Advice on secured credit cards please?

Question

Advice based on personal experience please. Website links helpful and appreciated. I want one that reports to Credit Agencies. A monthly and low annual fee OK if there are not a lot of misc. or hidden fees. I am looking for a secured credit card rather than a prepaid card because I want reports and because I want to get interest paid to me on the secured amount (like a savings account). I intend to pay it off each month so interest rate charged for use is not first priority. I do want personal experience or web research and I do not want spam or scams or soliciters. Thank you.

Answer 1

The best site for comparison-shopping for credit cards, without bias, is www.bankrate.com. Good luck.

Answer 2

Secured credit cards option are exercised generally by those with bad credit history and poor credit score to get themselves back on track. Credit card issuing companies, ask for collateral because they find providing credit cards to such people too risky. A good use of secured credit card can give the credit card issuer enough confidence to issue an unsecured credit card in your name.

A good thing to have with secured credit cards is that they should report your spending habits to the three major credit reporting agencies. Strange but true, not all secured credit card holders do that. Unless this feature is present in a secured credit card, it will be of little use for those trying to use it for rebuilding their credit history.

Though secured credit cards are linked with a collateral, they still have some fees and terms associated with them. Before going for a secured credit card, a person must check the various APR's associated with the credit card. If the secured credit card charges an annual fee, the applicant should try to get one with the lowest amount of interest rates and annual fees. The billing period and grace period allowed for repayments should also be considered. Already suffering with a bad credit situation, the last thing to do with a secured credit card is to take a cash advance with it, simply because the cash advance attracts high interest rates and a cash advance fees. Read more from: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/article/365,Things_to_watch_out_if_you_have_a_bad_credit_and_want_a_secured_credit_card

Answer 3

The easiest thing to do is go to your bank and ask to speak with a manager. Let him/her know you are trying to repair your credit and would like to get a secured card through them. If your account is in good standing, they will have no problem making the arrangements. The only problem is your cards APR will be set at a sub-prime rate somewhere around 18 - 26%. Try not to max it out...EVER - well unless you can pay at least 1/2 of it off each month.

Try starting out with a small amount, say $300.00 - that way, if you ever run into issues you are not too far in debt.

Dont be fooled by an online credit card company, they will screw you - go to your bank!

In as little as six months, you will see your credit rating start to rise.

Good Luck!!!


*********Farrell H************

Anyone can go copy an internet article and post it! Do you have any real FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE with the subject. If so, I believe that is what the asker wants to know!

I have been through the repair process 1st hand and know what works. I am proud to share that when I started the process 2 years ago, my FICO score was 513 and now it is 733...I just checked it on Friday!

Besides, all you have to do is ask and make sure your bank reports to one of the three major credit agencies...how hard is that!

Answer 4

If you want something that reports to the reporting agencies, try going to a credit union and getting a secured loan. You would deposit an amount of money, then take a loan from that amount -- it's secured, so the bank will loan you whatever the amount of the deposit is, knowing they can get it if you don't repay. Then pay it off promptly, including the interest, and repeat as needed. They report it, your credit rating goes up. Secured cards generally don't report.

Answer 5

a lot of banks have secured credit taking part in cards. have you ever regarded at a catalogue of at findsecuredcards? they have a rather respectable checklist, with taking part in cards that have next to no expenses. in simple terms be sure you're getting a card with the backside volume of expenses obtainable.

Answer 6

Most report to the agencies. Just use them wisely, as you would with any credit card.

There's a few on this site

http://www.thecreditcardtorebuildcredit.com/categories/bad_credit_credit_cards

Answer 7

This is the site that you want:

http://www.creditcards.com/

If you decide to go with a prepaid card rather than secured credit (it's much cheaper!), NetSpend's All-Access Card is the best:

http://www.allaccesscard.com/

Answer 8

try

thecreditcardtorebuildcredit.com