Best Credit Cards For People With Poor Credit Scores

Why does it seem that when you need it the most, money is often the hardest to come by? Seriously, while you would not want to depend on a credit card to buy your groceries or pay your bills, it is hard to imagine making travel arrangements without having a little plastic to help with the reservations.

Why Your Credit Score Matters

Credit card companies use your credit score to decide how good of a customer you are going to be. Therefore, even if you have reformed with your finances, credit card companies are not going to be as optimistic or as free with their lending if you have a poor record.

Secured Credit Cards

Before we had debit cards, secured credit cards were about the only thing a person could get his or her hand on in terms of a credit card. A secured credit card is when you have a set amount of money set aside in an account to “secure” your credit card usage. You can usually only charge to a percentage of what you have set aside in the account. You still get statements and pay your credit card balance like a regular credit card.

Credit Debit Cards

With the advent of the debit card comes another flavour of a “secured” credit card. With a credit debit card, you carry a card that is treated like a credit card by the merchant. Nevertheless, when you charge something, there is no charging at all. The credit card draws directly out of your checking account like a check or debit. The advantage to using a credit debit card is that you are not really using a credit card at all, but rather a debit card that masquerades as a credit card for you.

How to Improve Your Credit Score

Improving your credit card score will take time but here is what you can do to improve your score:

The most important thing is to make all of your payments on time. If you remember nothing else, try not to ever forget or miss a payment on anything you owe.
Keep your outstanding debt low. If possible, pay your debit down 100%. At the very least, do not let your credit balance hover near your maximum borrowing limits.
Do not apply for too many cards at one time. This usually looks desperate and reflects poorly on your credit score

Stay Away from Cards that Prey on Those with Poor Credit

Whatever you do, stay away from credit cards that are targeted to consumers with poor credit. These cards usually have terribly high APRs and harsh fees. You cannot blame the credit card company. They have to find a way to make money with doing business with high-risk clients. It is just that a credit debit card is the much better choice for you until you qualify for a regular credit card offering decent APRs and fees.

By: Peter Carville

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Peter Carville is a freelance article writer who writes for Financial Facts about the current financial news and the credit crunch.