Sub Prime Credit Cards
These credit cards have been designed to give you a second chance with your credit. It is for those with a low or damaged credit score.
They can be used to improve a low credit score. This is because it can create a positive payment history and improve your ratio of available credit to debt.
These two factors are heavily weighted on your credit score. Improving them you can achieve a high score even with negative items on your report.
These cards do report monthly to all three major bureaus. Your APR will by approximately 19% and you will have some fees. Unfortunately this is the cost of your prior mistakes with credit, however this can be the last time you have to pay extra for your damaged credit.
Most of these cards come with a $300 credit limit. However some cards such as the Tribute MasterCard will also approve individuals for a $70 credit limit and many will offer periodic limit increases.
These cards will help your score more that a secured credit card. This is because a secured card is reported to the bureaus as a secured account and will not impact your score as much as an unsecured account.
It is still wise to remove negative items from your report. However it has been discovered that once a negative item ages four years it will have much less impact on your score.
You should know that to get the most out of your card on your credit you should try to keep the balance at roughly 20% of your available credit. This will help because it shows the bureaus that you do use your card and are using it responsibly.
You can still get approval for a sub prime card even with; charge offs, collections, judgments, and even a bankruptcy. However each card has different approval requirements. Many of them will give you an instant decision upon submission of your application.
In sum if you have made mistakes in the past with your credit and want a second chance we suggest a sub prime card. It can improve your ratio of available credit to debt and build a positive payment history.
Repair Your Credit
- Equifax Credit Bureau
- About credit cards to rebuild credit.
Get a Fresh Start
- Experian Credit Bureau
- About poor credit credit cards
Improve Your Credit
Showing a positive payment history will increase your credit score.
- TransUnion Credit Bureau
- About sub prime (bad credit) credit cards.