This is a little off topic but need to have a whine about secured cards - I had two simultaneously with wells fargo and bank of america for 12 and 6 months respectively and always in the black. When trying to "upgrade", was then bounced for being on a temp E3 visa as part of some magical policy at both banks they failed to enlighten me to in the sales pipeline.

E3 is a nice idea but dealing with some of life's basics can be grueling in the US if you're off the system. It's not difficult to imagine how people on the street here can't get out of the hole.

Credit Unions are the way to go, no doubt, but took a while to figure that out.