How to Acquire a Credit Card with Bad Credit

If you would like to apply for a credit card but you have bad credit, you will discover that you may not qualify for some credit cards in the market, particularly from issuers that have strict credit rating requirements. Nevertheless, you are not left without a choice.

In fact, you will find that you have several options to choose from. On this post, let us discuss what these available options are.

Apply for a secured credit card. A secured credit card is a special type of credit card for bad credit. Approval for this account is not based on the applicant’s credit history so whether you have bad credit or no credit should not matter.

If you want to get a secured credit card, be prepared to submit a security deposit in cash. The amount can range from $200 to $500, depending on your chosen card and issuer. If you would like to enjoy a higher credit line, then you need to be prepared to submit an equally high deposit as well. This is because the security deposit will be used by your credit card company as payment for your charges in case your account becomes delinquent or you fall behind your payments.

Apply for a prepaid debit card. A prepaid debit card is another type of bad credit credit card which can also be used as a tool for rebuilding damaged credit history or a low credit score. This is because you can find issuers of debit cards today that report payments to the three major credit bureaus. Like a secured credit card, you are expected to submit an advanced payment upon opening your account.

However, unlike a secured credit card, the holder of a prepaid debit card is not provided with a credit line. That means, a debit cardholder does not have the option to submit payment at a later time or to carry over a balance from one month to the next.

All costs charged to the debit card will be automatically paid using the cash deposit in the cardholder’s account. When the cash balance runs out, the debit cardholder must make a new deposit to be able to use the card for other transactions.

Apply for a department store or gasoline station credit card. This type of account is exclusively only to the department store or gasoline station that issued the credit card. That means, you can charge your department purchases to the card or refuel your car without paying in cash.

Usually, this type of credit cards are payable within a month. Furthermore, the cardholder is expected to pay the charges in full without leaving a balance. Although not your typical bad credit credit cards, a department store card or a gas station card can be used to raise a low credit score, rebuild poor credit, or establish credit history. The important thing is to make sure that your payments will be promptly reported to the three major credit reporting agencies for consumers (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion).

About the Author

Shelly Evans is a freelance writer and loan consultant. The website http://www.badcreditresources.com offers resources that specialize in providing bad credit loans and bad credit cards to people with bad credit.

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