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Best Western Secured MasterCard
Consumer Reviews, Credit Score and Income Needed, Credit Limits

Picture of Best Western Secured MasterCard
11 Reviews
Consumer Rating:
star ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar ratinghalf star rating

Apply Here apply here 4.5
Lowest:
530
Average Score:
571
Highest:
615
Card Details
Card Details

Annual Fee: $40
APR: 21.24%
Balance Transfer APR: 21.24%
Balance Transfer Fee: greater of $10 or 5% of transfer
Rewards
Rewards

  • 5,000 points after first purchase
  • 13X on Best Western stays (10 points as Best Western member, 3 as card member)
  • 1X on other purchases

Pros and Cons
Pros and Cons

  • Can graduate in 11 months
  • Can do balance transfer

Our Take
Our Take

Because this secured credit card is affiliated with a hotel, you get typical hotel reward card benefits that are common in hotel credit cards but are not common in regular secured credit cards. This card will appeal to those who travel and stay at Best Western and yet does not have a good enough credit to get their regular unsecured Best Western credit card.

There are a couple of features on this card that will appeal to some folks. The first is that you can do a balance transfer on this card. The rate is rather high at 21.24% but if you have balances on another card that has even higher interest, then it might be worth doing a balance transfer. The card also allows you to graduate to the unsecured Best Western version as earlier as 11 months if your credit improves.
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5 Star
54%
4 Star
45%
3 Star
0%
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Credit Score: 605 Credit Limit: 500 Age: 25-34
Posted 02/07 2018
Overall Rating: star ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar rating
My credit took a hit after my divorce but I was determined to quickly rebuild my credit. After doing lots of research on rebuilding, I was convinced that secured credit cards was the way to go. I also found out about this card while looking at FNBO's other cards. Nobody seems to write about it but after looking at the details, I thought this was one great card. I travel for business and stay at Best Western a lot. On the website, it says you will be considered for a credit line increase without deposit after 7 months and also considered for a deposit refund and graduation after 11 months.

I initially deposited cos I wanted to make sure I had enough credit line to book and pay for my Best Western stays. After 8 months (or rather after my 8th billing statement), I got a credit line increase from $500 to $800. True to their word, no deposit was required. My $500 deposit was also returned after 1 year. I high recommend this for rebuilders if you do stay at Best Western often. I suspect this card will work out for folks like me who travel at least once a month for business.
 
Credit Score: 530 Credit Limit: 600 Age: 25-34
Posted 08/26 2017
Overall Rating: star ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar rating
Like others here, I travel for my work and stay at Best Western. I chose this card along with Cap One secured to rebuild. I put in $600 as deposit (which is a larger amount than usual) because I wanted to make sure I had enough credit line to book my hotels and rent a car and yet keep my utilization ratio within reason. So far I have had no problems booking hotels or using the card for car rentals. I am glad I can earn points and get discount booking through the site.
 
Credit Score: 543 Credit Limit: 500 Age: 35-44
Posted 05/03 2017
Overall Rating: star ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar rating
I have been a Best Western member for years (without having their credit cards). The reward program is ok and most folks would not bother with it. But I have lots of points because work requires traveling and Best Western is where I mostly stay. I actually applied for the regular unsecured version but was denied and offered the secured card. I decided to accept and since then, the card has been actually pretty good. I have had no problems using it to make reservations. I also like that I can monitor my fico score for free. I also recently got a credit line increase to $700. Will definitely recommend this card if you are a Best Western member.
 
Credit Score: 568 Credit Limit: 400 Age: 35-44
Posted 07/07 2016
Overall Rating: star ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar rating
I got this card to rebuild my credit score. Being a Best Western member I like that it allows me to earn more points. 10 points for using the card on top of the 3 points booking their rooms. My deposit and credit limit are not that such but I do not spend anywhere close for my best western stays so it is enough most of the time.

The website is pretty user friendly and I love it that I could check my fico scores. So the experience has been good.
 
Credit Score: 560 Credit Limit: 500 Age: 25-34
Posted 10/23 2015
Overall Rating: star ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar rating
Here is my report and review on this card. I got this card and put $500 down. I spend about $250 on the card each month and for the most parts, I pay in full. The main reason I got this card was that for my job, I am out on the road 2 nights a week and I usually stay at Best Western hotels. Since my credit was not great, I thought this card will be helpful to earn some points and rebuild my credit.

I was surprised about the features once I started using the card. I could check and monitor the account from the app. I could see my FICO score for free. They do not charge any foreign transaction fee (which is nice though I do not travel abroad). After 7 months, I was given a credit limit increase without any deposit and my limit increased from $500 to $800. After 13 months, they returned my $500 deposit so I guess I have graduated.

This card is awesome. So under-rated and you do not see a lot of websites talk about it.
 
Credit Score: 580 Credit Limit: 400 Age: 25-34
Posted 09/06 2015
Overall Rating: star ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar ratingstar rating
I started in commercial real estate and travel at least twice a month. Most of the time I stay at Best Western and have signed up for the reward program. I recently got an email from them for an offer on the secured credit card. My score was not that great so I decided to apply and got approved. Deposited $400. I really like the app and I can monitor my account pretty easily.

I called the customer rep about upgrading to an unsecured Best Western down the road and she said that as long as I use the card and pay on time, I will be considered for graduation after 11 months. They also said that I will be considered for a credit limit increase after 7 months without adding more deposit. Well, it's been only 2 months so we'll see what happens. But so far so good.