Chime Card
Written by Kenji NiwaChime Card, formerly called Credit Builder, is Chime's secured credit card. You move money from Chime Checking into a secured account, and that amount is what you can spend. There is no annual fee, no interest and no credit check.
On Chime Financial, Inc.'s site
12,770 Firstcard clicks in the last 12 months
On Chime Financial, Inc.'s site
- Minimum deposit
- Varies
- Fees
- $0
- APR
- None
- Credit check
- None
- Reports to
- All 3 bureaus
- Unsecured upgrade
- —
The details
- Minimum deposit
- No minimum. Money you move in secures the card
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- None
- Credit check
- None
- Reports to
- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
- Unsecured upgrade
- N/A. The money you move in secures the card, so there is no deposit to graduate from
- Credit limit
- No preset limit. You spend what you move into the secured account
- Rewards
- 5% cash back in one chosen category with Chime Prime, 2% with Chime Plus, on up to $1,500 of purchases a month
- Deposit
- Money you move in
- Account required
- Chime Checking
- Bank account required
- Yes
Facts come from the issuer's own terms, checked October 28, 2026. Confirm them on the issuer's site before you apply.
Pros & cons
Pros
- No annual fee, no interest and no credit check to apply.
- No minimum deposit. Move over as much or as little as you want.
- Reports payments to all three bureaus, without reporting your utilization.
Cons
- You must open Chime Checking to apply, and out-of-network ATM fees may apply.
- The 5% cash back needs $3,000 or more in direct deposits in 34 days. Smaller deposits earn 2%.
- Cash back covers only one category you pick, on up to $1,500 of purchases a month.
Compare Chime Card to other secured cards
- Min. deposit
- Varies
- Fees
- $0
- APR
- None
- Min. deposit
- $200
- Fees
- $35
- APR
- 23.89% variable
- Min. deposit
- $100
- Fees
- $0 first year, then $25
- APR
- 27.74% variable
- Min. deposit
- —
- Fees
- N/A. No longer offered
- APR
- —
After this card, similar cards from the same list are picked automatically: cards from Firstcard partners first, then the rest, each group by Firstcard editors' rating. That order may reflect partner compensation, as how we rate explains. It never changes a rating. The full list shows them all. Clicks are Firstcard members sent to each card in the last 12 months, with suspected bot traffic excluded.
A warning from Firstcard
- Pay in full every month. Interest only starts when you carry a balance. Pay the statement in full and the APR never touches you.
- Keep the balance low. Credit use is a big part of your score. Try to stay under 30% of your limit, and lower is better.
- Turn on autopay. One missed payment can mean a late fee and a mark on your report. Autopay for at least the minimum removes that risk.
How credit use affects your score: myFICO on amounts owed.
Kenji is the Founder and CEO of Firstcard. He built and sold iTank, Japan's largest internship platform, and has made about 40 angel investments, including Substack. He started Firstcard at UC Berkeley Haas after he was rejected for his first U.S. credit card. Full profile and latest articles →
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Firstcard exists to make finance simple and accessible, so anyone can choose the right financial product with confidence. That means showing every fee and every catch upfront, and holding ourselves to the same standard. Here is how Firstcard works, and how we make money.
How we rate. Our editors' rating for a secured card weighs four things. What does it cost in the first year, with every fee and the APR? What limit do you actually get? What do you need to qualify? And how does it help you build credit? Ratings run 1 to 5 in tenths and compare products only within their own category, so a 4.5-star cash advance app is not “better” than a 4.0-star credit builder: they do different jobs. Treat the rating as one input, not the decision. See how we rate financial products.
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Ratings versus placement. Star ratings, member reviews, and our cost math are never influenced by money, and no partner sees a review before it publishes. Where a product appears is a separate question: featured spots and default ordering can reflect partner compensation and what members click and choose. That is why the rating and the real numbers travel with every product, wherever it sits. See our Advertiser Disclosure and Editorial Guidelines.
Terms change, so check before you apply. These terms come from the providers, not from us, so we cannot guarantee they are current or complete, and anything a member reports describes their own account rather than the offer you will be given. Always confirm the fees and terms on the provider's own site before you apply. If you spot something wrong here, email support@firstcard.app and we will fix it.
