A month or two ago I received an application for a Providian secured credit card in the mail, and threw it in the trash. A couple of weeks later someone on this board gave them a glowing recommendation, so I emailed them and asked if they had Providian's number.

Called Providian up... and was told that they don't send out applications on request, you can only get one by them directly soliciting you. She told me that the fact that I received an application in the mail means that I got on their "junk mail list" somehow... so I will probably be receiving another application in a month or two anyway.

After this, I decided to do a little more research on this board... and found that Providian pretty much has a reputation for sucking, anyway. I really need to apply for some kind of secured credit card (with $200 or less minimum deposit)... but there are more horror stories on this board than there are about online brokerages on that board. Does anyone know of any secured credit card with a $200 or less minimum deposit that isn't a total raw deal (at least, compared to the others?).

Thanks for any recommendations...