credit card applications. Unfortunately, if they haven't been dealing with
credit in the intervening time, their credit score likely has not improved from
the diminished level, meaning their access to new accounts will be extremely limited.
Lenders have been slowly expanding their extending of credit card offers to subprime
borrowers, but those with poor credit will likely have few options available to
them despite this trend.
With this in mind, here are two sure-fire options for those who want to increase
their spending flexibility without access to the accounts they may have been accustomed
to in the past:
Secured credit cards
This is the ideal option for those who actually want to rebuild their credit scores
instead of just gaining a bit of financial flexibility in their everyday life.
Secured credit cards work just like any others do, but with a few notable differences
from the accounts you used to use. For one thing, they are "secured" because you
will have to make a down payment to the lender with which you are opening the account.
Usually, this payment will have to total a few hundred dollars, but this is used
to establish the credit limit on your card. Once this is done, you can use it as
you would any other card, but you will need to keep in mind that the credit limit
on it is very low, and it's therefore much easier to max it out.
You should also remember that these cards also come with slightly higher interest
rates and, usually, annual fees, than the ones you used to have, meaning that carrying
a balance over from one month to the next can be a costly proposition. Keeping your
balance low will help you to avoid this problem, and keep your credit rating as
healthy as it should be.
This type of card should largely be used as a kind of credit trial program until
you get your score high enough that you can obtain a more beneficial account. However,
when seeking a secured credit card, you should also make sure that your lender reports
to the various credit reporting agencies so that any progress you're making is accounted
for in your credit score.
Prepaid cards
Prepaid credit
cards in no way affect your credit, but instead work like a debit card:
You load money onto them and the balance on the account is depleted every time you
make a purchase.
Prepaid cards are beneficial for consumers with poor credit because they do not
require a credit check - since, again, they have no bearing on your standing, and
vise versa - and are instead designed to give users more spending flexibility and
control over their funds.
However, it's also important to note that prepaid cards also carry a number of fees,
such as those for monthly account maintenance, using an ATM and other things you
might do with a standard debit card on a daily basis. Depending on how you use the
account, it can therefore be more expensive than you might think to do so. For this
reason, reviewing a number of credit card programs targeted towards people with
bad credit will help you determine that best account for you.
Finding the best credit cards for Your financial situation.
Finding the right credit card isn’t as difficult as it may sound. You can use CreditCardApplications.com's
Credit Card Search Engine to sort through available offers and see which
cards match up best with what you want and can qualify for. Just check off whether
you are a consumer, business or student and then check off ‘bad credit’ in the
‘Looking for’ box. In seconds, you will be present with a list of cards appropriate
for Your personal situation.
We also have dedicated pages with a large list of choices designed for those ‘poor
credit’ and ‘bad credit’. Just check out the ‘Credit Type’ categories on the left
had navigation of any page.
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