If you have a low credit score, you know how frustrating the road to rebuilding your credit can be. You need a credit product, like a loan or credit card, to make on-time payments and demonstrate to the credit bureaus that you deserve a higher score. But getting approved for a card can be tough, depending on how low your score has dropped.

That’s where secured cards like the Chime® Credit Builder Secured Credit Card come in. Like other secured credit cards, Chime’s card gives you a low-risk way to improve your credit score, and it’s easy to qualify for, even with poor credit, though you will have to open a Chime Checking Account (which has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements).

CNBC Select takes a look at the Chime Credit Builder Secured Credit Card to see if it could be a good credit building (or re-building) card for you.

Secured credit cards often don’t come with many perks, but the Chime Credit Builder Secured Credit Card does offer a few benefits that aim to improve your experience with the card:

• SpotMe: An optional program for eligible users that allows you to make purchases or withdrawals that would have otherwise exceeded your current funds, up to $200.
• Safer Credit Building: An optional auto-pay feature that uses the funds in your Chime Secured Account to pay off your Chime Credit Builder card in full each month.
• Move My Pay: This is another opt-in feature, which will automatically move a set amount of funds from your Chime Checking Account to your Credit Builder Account each time you get paid.

The card reports to the three major credit bureaus, which is key to building up your credit score. While Chime reports your payment history, it doesn’t report your credit utilization ratio, so you don’t have to worry about a high utilization hurting your score.

You can use your Chime Credit Builder Secured Credit Card to withdraw cash fee-free from more than 60,000 ATMs, plus Chime allows you to use your security deposit to pay off monthly balances, which is less common among secured cards.

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Credit Card has no annual fee, no late payment charges and doesn’t bill you to replace your card. The card does not charge interest, which means there is no APR, but it does have an out-of-network ATM fee of $2.50.

The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card is an alternative secured card option that doesn’t require cardholders to open a checking account with the bank. While the card requires a security deposit of $49, $99 or $200 (depending on your credit history and other factors), you’re starting credit limit will always be $200.

A $200 credit limit is fairly standard for secured cards, but one benefit of the Chime card is that you can determine your credit limit by deciding how much to deposit in your Chime Builder Account. If you want a higher limit for your card, and have the cash to back it up, then Chime’s card may be better for you.

One reason you might opt for the Capital One Platinum Secured card instead is that, unlike the Chime card, it offers a clear path toward an upgrade to an unsecured card. You’ll automatically be considered for a higher credit limit in just six months, plus if you use your card responsibly, Capital One may upgrade your card to the unsecured Platinum card and return your deposit.

The Capital One Platinum Secured card does have an APR, which means you will be charged interest if you miss any payments, which is not only costly, but could negatively affect your credit score.

Chime Credit Builder Secured Credit Card vs. OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card

The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card has a high approval rate with no credit checks required, which makes it a good option for those with low or no credit. The card also provides a path for upgrading your card to the unsecured OpenSky Gold Visa® Credit Card.

Compared to the Chime Credit Builder card, one of the most noticeable downsides to this secured card is its fees. In addition to charging interest on unpaid balances, the OpenSky Secured Visa has a $35 annual fee, a late payment fee of up to $41, a returned payment fee of up to $40 and charges a 3% foreign transaction fee.

While it’s not a traditional rewards card, the OpenSky Visa offers up to 10% back on select purchases through the OpenSky Rewards program. While it is a welcome addition to a secured card, the value this brings will depend on whether you frequently shop with participating merchants.

Learn more: OpenSky Secured Visa Credit Card review

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Credit Card offers a low-risk way to build or rebuild your credit history. The card requires no credit checks for approval, has very few fees and doesn’t charge interest. The card reports to the three main credit bureaus, so positive financial habits should help to raise your credit score.

In addition to not offering any rewards, the Chime Credit Builder card requires a Chime Checking Account to apply. The Chime Credit Builder Account can only be funded by transfers from your Chime Checking Account, which may be a drawback for some people.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best credit cards.

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