Monday, December 12, 2011

How do you get a credit card with bad credit?

Years ago I messed up my credit. Now I want to get a credit card to regain some credit but no one will give me a credit card.How do you get a credit card with bad credit?
If you're credit's ';unfavorable'; a better option would be to get a ';secured'; card. The main disadvantage is that you have to put a deposit upfront. It sucks, but hey that's the price you pay for having bad credit. But you could make this work for you. Let me paint a scenario for you. Let's say that you got your tax return that was $5000 and you decide to deposit it into your secured card. Well, you would have a credit line of $5000. You make small purchases that you're able to pay off in full on time, every month. You're doing this for about a year as well as increasing your limit by adding to the deposit evey 2 months. When it's all said and done, after a year or so of perfect payment history, your card becomes unsecured, not to mention with a credit line that would be more than what you would have if you would've applied for an unsecured card, not to mention that you would've saved a nice chunk of change for a rainy day.How do you get a credit card with bad credit?
You're only choice is a secured card.



Go to FTC.gov for more info on credit and your record. You get a free report from all three bureaus each year.
You have to keep applying. ALso you may find taking a small bank loan.. and making sure you pay it off on time and make small extra payments. this will help your credit rating. (No cosigners can be used..as it is there credit rating that will be enhanced.. not yours).



Other than that.. talk to your bank.. see what they recommend. SOmetimes a store is easier to get a cc from. Again, use the card and make sure you pay it off ... over a few months you will make your credit better. But I would defintely talk to my bank for advice!
The best way to do this, is to get a credit card that requires a savings account. You send the company a certain amount, say $600 and they put this into a savings account and issue you a credit card with a limit of $600. This is called a secured credit card. Some companies will make your limit one and a half times your security deposit. So, with $600, in the savings account, you would have a card with a $900 credit limit. After you have the card for a certain length of time, which is usually specified in the original agreement, if you have kept your credit up and made all your payments on time, they will send you back your savings amount, and you will then have an unsecured credit card. This whole time you have the card and are using it, you are rebuilding your credit. By the time you get your deposit refunded to you, if you have done well with your payments, you will have gotten some more credit card offers in the mail...they may have small credit limits at first and higher interest rates, but they will unsecured and you can move to lower interest rates and higher limits as your credit improves. Good luck to you!
I had the same problem a few years ago. It 's difficult to obtain credit w/out having any or good history, but a secured card is really the way to go. there are two that are actually not bad. The first the First Premier Bank card %26amp; the second is Bank of America. They both have good terms and you can always applying for unsecured credit about a year or two in. Pay it off every month. Really, you should do some credit research as well so that you don't get yourself into the same situation as you have in the past. Get those three free reports every year to monitor. Do not keep applying for credit though as multiple inquiries actually will lower your fico score. Keep one card and never charge more than say 40% of the maximum for at least a year. Your credit to debt ratio should be very manageable. You're just going to have to be patient.
I have two suggestion for you and then a little philosophy:

1) Get a secured card - That means you send the credit card company some money, the company holds the money. As you charge things, it uses the money they hold as collateral. It is your money and you don't lose it unless you don't pay them. Find them at the regular credit card websites. Read the rules carefully.

As you pay regularly, your credit score improves. After a couple of year, you drop that card and get a real card with a low max on it. Over time you can build up your credit if you pay regularly and don't let your balance get out of control.



2) Open up a checking account and a savings account at a local bank or branch of a larger bank. Regularly go in the bank and get to know the people. After you have been in the bank a number of time, say for six months, go see if you can borrow for a small item. Have the money in you savings more than the loan. Pay the loan off on time, very regularly. Your credit will improve.



In #1 and 2 above do not be late, infact always pay 10 days early each month.

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Now my philosophy: Count your blessing and never get a credit card. Be glad you can't get yourself in debt. When you are in debt, you owe part of yourself to someone else.



Pay for every thing with cash. If you need a car, start out and save your money and get the $1,000 or less beater. Continue to save your money. Always put back 10% of income in savings and get an emergency fund equal to 3 to 6 months of spending. It is hard at first, but you will find the blessings will make the difficult times look easy. ';Live like no one else so that you can live like know one else.'; Dave Ramsey says that all the time. Go to his website at ';www.daveramsey.com'; or ';www.crown.org'; is another good site.
The best suggestion I have is to do a search for credit cards for people with bad credit or one of the best things is to get a prepaid credit card (sounds ridiculous but it works)! Do not do as stated above in re: to keep applying b/c everytime you apply it takes points off your credit so if it is low and you apply to 10 different cards that does not help your credit either. Hope that helps ya out. Good Luck!
If it was a long time ago, not everything may still be on your credit report. Generally things last 7 years. Either way, try a local bank or credit union who is more likely to approve someone with less than perfect credit. You'll have to start with a small balance and make payments for the first few months, and then they will generally review your application and you can work your way up.
There is a site at http://www.bad-credit-credit-card-for-pe that has a list of credit card companies for people with bad credit. They have a list of secured, unsecured and prepaid cards.
nstant Approval Bad Credit Credit Cards



An instant approval credit card for bad credit holders is an unsecured credit card. Though they do not ask for a down payment, their interest charges are very high. Besides that any missed payments can result in severe penalties. But it is an excellent solution for bad credit holders to improve their credit rating, if used properly.



When choosing a credit card for bad credit holders take care to see that the lender does not levy exorbitant charges. Unscrupulous issuers can charge a program fee, an account set up fee, and an annual card fee etc. Authentic companies ask only for an annual fee and very little.



Major credit card issuers like Discover, American Express and Chase offer a credit card for bad credit holders.
Try http://www.cheap-credit-cards.org/credit for more info

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