Bad Credit Cards FAQS

There are set time frames for how long negative information remains on a credit report. In general, negative information more than seven years old from the date of last activity (ten years for bankruptcies) must be removed from your file. Good information, like your on-time payment of credit card bills or your mortgage, can stay on your credit history forever. Having more good information helps strengthen your credit history and increase your credit score. As for credit inquiries, not all credit inquiries affect your credit score. For example if you pull your credit report, it won’t affect your credit score. But if a creditor pulls your credit report (so called hard inquiry) that...

A credit card is the easiest way to improve your credit history. But it’s better not to apply for a credit card right away the bankruptcy is discharged. It is wise to wait at least six month. If you can’t wait, make sure all your reports show discharged bankruptcy before you apply. A secured credit card can be the best option after bankruptcy. The card requires a security deposit and because of that your chances to get approved are higher. A minimum security deposit is usually about $200 and gets you a credit line of equal amount. Secured cards are reported to the major credit bureaus. So make all the payments on time and spend no more than 30% of the available credit limit to...

If you haven’t put a fraud alert in your credit report yet, it’s high time you did it. Visit the FTC website to find out more about identity theft and what you should do. Try to clean your reports and only then apply for a credit card. A secured credit card like the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card can be a good option for you. The issuer does not check credit reports when you apply and you will have to put down a collateral deposit which will be a kind of security for the bank. There are more chances to get a secured credit card because of collateral you pay. The card will be reported to the major credit bureaus, so you will be able to rebuild your credit.

Consider applying for the Credit One Bank® Credit Card - Online Credit Score Tracking Included card. This is an unsecured credit card with annual fee of $35 or $75, based on your creditworthiness. There is no application fee and no activation fee. Your credit history will be reported to three major credit bureaus monthly and you will be able to monitor your credit score.

Shopping credit cards have high acceptance rate. But to qualify for some of the shopping credit cards you may need a bank account. Also, some issuers of shopping cards charge an application fee. Secured cards also have high approval rate because they require a collateral deposit. The deposit is usually around $200 and will be refunded if you decide to close your credit account.

Start with paying off just one card first. Think which card you want to pay off first. You can choose the card with the highest debt or the card with the highest interest. But do not forget about other cards: continue making minimum payments on other credit accounts. If you can make more than a minimum payment, pay more. That will bring only positive impact on your credit history and will help you reduce debt faster. Paying off one card will lower the percent of credit in utilization. Thus you can increase your credit score significantly. Contact your creditors and ask for lower interest rates. If you make payments on time and you are a long-term customer, the creditors may reduce...

Check your credit history and credit score if you haven’t checked it some time. See if your perfect loan payment history improved your credit score. If your credit score improved, continue making payments on time on your loan to improve your credit score further. Try to avoid missing payments. You can get a credit card to gear up your credit improvement. You will get a faster improvement of your credit score, if you show you can manage different credit accounts. Consider applying for a secured credit card. Once you have the card, try to use only 30% of available credit or even less. Make all the due payments on time. You can even pay off the card balance every month if you...