How to Get a Credit Card with Bad Credit

Getting a credit card when you have bad credit is certainly more difficult but far from impossible. Along with it come a number of unique challenges and issues than those who have good credit.

Where to get a credit card when you have bad credit

Your bank or other savings institution may be willing to approve you for a credit card because they already have your business. Some retail stores have credit cards. Make sure it is affiliated with a company that is widely accepted such as Visa® or MasterCard®. Also sometimes it is required that you be a shopper there, so preferably choose a retail outlet that you do business with normally.

Popular card companies like those mentioned above, have credit cards available specifically for persons in this sort of credit peril. There are quite a few options, believe it or not. Simply search for so-called “œbad credit”� credit cards. With these cards you have the opportunity to improve your credit standing by showing your financial responsibility. To do this however you must stay within your limit and make at least your minimum payments on time.

Another option is to get a prepaid credit card. With these cards you pay a security deposit. They are very much like debit cards except they are not attached to your savings account. You open an account linked to the card and put money into the account whenever necessary. A benefit to these is that you cannot overspend. They are a good alternative in the short-term. The downside is that they do not allow you to improve on your credit rating.

Improve your chances of getting a credit card with bad credit

One way of doing this is to get a co-signer, someone with good credit, and open a joint credit card. Be wary though, your use of the credit card will now affect the credit history of both. So you will not only be responsible for your own credit standing anymore. You will however be more likely to get a better interest rate than if you were to apply on your own.

While in the application process keep paying your other bills on time, this is a show of good faith and will make a good impression.

If you are turned down for a credit card you should be told why, use this information to your advantage, and try to rectify them before applying again.

The best advice you could get however is to try to change any spending habits that got you into bad credit in the first place.

What you should know

Interest rates will usually be higher (sometimes up to 20 or 30 percent) as those with bad credit are usually considered riskier to credit card issuers. Do not show your lender that you are financially irresponsible; it will mean not qualifying for a lower interest rate in future. Missing your payments or exceeding your limit will hike your interest rate up even further, so you need to be extra diligent.

About the Author:

Lee is a freelance writer and he spends his entire day writing articles in finance.