How To Tell If You Need A Secured Credit Card
If you are in the process of repairing your credit, then getting a secured credit card is an excellent option.
In the past, secured credit cards were viewed warily by lenders; they were a mark of mis-managing your debt. Today though, secured credit cards do not really have the same stigma attached to them, and in some cases they can be a very positive sign that you are taking steps to re-build your credit after a disaster.
You are an excellent candidate for a secured credit card if you have ever been through any of the following:
- Bankruptcy
- Judgments
- Credit Card, Loan, or Debt Charge-offs
- Frequent Late Credit Card or Loan Payments
- Unpaid Medical Bills
There are more reasons than ever before to take secured credit cards seriously. Here are just a few of the many reasons you will want to start with a secured credit card while you re-build your credit:
Secured Credit Cards have lower interest rates than bad credit, unsecured credit cards:
Yes, you can probably still qualify for an unsecured credit card of some sort, even with a bankruptcy. However, most cards that cater to people with low credit scores have high fees. It is not unusual to see a $250 application fee, and a $100 yearly fee coupled with a 20% (or higher!) interest rate on an unsecured, bad-credit credit card.
Secured credit cards, on the other hand, require $200 – $300 dollars to open, and you will eventually get that money back. They also usually have interest rates under 10%, and low, or no yearly fees.
Many secured credit cards do not report as “secured credit cards” on your monthly credit bureau reports. This means, that to a lender, those secured credit cards are exactly the same as having unsecured credit cards.
With a secured credit card, you can raise the credit limit any time you want to by depositing more money:
Now, this is huge. With most credit cards (especially if you have bad credit) getting a credit limit increase is like pulling teeth.
Thirty percent of your credit score depends on your debt-to-credit ratio. This means that if you ever charge more than 25% – 30% of your total available balance, your credit score will drop.
So, what happens if you want to put your monthly bills on your credit card to make things easier? Well, with an unsecured credit card, you would be out of luck. With a secured credit card however, you can total up the amount you want to charge each month, and figure out how much you need to increase your limit so that you stay under that 25% rule.
Secured Credit Cards act as a failsafe:
If you lose your job, or have trouble paying your bills, and cannot pay down your credit card, then you can use the money you have in your secured savings account to pay the balance on the card.
You will never again have to worry about defaulting on a credit card because the amount you borrow has been previously set aside. That is real peace of mind – especially if you have defaulted on a credit card before and experienced a number of collection calls.
Banks that issue secured credit cards are more likely to issue you unsecured limit increases, or an unsecured credit card after a couple of years:
If you have an excellent payment history with your issuing bank, wait a year or two, and see if they will issue you an unsecured credit card in place of your old secured one. You will then get your deposit back, and depending on the issuing bank, you may even be paid a small amount of interest on your original deposit.
All in all, secured credit cards are one of the best deals out there for people who are working to re-build their credit. With so many things in their favor, they really are the best place to start out.
Secured credit cards are also an excellent tool for people with no established credit history, or anyone who needs to be able to regularly increase the limit on their credit cards.
To find out more about which secured credit cards are available, and what their terms and interest rates are, please visit our secured credit card pages.
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Keep Reading:
- How to Tell if a Credit Counseling Service is Legit
- What to Do When Your Credit Card Debt Has Been Charged Off
- Can You Keep Your Credit Cards When You Declare Bankruptcy?
Photo Credit: eHow.com
