Credit Cards To Help Rebuild Credit
Credit cards will help improve your credit score because you can create a positive payment history and improve your ratio of available credit to debt. Find out the terms a sub prime card has and your options for a card.
Getting a credit card to help rebuild your credit history is a very wise decision. A credit card can help you create a positive payment history.
When you have a damaged score you will be faced with a sub prime interest rate. This means you will have an interest rate around 19%.
It is still important to remove bad credit items from your credit report. However it has been learned that after a bad credit item ages 4 years it will damage your score much less.
With your card you are going to have to pay an annual fee and around 19% APR. This is called a sub prime credit card because it is designed for individuals with a damaged credit history.
On your card you will be given a credit line of $300. Your other choice is to get a secured credit card.
With a secured card you will have to put an initial deposit down and how ever much your deposit is that will be your available credit. The benefit of a secured card is that they approve everyone.
Both these types of cards offer instant approval. Before you apply for any card double check and make sure that they report to all three credit bureaus.
A helpful tip to get the most positive credit built from your card is to keep your balance at 10% of your available credit. If your card has a credit limit of $300 it will help if you can keep your balance at around $30.
This shows the credit bureaus that you do have available credit; this is called your available credit to debt ratio. In addition it shows the bureaus that you do use your credit.
There is one other option that we strongly discourage and that is a shopping or catalog card. This is a credit card that is only able to make purchases through a catalog or a website online. We discourage this option because there is often a large down payment required and the card typically only reports to one credit bureau.
A prepaid card is another option. This is a good choice if you are unable to open a checking account because this card will work just like a bank account.
In sum we suggest a sub prime unsecured credit card. This will give your credit score the most benefit because it will increase your ratio of available credit to debt and help you create a positive payment history.
