Citi® Secured Mastercard® Review
Overview
The Citi Secured Mastercard is a plain, honest secured card from a major bank. It earns no rewards, but it has no annual fee and does the fundamental job of building credit fairly, which already puts it miles ahead of the fee-harvester cards aimed at the same shoppers.
You put down a refundable deposit that becomes your limit, use the card responsibly, and build a track record with a big issuer. It is not exciting, but it is fair, and fair is exactly what you want when you are establishing credit.
Think twice if: you want rewards or a clear graduation path, since the Discover and Capital One secured cards offer more.
Our 3.5 out of 5 rating
Each score weighs the rewards rate, value after the annual fee, welcome offer, points flexibility, and perks, with every point valued at a flat 1 cent. This is our editorial assessment to help you compare cards, not a guarantee of approval or of the value you will get.
Rewards: how it earns
There are no rewards. This is strictly a credit-building card, so judge it on cost and fairness rather than earning. On that score it does fine: no annual fee, a refundable deposit, and reporting to all three bureaus.
| Category | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dining and restaurants | 0x | Base rate |
| Groceries | 0x | Base rate |
| Gas | 0x | Base rate |
| Travel | 0x | Base rate |
| Streaming | 0x | Base rate |
| Everything else | 0x | Everything else |
The fine print on rates: A simple no-frills secured card from a major bank. A refundable deposit from $200 sets your limit. No rewards, but no annual fee, and it helps establish credit with Citi.
Every point and mile above is valued at a flat 1 cent, the same honest standard we use for every card. Run your own spending through the calculator to see what this card would actually return for you.
Pros and cons
- No annual fee
- Refundable deposit and reporting to all three bureaus
- Build credit with a major, widely accepted issuer
- No rewards
- No welcome bonus and no standout graduation offer
- Discover and Capital One secured cards generally offer more
The welcome bonus
There is no welcome bonus. The card is about establishing credit, not earning, so there is no sign-up incentive to weigh.
Is the annual fee worth it?
There is no annual fee, and your deposit (from $200) is fully refundable. Building credit here costs nothing beyond tying up the deposit, which is the standard every secured card should meet and many predatory cards fail.
Benefits and protections
Beyond the rewards, the perks and protections worth knowing about include:
- Refundable security deposit from $200 sets your credit limit
- Access to a free FICO score and Citi tools
- Reports to all three credit bureaus
- A path to building credit with a major issuer
Statement credits
This card does not come with recurring statement credits. Its value is in the rewards rate and welcome offer.
Who should get it, and who should skip it
If you want to build credit with a major bank and keep things simple, the Citi Secured does the job with no annual fee and no gimmicks. It is a perfectly fair, no-nonsense option.
That said, for the same $0 fee, the Discover it Secured earns rewards and matches them in year one, and the Capital One secured cards offer rewards or a lower deposit and clearer graduation. Citi is a solid fallback, but those tend to be the stronger picks.
Frequently asked questions
Best-card guides featuring this card
Offer details verified against issuer sources as of July 2026. Editorial opinions are our own. Cardocrat values all points at a flat 1 cent and never inflates redemptions.
