Ewww, that sounds bad. Then again, don't feel bad Leo because they are not offering cli's to those with unsecured cards....lol. OMG, did you read the review on Orchard in the credit card review? Someone posted that they gave them a $20 cli....YES I SAID $20! That is worse than throwing a brick at the church.

Dont get an orchard bank secured, ive had it now for over a year its helped my creidit alot, but i deposited $500 with them i pay my balance in full every month, they wont give Credit increases on secured cards, and they never release the funds unless you close your card, since then i have acouple other cards, and i want to close that one, but afraid of canceling my oldest card.

i called bank of america today. A csr told me a diffrent story. She told me that it does not matter how much you deposit into your account to get whatever cl you want. You will get whatever you deposit but it will not mean that you will get that amount as a cl when it gets unsecured. After the review of your report after the 9-12 months they will determine what your credit limit will be. You will get your money back if you are in good standing and not in default. If you plan to mess up then i guess they can take your money, understandable. I dont plan to default or miss a beat. I will still deposit more money into the account about the 8th month to raise my cl up just to show them that i can handle the higher cl. Might not do me any good but i will still try. Ill get my money back anyways. Rather show them I can handle a 3k cl than a 300cl. As of right now this card is only good for coffee. Thats it. Had the card for 5 months and probably charged 30 bucks.

Hi pumbaablah, I've just read the agreement that came with my secured BofA card and yes they can take all of your money. When you sign the card you agree to all of their terms and conditions and you sort of give up your rights if you default. Yeah, I know it sucks but those are their rules.

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Ouch! It sounds tough but I have to look at it from their perspective, if you can't handle a secured card when it's your own money at bat, why would you handle credit they extend you. Talk about tough love. Yowzah!

I dont believe they will take ALL your money..i highly doubt that.. i will call to find out...

Hi pumbaablah, I've just read the agreement that came with my secured BofA card and yes they can take all of your money. When you sign the card you agree to all of their terms and conditions and you sort of give up your rights if you default. Yeah, I know it sucks but those are their rules.

But do they say this in the agreement? I remember when I had the Sterling Bank and Trust card years ago. I had like over $1700 in secured funds. When I got tired of the card because I maxed it out, do you know that it was on my credit report for the exact amount plus nearly $2500 that I owed them? They expected for me to clear the balance with my money and then they will send me a check, I was like, "Foooorget Yooou" because it was my money that I decided to spend so what do I owe you for?

I wouldn't call, I would read the agreement at the time of application.

I dont believe they will take ALL your money..i highly doubt that.. i will call to find out...

They will keep your deposit? That sounds crazy!

Just make sure you make your payments on-time or else they reserve the right to not refund your deposit when your card unsecures.

Ohhhh ok, now that sounds like a winner! Go for it!

I asked them specifically if i send in an additional amount to raise my cl up will i be able to keep that cl when i get unsecured and they say yes. They will send my money back into my account after it gets unsecured. Then I asked them further and said...if i send 5k in will i get my money back and get 5k cl they said yes. I will go forward with this around the 8th month on this card. If i can get my limit up higher without the waiting im going to do it. 2500cl or higher looks alot better then 300cl. Saves more time and hassle.

That's sort of weird to me, how in the heck is your funds considered to be a cl when it is unsecured? Hey hjm, it seems to me that they would send him a check back and then give pumbaablah a normal cl. That sounds like a rip off to me because it seems like they are still charging a finance charge and APR off of the customers money.

I just called bank of america card division. They told me that whatever i deposit that i will get back as a cl for the unsecured card. i really dont see any problem with it as long as you use the card VERY wisely. I think i will wait until about the 8th month of having the card and send in about 2500 to raise my cli up. To me it would be worth it because i would not have to fight and wait for increases and i would be good out the box.

Pumbablaah, that's a good question. For those who deposited $300 into their secured card were able to keep and even have their CL doubled when their cards were unsecured. I personally wouldn't invest that much into a secured card because in the card agreement, it states that if you miss a payment, they will take your deposit and they will not refund it you. I would just deposit the $300 minimum and use it until they unsecure it and let them give you the CL they see fit. It's a 100% risk depositing a large amount of money into the secured card because if for some odd reason the bank doesn't return your deposit, you won't be able to swallow it.