Credit Cards for People with Bad Credit
Need a credit card but cannot get approved because of
poor credit or no credit history?
Look through the sub-prime category for credit cards designed for people with bad credit. There are fees associated with these credit cards and prepaid cards in addition to the annual fee. Please read the terms and conditions for each card when applying.
Getting and maintaining a credit card makes it easy for people with poor credit, bankruptcies, and other credit problems to establish or rebuild bad credit.
According to experts, many people with bad or no credit end up paying much more than they have to for a credit card. High fees are charged for such high risk consumers in order to compensate the banks for serving people with bad credit who may be late with their credit card payments or who end up not making any payments at all. They are charged a higher APR, annual fee, application processing fee, and are usually offered no grace period.
However, there are many options available for people with bad credit looking for a credit card. It may be possible to get a credit card regardless of your credit history. There are many cards available from banks and credit card companies for people with less than perfect credit.
These credit cards may be able to help repair bad credit if payments are made on time and account balances are maintained below the credit limits.
Secured Credit Cards
A better option for people with bad credit would be to get a secured card and avoid paying these types of fees. For example, with a secured card, a consumer can make a deposit of $300 and then receive a $300 credit limit, sometimes higher. But most of the times, such consumers are looking for an unsecured card because they do not have funds available to put aside for a secured credit card.
Prepaid Cards
You get exactly what you put in with a prepaid card. You can deposit an amount of money into an account and this becomes your "spending limit". You have to recharge the account when the balance reaches zero or in other words, when you spend what you deposited. These applications are usually approved regardless of your credit history and usually there is no need to deal with credit bureaus.