What is a good secured credit card for people with bad credit?

2 Comments

1. YYL says:

   November 17, 2008 at 3:04 pm

   U may wana apply for a charge card instead.

   Credit card allows to pay the minimum and bring forward to the next mth, whereas its a must to make a full payment for charge card.
2. macnalex says:

   November 18, 2008 at 6:36 am

   While I am not a huge fan of HSBC, their subprime subsidiary, Orchard Bank, is one of the better cards for rebuilding credit. You will need to pay at least $200 up front, but the interest rate they give is usually much lower than a lot of the other “bad credit” cards. Sometimes they waive the annual fee as well.

   Without knowing your credit history, I don’t know if you would be eligible for the Bank of America Platinum Plus card. If you apply for a Bank of America credit card and are turned down, oftentimes they will offer you their Platinum Plus Visa card in the letter they send you declining you for the one you applied for. This is an EXCELLENT partially-secured card that usually requires you to pay $99 and gives you a credit limit of $500. After a year, they will usually unsecure the card entirely and raise your limit if your payment history is good. Bank of America also offers fully secured cards, and if you have a checking or savings account with them, I hear it helps with approval.

   Finally, one of the best places for building credit is through your local credit union. They typically offer excellent secured credit cards or even secured self-loans designed specifically for those rebuilding damaged credit. If you aren’t in a credit union, join one. They typically have great interest rates and by building a relationship with them, you will have more opportunities available to you as you build history with them.

   Good luck.