 TITLE: Platinum Select Mastercard® Secured: Build Credit With No Credit Check CONTENT: The Annual Fee and Interest Rate Trade-Off\n------------------------------------------\nIdeally, you can pay your bill in full each month and won't have to pay interest on your purchases. If you carry a balance, a lower annual percentage rate (APR) can save you money on interest.\nAll three First Progress cards have the same qualification requirements, benefits and usage fees. The trade-off is that the annual fee is either $29, $39 or $49, and as the annual fee increases, the card's interest rate on purchases and cash advances decreases.\nThe Platinum Select Mastercard® Secured Credit Card is the middle option with a $39 annual fee and moderate rates.\nThis card's APR is 6% lower than its $29 annual fee sister card, the First Progress Platinum Elite Mastercard® Secured Credit Card. With the 6% APR and $10 annual fee differences, it would take about 333 days (about 11 months) for you to break even if you're carrying a $200 balance the entire time. The higher the balance, the more interest accrues each day, and the shorter the break-even point.\nIf having a low APR might tempt you to carry a balance, or you expect to rarely carry a balance and pay it off quickly when you do, the lower annual fee card might be a better option. Also, consider one of the many secured cards that don't have any annual fees. END