Secured credit cards look like regular cards, but they aren’t technically the same. Because credit is essentially a loan extended to you by the card issuer, requiring you to pay it back on time, these cards aren’t really proper credit cards.

If you pay off your conventional credit card withing a billing cycle, you won’t have to pay any interest. However, you might still have to pay annual fees. The benefit of credit cards is that they allow you to buy things immediately, even ones you wouldn’t necessarily be able to buy without saving up several paychecks.

While saving up is great for luxuries, it’s hard to do if you’re taking a loved one on vacation or getting your vehicle’s transmission fixed in an emergency. On top of that, a credit card is prestigious and convenient to have.

To look like you’ve got everything together without keeping a lot of cash on you, being able to pay with plastic is important. That’s why so many people use credit cards daily.

If you’ve had bad luck or you’ve made some bad purchases, you might not have a credit score good enough to qualify for an ordinary credit card. A secure credit card is a good option in this case.

You can still get the benefits of convenience and prestige without the credit card companies really giving you a loan. Essentially, you put up the money in advance. The amount you put in is effectively your spending limit, so you can’t really get yourself into trouble in the same way as a regular credit card.

A secured credit card is a great way to build your credit back up if you’ve had problems. Just make sure that the company issuing the card offers a credit report to the bureaus, telling them how well you’ve done. While you can’t spend more than the cash that’s on the card, it does give you the convenience of plastic, while allowing you to bolster your credit.

If you’re thinking about using a secured credit card to improve your credit situation, be sure you use a card to report your on-time payments to the credit agencies. If you don’t do this, your score won’t improve. If you’re just looking for insurance against over spending and the convenience of a credit card, you can use any secured credit card – just make sure you find one that’s low in fees.