OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card Review (2026): No Credit Check, But at What Cost?

Research-based review: I haven’t personally held the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card. This review is based on verified issuer data, published cardholder experiences, and research into the secured card market. Verify all figures at openskycc.com before applying.

The OpenSky Secured Visa sells itself on one feature: you can apply without a credit check. If your credit history is damaged badly enough that other secured cards have rejected you, that matters. But the card charges a $35 annual fee and does not publish a fixed base rewards rate — two things that put it behind most competitors before you’ve made a single purchase. Based on verified data, this card makes sense for a narrow group of people and is a poor default choice for most credit builders.

Quick Summary

Who This Card Is For

The OpenSky Secured Visa is built for one situation: you need a credit card, you’ve been rejected elsewhere, and a credit check is the problem. That describes people who have gone through bankruptcy, have a history of charge-offs, or have a credit score so low that even other secured issuers have declined them.

For that specific situation, the no-credit-check approval process is genuinely useful. OpenSky reports to all three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — so on-time payments will build your credit history with every bureau. The minimum deposit starts at $200, which is standard for secured cards.

The card is a poor fit for anyone who can qualify elsewhere. If you can get approved for the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, Capital One Quicksilver Secured, or Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured Card, all three of those cards charge no annual fee and at least two offer real, published rewards rates. Paying $35 per year for a credit-building card you can avoid paying is money you don’t need to spend.

One more group to flag: if you travel internationally, the 3% foreign transaction fee makes this card expensive to use abroad.

Sign-up Bonus: There Isn’t One

The Opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card has None. There is no spend requirement and no first-year incentive beyond account approval itself.

For most cards, this section would calculate net first-year value. Here, the math works against the card from day one: $0 bonus + $0 in guaranteed ongoing rewards minus $35 fee = you are already down $35 in year one before you swipe the card once.

That is not a dealbreaker for every applicant. If this card is the only option that will approve you, the cost of building credit history is the $35 annual fee. Think of it as the price of access. What matters is whether you graduate to a no-fee card as soon as your score improves — typically within 12 to 18 months of consistent on-time payments.

The cards that should replace this one once your credit recovers include the Capital One Quicksilver Secured (no annual fee, 1.5% cash back, path to upgrade) and the Discover it® Secured (no annual fee, 2% at restaurants and gas stations, automatic review at 7 months).

Rewards: The Honest Picture

The OpenSky Secured Visa advertises up to 10% cash back on select purchases. OpenSky does not publish a fixed base rewards rate on its website — the card database flags this explicitly.

What that means in practice: you cannot calculate what you will earn before spending. The “up to 10%” figure refers to rotating or merchant-specific offers, not a guaranteed rate on everyday spending categories. Cardholders report that these offers are inconsistent and often limited to specific retailers through OpenSky’s rewards portal.

Compare that to the Discover it® Secured, which earns a guaranteed 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations and 1% everywhere else — numbers you can verify on Discover’s website and use to plan your spending. Or the Capital One Quicksilver Secured, which earns a flat 1.5% on every purchase with no category restrictions.

The math table the review template calls for can’t be completed honestly here. There is no fixed rate to multiply by a monthly spend figure. What cardholders can count on is zero guaranteed base earnings — any cash back is conditional on engaging with the rewards portal and meeting merchant-specific terms.

If rewards are part of why you want a credit card, this card is the wrong choice. If you need to build credit and this is your only approval option, rewards are secondary anyway — the value comes from the credit bureau reporting, not from cash back.

Fees and Costs

The $35 annual fee is the card’s most significant cost. It is charged annually and is not waived in the first year.

Because there is no guaranteed base rewards rate, there is no break-even spend calculation to do — you cannot offset the fee through guaranteed earnings the way you can with a flat-rate rewards card.

The APR is 23.89%–23.89% variable. For a secured card, this is on the high end. Carrying a balance here is costly, and credit-builders are sometimes in financial situations where carrying a balance feels necessary. It isn’t worth it: interest charges on a high-APR card will erase any credit-building benefit fast.

3% foreign transaction fee applies to purchases made outside the US. For a card aimed at people rebuilding credit, international use is probably occasional, but the fee is worth knowing.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• No credit check required to apply — the clearest differentiator in the secured card market
• Reports to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion)
• Minimum security deposit of $200 is accessible
• Can be useful for people rebuilding after bankruptcy or with heavily damaged credit

Cons

• $35 annual fee with no rewards guaranteed to offset it
• No fixed base rewards rate published — any cash back is conditional on rotating merchant offers
• Better secured cards with no annual fee exist for applicants who can pass a credit check
• 3% foreign transaction fee
• No automatic upgrade path to an unsecured card documented on issuer’s site

How It Compares

The most useful comparison is against secured cards that are accessible to similar applicants but charge no annual fee.

The Discover it® Secured and Capital One Quicksilver Secured are objectively better cards for applicants who can qualify. Both charge no annual fee. Both publish verifiable rewards rates. Discover reviews your account automatically at seven months for potential upgrade to an unsecured card.

The only reason to choose the Opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card over either of those is if you cannot get approved for them. That is a real situation for some applicants, and the no-credit-check feature is genuinely valuable in that case — but it should not be anyone’s first stop before trying alternatives.

Nick’s Verdict

Based on verified data, the Opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card makes sense for exactly one type of applicant: someone who has been rejected by other secured cards and needs the no-credit-check approval path. For that person, paying $35 per year to get a card on their credit report, make on-time payments, and build their way out of a bad credit situation is a reasonable tradeoff.

For everyone else, this card costs money it doesn’t need to cost. The Discover it® Secured and Capital One Quicksilver Secured are free to carry, offer real rewards, and are designed with an upgrade path built in. Apply to those first. If you get declined, come back to this one.

If you do open the Opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card, the plan should be to close it or stop using it as soon as your score allows you to qualify for a no-fee secured card — typically within 12 to 18 months of consistent on-time payments and low utilization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card worth the annual fee?

For most applicants, no. The $35 annual fee is hard to justify when no-annual-fee secured cards like the Discover it® Secured and Capital One Quicksilver Secured exist and offer better rewards. The fee makes sense only if you cannot qualify for those cards because the OpenSky’s no-credit-check approval is your only path to a card.

What credit score do you need for the Opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card?

OpenSky does not require a credit check to apply, so there is no minimum FICO score requirement. The issuer’s note on the application states that approval is not guaranteed even without a credit check — income and identity verification still apply. The card is designed for applicants with scores below 580 or no credit file at all.

OpenSky® Secured Visa® vs. Discover it® Secured: which is better?

The Discover it® Secured is better for almost every applicant who can qualify. It charges no annual fee, earns 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations and 1% elsewhere, has no foreign transaction fee, and reviews your account for upgrade at seven months. The Opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card is only the better choice if Discover’s credit check is the obstacle.

Does the Opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card have foreign transaction fees?

Yes. 3% applies to purchases made outside the United States or processed in foreign currencies. If you travel internationally even occasionally, the Discover it® Secured or Capital One Quicksilver Secured are better options — both charge no foreign transaction fee.

Does the OpenSky® Secured Visa® help build credit?

Yes, on-time payments are reported to all three major credit bureaus. That is the primary value of this card. Most cardholders who use it responsibly — paying on time and keeping utilization low — see credit score improvement within six to twelve months. The credit-building function works regardless of the annual fee.

Can you upgrade the OpenSky® Secured Visa® to an unsecured card?

OpenSky’s website does not document an automatic upgrade path or a formal review timeline. Cardholders report that upgrade requests can be made after 12 months, but it is not a guaranteed process. This is a disadvantage compared to Discover, which has a published automatic review at seven months. Verify current upgrade options directly at openskycc.com before applying.

How much is the OpenSky® Secured Visa® security deposit?

The minimum security deposit is $200, and your credit limit equals the amount deposited. You can deposit up to $3,000. The deposit is refundable when you close the account in good standing.