redeem it for statement credits. The cash back you earn does not expire.
Unlimited Virtual Cards - Sable allows you to create unlimited virtual credit card (numbers) from your app for added security if you want to use a virtual card for an online merchant which you do not shop at often. You can use the virtual cards when you shop online or for your digital wallet.
Cell Phone Insurance - This card is a mastercard and one of the benefits include cell phone insurance for damaged cell phones (including cracked screens) if you charge your monthly cell phone to the card. You can claim up to $100 per incident with a $50 deductible.
$25 Cash Back for achieving 700 FICO score - Sable One will give you a $25 cash back if your fico score reaches 700+. Your score has to be less than 650 when you get the Sable One to qualify for the $25 cash back. Sable One uses TransUnion and Experian to track your credit score.
Those without SSN can apply - Sable was started by a group of immigrants who had difficulty establishing their credit history and opening bank accounts when they first got to the US. Hence, they made Sable easy for those without SSN to apply. You can also use your passport or visa for identification purposes.
You need to open a Sable Banking Account to apply - To get the Sable One secured credit card, you need to open a Sable Banking Account because you have to pay your bills through a Sable Bank Account and you cannot do so from another bank account. You also need to fund your security deposit via a Sable Banking Account.
Compared to Other No Credit Check Credit Cards
| Card | Annual Fee | Regular APR | Min Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sable One | $0 | P+6.99% | $10 - $10,000 |
| First Progress Prestige | $49 | 9.99% | $200 - $2,000 |
| First Progress Select | $39 | 13.99% | $200 - $2,000 |
| First Progress Elite | $29 | 19.99% | $200 - $2,000 |
| Opensky | $35 | 22.39% | $200 - $3,000 |
| Go2Bank | $0 | See Website | $100 |
| Chime | $0 | N.A. - Pay in full | No min or max |
As the Sable One Secured Credit Card does not perform any credit checks, I will compare it other similar secured credit cards that do not check your credit report.
Sable One vs Traditional No Credit Check Secured Cards
The Sable One compares quite favorably against traditional no credit check secured credit cards. I will list two examples here, the Opensky Secured Visa Credit Card and the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard.
Like the Sable One, Opensky does not check your credit. However, the do have an annual fee of $35 (which is actually very reasonable) and they do not have the other features that Sable has like cash back rewards, virtual cards, cell phone protection etc. Their security deposit (and hence credit limit) ranges from $200 to $2,000 (which is quite typical for many secured credit cards).
The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard is another secured credit card that does not check your credit and does not require a bank account to open. They also have an incredibly low APR at 9.99%. Having said that, they charge an annual fee of $49 and do not have the other perks and highlighted features of the Sable One.
Having said that, both the Opensky and First Progress are well known and established among the credit building and rebuilding community whereas Stable is a very new startup. Unlike Sable, you do not need to open a banking account with them to get their secured credit cards.
Sable One vs Fintech Secured Cards
Sable One faces competition from a couple of Fintech start ups with secured credit cards that are quite similar to itself. Like these new cards, you have to open a Sable Banking Account to get the Sable One credit card. Here are a couple of examples.
Chime , which is a mobile banking app, also has a secured credit card called the Chime Credit Builder Credit Card. Like the Sable One, it is no annual fee and no credit checks. Chime does not have the features like cash back, virtual cards, cell phone insurance and protection. But it has a unique feature in that you can use your security deposit in your Chime credit builder card to pay for your bills. If you need to spend more on the card, you simply just top up your "credit builder account". So though Chime is a secured credit card, it works more like a prepaid card (which is very unique for a secured credit card). While both Chime and Sable require you to open a banking account with them before you can get a secured credit card, Chime requires you to set up a recurring direct deposit before you can get their secured card. Sable One does not require you to have a recurring direct deposit to get their secured card.
Another example of a new a Fintech secured credit card is the Go2Bank secured credit card. Like Sable One, Go2bank has no annual fee and no credit checks. But like Chime, you need to set up a banking account and recurring direct deposit before you can get the secured credit card.
Pros: What We Like
- No Annual Fee and no foreign transaction fee - Even though there are more secured credit cards that have no annual fee, the vast majority still have them. Also, very few secured credit cards have no foreign transaction fee.
- Earn Cash Back - Not many secured credit cards have rewards program. Sable One allows you to earn 2% cash back on expenses that many of us will spend on.
- Unlimited Virtual Cards - Very few credit cards allow you to create and use virtual card with unique numbers. Sable One is one of the rare ones that do.
- Cell Phone Protection - Once again, this feature is only found in a few issuers and cardholders will find this very helpful. You do need to pay your monthly cell phone bill with the card to activate this feature.
- Low Minimum Deposit - The minimum deposit required is only $10. To be honest, I do not see anyone simply depositing $10 for a secured credit card. Nevertheless, if you cannot afford to deposit the standard minimum of $200 for most secured credit card, then you will find Sable One very helpful in this aspect.
- Can Reduce and Increase your Security Deposit - I am really by surprised by this feature as I have never seen anything like this in a secured credit card. But you can actually reduce your security deposit anytime. When you do that, you are also reducing your credit limit. You can also increase it anytime via your app by simply transferring money from your Sable Banking Account
Cons: What We do not like
- Need to open a Sable Banking Account to get the Sable One secured credit card - Unlike traditional credit cards, you need to have a Sable Banking Account to get the Sable One secured card. That is because you can only pay your bills via your Sable Banking Account
- Can only earn cash back up to $20,000 in spending - I hate it when credit cards put a limit to how much rewards you can earn based on your spending. Having said that, I think this should not be an issue for most of you who are looking to build a credit history or rebuilders looking to repair their credit.
Our Take: Sable One is Arguably the Best Secured Credit
Though the Sable One secured credit card is relatively new, I have to say that it has hit it out of the ballpark. I have not seen a secured credit card that is designed with features that clearly have users in mind. For me, they pass the first hurdle for rebuilders with no annual fee and no credit checks. Next, their credit limits (or rather security deposit limit) is has a very low minimum and a decent maximum limit ($10 - $10,000). The extra features are really a bonus. The 2% bonus category on Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Uber, Uber Eats, Spotify, and Whole Foods resembles a cash back program more for a prime card rather than a credit builder secured credit card. The virtual credit cards which you can create from your app is also a neat feature that hardly any mainstream credit card issuer has. Cell phone protection and insurance features are features only a couple of mainstream issuers like Wells Fargo and US Bank have. They even give you a $25 cash back if you achieve a 700 score if your score from TransUnion and Experian were below 650 when you got the card.
Sable was started by a group of immigrants who had difficulties in establishing their credit when they came to the US. Hence, even if you do not have a Social Security Number, you can use your passport or Visa for identification purposes. This makes this card ideal for those who have just come to the US and need to establish a credit history.
Sable is also working on coming out with an unsecured credit card and has indicated that once that is out, they will graduate holders of the Sable One secured credit card to the unsecured card after a certain period if you have used the card responsibly.
To sum up, after evaluating and reviewing the features of this card, I give it a 4.5/5 ratings. The only reason why I am not giving it a 5/5 is because you have to open a Sable Banking Account to get the card because you can only fund your security deposit and pay your Sable One bills through it. Having said that, if you are looking to build a credit history or need to rebuild your credit, I would recommend the Sable One secured credit card without any hesitation.
How to Apply?
Applying for the Sable One literally takes 5 min. First you create an account, then download the app, verifying your identity and you will get your card. Once you get approved, you will be able to create virtual cards to use before you receive your physical card.
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