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Prepaid Credit Cards - Credit Cards for Bad Credit

A good credit history is an important part of survival in today’s world. Your credit history can affect getting an apartment, a home loan, car loan, insurance, and even a job. Yes they do look at your credit history whenever you apply for any of the above. It’s about responsibility and trust.

But wait a minute. Life isn’t always smooth sailing. Often times there are bumps in the road and these bumps can effect your credit. Illness and unemployment don’t always wait for the right moment to happen in our lives. They can often take a huge toll on families, not only emotionally but financially as well.

Just like it is important to have good credit, it’s almost impossible today to get by without some sort of credit card. The financial institutions realize this and that’s why they offer credit cards for people with bad credit. There are secured and unsecured credit card offers available.

Some people may want the unsecured credit card. They should be aware, however, that if they’re not one to pay off the balance in full each month, there’s a hefty interest rate on those cards. The financial institution is taking a risk because of your poor credit history, no matter what the reason.

An alternate solution is to get a prepaid credit card. This is where you deposit the funds before you use the card, which is why they call this a secured credit card. It works just like a credit card and can be used the same way as a regular card, anywhere they accept that type of credit card. Your funds are also available at any ATM.

Prepaid credit cards aren’t just for people with bad credit, however. Some people don’t want to pay later as with regular credit cards. They want to pay as they go. That’s where the prepaid credit card comes in for the regular consumer.

The advantage of a prepaid credit card is you don’t need to carry a lot of cash. You can also use the card online just like any other credit card. Last but not least, you can control your spending as you are limited to the amount on deposit.

Prepaid credit cards are advantageous in more ways than one. They look like a regular credit card. They are accepted just like a regular credit card. But the difference is, you’re in control of your own finances.

About the Author: Bradley Carson is the editor of Apply Online For A Credit Card at http://www.cards-king.com which is a website created to provide concise information about credit cards and credit card offers from premier financial institutions.

Tags: bad credit credit cards, credit card, Prepaid Credit Cards, secured credit c, unsecured credit cardbad credit credit cards, credit card, Prepaid Credit Cards, secured credit c, unsecured credit card

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November 20, 2008 | Credit_Card | No Comments »

Credit Cards - Those Who Need Can’t Get

Credit Cards. Probably the best and worst thing that ever happened to this world. If you’re not familiar with what a credit card is (I’m sure there’s a least one person in this world who isn’t) then a quick English explanation is this. A credit card is a way for you to buy something today and pay for it tomorrow, or 30 days from tomorrow, or never, as some people do, or at least try to do.

The number of articles that can be written about credit cards is almost infinite as there are many types of cards and many benefits and problems associated with getting and having a credit card. In this particular article we’re going to cover how a person with bad credit gets a credit card. But in order to understand that, you have to understand how people with good credit get a credit card. When you see the process you will realize that the people who need the cards the least have the easiest time getting them.

A person with excellent credit basically has no trouble getting a credit card. As a matter of fact, credit card companies practically knock down their doors trying to give them credit cards. If you open up your postal mail on a daily basis you’re bound to get at least 1 or 2 credit card offers a week in your box if you have excellent credit. And we’re talking the absolute premium cards with huge maximum credit limits and very low rates.

It should be pointed out that the way these companies know to send you these fantastic offers is by doing a credit check on you. If they see you’ve had credit in the past of a sizable amount and have never been late with a payment, you pretty much go to the top of their list of prospects. They know you’ll pay them on time and more likely than not you’ll give them a decent amount of business, so even at low interest rates they’ll make quite a bit of money out of you.

Then we come to the person who has no credit or bad credit. Maybe they had a car loan previously, lost their job and were late with a number of payments, or worse, they couldn’t pay off the loan and lost the car. These people are considered bad risks and very few credit card companies will issue them a card even if applied for, let alone offer them one through the mail.

This is where the insanity of this business lies. The rich, excellent credit person, who could probably pay off everything with cash certainly doesn’t need the card and most likely only gets it out of convenience, so they don’t have to carry around a lot of cash is offered cards. In the meantime the person with bad or no credit probably has a cash flow problem in just paying the bills and really needs a credit card to be able to pay things off over time. This person practically has to jump through hoops in order to get a card and once they do the rate they get is astronomical.

For example, at today’s rates a person with excellent credit can probably get a credit card at around 8%. A person with bad or no credit may have to pay as much as 20% or more for his card and the penalties for late payments are severe and usually charged on the first offense, where a person with good credit usually just gets a first time warning.

Seems like this system is just plain backwards, but that is the way it is. In our next article we’ll cover another interesting aspect to credit cards.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Credit Cards

Tag: credit cardscredit cards

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November 19, 2008 | Credit_Card | No Comments »

Choosing Credit Cards - The Basics

There really are an amazing variety of credit cards available to today’s consumers; the number of options is simply staggering. Virtually every company around these days has some form of affiliated credit card option available to its customers. While most of these cards are affiliated to one of the major credit card brands, such as Visa, Mastercard, or American Express, they still represent a major source of options from which to choose from. That is why it is important the go back to basics, and remember what are the fundamental reasons you opt for a credit card in the first place.

Below are some of the reasons we look for credit cards and some of the features we should be able to find in them, if they really are as good an offer as they claim to be.

-Is the credit card offered by a company you know and trust?

-What is the annual percentage rate (APR) for the card?

-Is this a temporary, introductory or permanent rate?

-What is the credit limit they have offered you?

-How often are you billed?

-How are repayments calculated and is the outstanding balance free of interest if you pay off the full amount each month?

-Are there other charges or fees associated with the card?

These are all important questions you should be asking yourself before sending that application form back to the company. However, while these may seem like straightforward questions with simple answers, they may not be as clear cut as they seem.

For example, your bank will usually be a company that you are familiar with and know you can trust. However, this does not automatically mean you should accept a credit card from them. This is not because the terms will be unfavourable compared to other lenders but rather because you should be thinking of the consequences if you prove unable to repay your credit card bills. While it is no doubt a serious matter to fall behind in credit card payments, for most people, this will be even more serious if this is also their bank that controls their mortgage and other finances.

Also, while the APR will be calculated in a standard way for all lenders, this is not the only aspect of the price of the card that you should be looking at. While the APR may seem attractive, it will be less so if the company levy hefty charges for late payment or reserve to right to alter your interest rate in the future.

Also, if your choice of credit card is based on the rewards that are being offered by that particular card, you should take into consideration any of the small print associated with the awarding of these rewards. For example, did you know that if you go above your credit limit with certain credit cards you forfeit all rewards that would have been awarded on your spending in that month? Also, the same may apply if you fail to make at least the minimum payment in any given month, the credit card company may withdraw your rewards for this too.

In short, while getting your hands on a credit card may be easier today than it has been in the past, and there are a host of companies out there willing to lend to you, you should remember that credit card agreements are complex contracts and you should think about all the aspects of it before you get involved.

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the UK credit card comparison site http://www.creditcards121.com/, Free Help and Advice credit card articles. He also writes for the comparison site http://www.cardguide.co.uk which offers some best credit cards in the UK.

Tags: apr, balance transfers, credit, credit cards, debt, fi, interest, mastercard, minimum payments, visaapr, balance transfers, credit, credit cards, debt, fi, interest, mastercard, minimum payments, visa

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November 18, 2008 | Credit_Card | No Comments »