Sometimes consumers makes mistakes, or simply can’t make payments on time. Unfortunately, any late payments or derogatory accounts don’t shine kindly on borrowers, and will bring FICO scores down to levels that most creditors won’t accept. However, there are still a number of credit cards available for people with bad credit.
You won’t see the same credit card offers you’d see for consumers with good to great credit, but the deals aren’t all that bad. And they can be a perfect way to rebuild credit. If you have bad credit, you won’t be able to secure 0% APR, and you’ll likely have to pay an annual fee, but it’s usually only $50-$75. The APR will be steep, anywhere between 10-30% depending on how bad your credit is, but if you pay off balances in full each month, you can avoid paying any interest. And over time your credit score will rise and you’ll be able to secure a credit card with better terms and no fees.
While applying for a credit card may be your only means for survival during troubled times, it’s best to rebuild your bad credit. The first step is to analyze why you have bad credit.
Go to the official free credit report site at Annualcreditreport.com and order a free credit report for all 3 bureaus. It’s important to get a report from each bureau as they don’t all report the same information, and you may have a collection or late on one but not the other two.
Once you get your free credit report, you’ll need to analyze any lates, collections, chargeoffs, tax liens, and anything else derogatory. If you see anything that appears to be an error, you’ll need to dispute it with the creditor. Quite often consumers will find incorrect lates and collections on their credit report, so it’s wise to order a free credit report once a month to keep track of your credit history.
Learn more about fixing bad credit.
