Bad Credit History Credit Cards

Did you know there are over 100 million Americans living with bad credit everyday? If you are one of them, you have come to the right place. Having bad credit can be frustrating and you may feel helpless sometimes, but there are steps you can take to rebuild your credit. You probably have many questions about what bad credit means and how much it can affect your life. We will answer some of the most frequently asked questions and show you how to re-establish your credit. Our goal is to provide you with tips & advice and resources necessary to help you get your credit back on track, regardless of poor credit score or past credit problems. Let's get started!

How Do I Know If I Have Bad Credit?

If you have applied for a credit card or a car loan in the past few months and got turned down because of low credit score, you probably have less-than-perfect credit. If your credit score is 619 or lower, then you definitely have bad credit. This credit score also known as FICO score is calculated based on many factors such as age of your credit history, payment history, how often you apply for credit cards & the amount of debt you carry.

Can I Still Get a Credit Card If I Have Bad Credit?

Yes, you can still get approved for a credit card even when you have bad credit. There are 3 different kinds of credit cards that are designed for people with bad credit or less-than-perfect credit.

• Unsecured Credit Cards - it's the most popular, function like a standard credit card, except the credit line will be lower and the fees higher. The biggest advantage of getting an unsecured credit card is that most issuers of unsecured cards report your account activities to major credit agencies, which may improve your credit history if you make the minimum payments to all creditors and maintain your balances under the credit limits.
• Secured Credit Cards - these are cards backed by a deposit you make into a bank account, which serves as security for the card. Your approval is much easier. Some issuers of secured credit cards also report to credit agencies.
• Prepaid Debit Cards - it require funds pre-deposited into an account in order to activate the card, and the charges you make to the card are deducted from this deposit. Since no credit check is required, your approval is also guaranteed. Only a few issuers of Prepaid Debit Cards report to credit agencies. Therefore, Prepaid Debit Cards are not ideal for building or rebuilding credit.

So which type of credit card is best for you? We'll explain below.

I Have Really Bad Credit, How Can I Build or Rebuild Credit?

Before you start building or rebuilding your credit, you need to ensure your credit report is accurate. If you have never checked your credit report, now it's the time. After you obtain your credit report, it's important to review everything and make sure every item is accurate, if there's any discrepancies, you need to dispute each item with the credit agencies. Your credit report will have more details on how to do that yourself.

After making sure your credit report is accurate, it's time to build or rebuild credit. Using a credit card is actually the easiest way to build or rebuild credit. If you have bad credit or no credit, it's best to start with a secured credit card. It requires a security deposit to get approved, but your approval is much easier and it looks and works just like a regular credit card. Although your credit limit will be relatively low in the beginning, it may be increased gradually when you pay your bills on time every month. Since most secured credit card companies report your account activities to the major consumer reporting agencies every month, your credit score may also start to improve over time as long as you make on-time minimum payments with all of your creditors and maintain account balances below the credit limits. After your credit score is improved, you can then try to apply for a regular unsecured credit card.

If you do not want to give a security deposit in order to get a secured card, you may try to apply for an unsecured credit card for bad credit. However, there may be high fees charged by the issuers. If you can't get approved or do not wish to pay the fees, then a secured credit card is your best option.

If you'd like to apply for the best credit card for bad credit, please check out bad credit credit cards.

I Have Additional Questions, Do You Have Customer Service Support?

Yes. If you have additional questions, we are here to help. Please feel free to contact us.

 

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