Characteristics of Credit Card Offers for Poor Credit

Saturday, March 15th

Characteristics of Credit Card Offers for Poor Credit

If your credit is blemished you're not alone. Many people are finding that the boom in credit spending, over the last 10 years, has left them financially damaged and in despair. Whether you blame the economy, divorce, job loss, irresponsible spending or something else your focus should be about moving forward and making changes. Having access to credit, and a decent credit history, is necessary to buy a home, get a car loan and even qualify for specific jobs. Also, access to a credit card is important for day to day living. Credit cards make for convenient shopping but are also necessary in many scenarios where a Visa or MasterCard must be made available to purchase online, rent a car or hotel room, and more.

But, how do you obtain a credit card when no lenders are interested in you? Specifically look for credit cards designed for blemished or no credit consumers. There are a number of options out there as a large population of adults are in the same boat. However, not all credit cards are built the same. Here's what you should be aware of:

• Understanding the respective fees and penalties of any credit card you obtain is important. Credit card companies willing to risk a line of credit to someone who has been historically irresponsible are going to charge a big fee. Annual fees can range from $50 to several hundreds of dollars and are hard to avoid. But, if a credit card is needed you may have to deal with the cost. Often you'll see that a small line of credit is issued but the fees are instantly deducted leaving with little available credit until you pay-off the initial charges.
• Low credit limits are often the case for someone with a lagging credit score. Typically over time you can raise that limit via responsible spending and making timely payments. But, in the meantime, make sure you understand your credit limit before accepting any offers.
• Collateralization requirements should be a question when you're looking at credit card options for blemished credit. Will the lender require you put down a portion of collateral to the credit limit? How is that managed and how much will you need to come up with?

Credit card options for those with less than perfect credit are abundant but need to be looked at closely before making a decision. Different options have their pros and cons and make sure you read the fine print first before making a final decision. The goal is to demonstrate responsible spending to ultimately improve your credit and lead the way towards better access to lenders.