Having a decent credit score can open a lot of possibilities in your life, whether it’s purchasing a home at a low mortgage rate, reducing your auto insurance premiums, or even securing certain types of jobs.
If you’ve had a problematic credit history, however, your credit might have sunk to new lows.
No matter what your current situation: don’t count yourself out.
By using certain credit cards available to those with bad credit in a responsible manner, you can dig yourself out of a hole and re-establish your credit score and credit history.
Credit Card Considerations
The first step when you have poor credit is to educate yourself about your financial options.
It’s crucial to understand that there are two different types of credit cards for people with credit challenges: secured and unsecured cards.
Secured Credit Cards
With a secured card, you get a credit card after you first pay a security deposit to a bank, credit union or other lender.
Then you build your credit by making regular payments (and certain applicable fees). So let’s say you put up a $500 security deposit. You would then get a secured card with a $500 credit limit.
Unsecured Credit Cards
On the other hand, unsecured cards have no security deposit. These are the traditional kind of credit cards most people apply for when they seek a new card.
But both secured and unsecured cards can be used almost anywhere credit cards are accepted, and retailers and others wont know if you’re using one card or another.
Credit cards usually have an online application form that’s easy to fill out. Some offer an instant approval, whereas others may take weeks via snail mail.
The rule of thumb is that the better your credit score is, the quicker you’ll be approved.
Here is a selection of 12 secured and unsecured credit cards that people with bad credit can apply for to get their credit back on track:
Capital One® Secured MasterCard®
Issued by: Capital One Financial Corporation
Bank Location: MacLean, Virginia
Brand: MasterCard
Secured? Yes
Type of Credit Needed: Limited/Bad
Milestone® Unsecured MasterCard®
Issued by: Mid America Bank & Trust Company
Bank Location: Dixon, Missouri
Brand: MasterCard
Secured? No
Type of Credit Needed? Bad/Poor
Credit One® Unsecured Visa® Card
Issued by: Credit One Bank
Bank Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Brand: Visa
Secured? No
Type of Credit Needed? Bad/Poor/Fair
UNITY® Visa Secured Credit Card – The Comeback Card™
Issued by: OneUnited Bank
Bank Location: Boston, MA
Brand: Visa
Secured? Yes
Type of Credit Needed? Bad
Credit One Bank® – Earn More Credit Fast
Issued by: Credit One Bank
Bank Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Brand: Visa
Secured? No.
Type of Credit Needed? Bad/Poor/Fair
Credit One® Visa® – No Deposit Required
Issued by: Credit One Bank
Bank Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Brand: Visa
Secured? No
Type of Credit Needed? Bad/Poor/Fair
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
Issued by: Capital Bank
Bank Location: Coral Gables, Florida
Brand: Visa
Secured? Yes
Type of Credit Needed? Poor/Bad/No Credit
Citi® Secured MasterCard®
Issued by: CitiBank
Bank Location: New York City, New York
Brand: MasterCard
Secured? Yes
Type of Credit Needed? None/Limited History
Total VISA® Unsecured Credit Card
Issued by: Mid America Bank & Trust Company
Bank Location: Dixon, Missouri
Brand: Visa
Secured? No
Type of Credit Needed? Bad/Fair
Credit One® Platinum Visa® for Building Credit
Issued by: Credit One Bank
Bank Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Brand: Visa
Secured? No
Type of Credit Needed? Poor/Bad/Fair
Surge MasterCard® Credit Card
Issued by: Celtic Bank
Bank Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Brand: MasterCard
Secured? Secured/Partially-secured/Unsecured
Type of Credit Needed? Poor
USAA Secured Card® Platinum Visa®
Issued by: USAA Federal Savings Bank
Bank Location: San Antonio, Texas
Brand: Visa
Secured? Yes
Type of Credit Needed? None/Limited History
Merrick Bank Double Your Line™ Visa® Credit Card
Issued by: Merrick Bank
Bank Location: South Jordan, Utah
Brand: Visa
Secured? Yes
Type of Credit Needed? Bad
To qualify for a secured card, you need to do more than put up a security deposit.
You also typically need to be at least 18 years of age, have a Social security number, a U.S. address as well as an American bank account.
Bear in mind also that, in some instances, you can be turned down for a secured credit card. One of the main reasons this may occur is if you have no steady source of income.
If you are rejected, don’t despair.
You can utilize a few “workarounds” to boost your bad credit history, including getting “credit builder loans” from local credit unions.
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