The terms “Prepaid Credit Card” is often used for “Prepaid Debit Card” but, indeed, the term “prepaid credit card” is a contradiction or oxymoron. Credit cards give consumers a line of credit which means they charge a finance charge for any purchases or cash advances that are made with the card and are not paid back within one billing cycle–typically a month. How high these finance charges can go depends on what card program you select. Leaving a balance owed on a credit card is essentially creating debt that does not have to be paid back in fixed installments but rather “revolves” like a revolving door, as payments to the debt are made and new debts are added to the credit card.

In contrast, prepaid debit cards can be used much like a credit card for shopping online or in person, because they are issued by a bank, like a credit card, and carry most often a Visa or MasterCard logo. The difference is that you are withdrawing your own funds from your account as you make purchases. You are essentially prepaying with money up front. Because the money is already sitting in your debit account, you are not borrowing money or potentially racking up any finance charges. You also have the option of selecting whether you want to make a purchase as a signature transaction or as a PIN debit transaction, which allows you to get cash back at the point-of-sale or at an ATM. Additionally, if you try to make a purchase that is more than your available balance on your account, the transaction should be rejected, so you cannot be overdrawn or be hit with overdraft fees. (But be sure to choose a prepaid card program that does not allow you to create a negative balance, because not all prepaid card programs are alike).

Unlike one-time-use prepaid gift cards, reloadable prepaid cards with the Visa or MasterCard logo are designed for repeated use, allowing you to replenish the balance on the card. They are a good choice for people who cannot get a checking account and thus a checking account debit card. They are also a good choice for people with bad credit or who have trouble establishing credit or even a checking account. “Secured credit cards” are another form of credit and are also not prepaid debit cards. They require you to deposit your own money up front order to borrow money against the deposited funds (with potential interest), which remain unavailable to you until you pay off any credit balance and close out the card account. This means you are not really accessing your own money, rather you are borrowing against it.

Today, financial consumers have more tools at their disposal for how to manage their money, so when doing research, it is helpful to use the right terminology. It is also important to read up on the features, benefits, limitations, and fees associated with any financial product. Search on the correct term, and you should find sites that compare these tools according to different categories. Also, be sure to do your own research.

By: David M. Pratt

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We all know having a good credit score is a necessary thing in life. Having a good credit score means you have an easier time with buying a new home or buying a new car and many other major purchases you may make. But attaining that good credit score and keeping it isn’t always very easy, and if you’ve got a low credit score from previous mistakes you might have made, getting another credit card to use to rebuild your score can be quite difficult.

One solution is what is known as a secured credit card. This is a type of card that is basically meant for people with low credit scores who are therefore considered high risk. When opening a secured credit card account, you will put down a deposit, which the credit company will hold as collateral in the event you default on your payments. In other words, the card issuer will use that deposit to try to recover their money should you not make the payments necessary to meet your obligations.

Secured credit cards have credit limits like “regular” cards, and they vary from program to program. It is not unheard of for your limit to be the same as the deposit you’ve put down, meaning if you deposit 200 dollars to open the account, then your card’s limit will be 200 dollars. Other programs may allow you to have a limit that is more or less than the deposit amount, depending, with people with higher credit scores getting the higher limits as opposed to the lower limits people with worse credit scores may get.

If you’re considering getting a secured card to help repair your credit, make sure you read all of the fine print before opening the account. Though you will be required to put down a deposit that is ostensibly there to act as collateral if you default, card issuers often only go ahead and use that deposit when the account is closed completely. This means that if you are late on a payment, the card issuer may not take the payment from your deposit, and instead charge you late fees and interest for a while before they use your deposit. In this way, you can manage to end up with even more debt than you started with if you are not careful.

As long as you remain vigilant about making your payments and carefully inspect the terms before agreeing to open up an account, a secured credit card may be a good option for you if you’re looking repair past credit mistakes or have no credit to begin with. Just bear in mind that they are easier to acquire than “regular” credit cards because they can often land you in more hot water later due to their fees and restrictions.

By: Jim Jameson

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When applying online, most credit card companies offer instant approval. Credit cards for bad credit are designed for people who are unable to qualify for a regular credit card due to their bad credit history. Days are gone when a bad credit rating on a credit report prevented you from obtaining a credit card.

Today, you need to have a credit card for all purchases and transactions. If you have a bad credit rating, you would probably be attracted to marketing strategies, such as ‘credit cards with bad debt’ and ‘credit card for bad credit history,’ etc.

Most instant approval credit cards for bad credit are unsecured credit cards. Though you may not have to pay a down payment, these credit cards carry high interest rates. However, if you have a bad credit rating, obtaining credit cards with bad debt and then using them wisely may boost your credit rating.

To maintain a good credit here onwards, you must maintain good discipline and make smart credit decisions. Begin by maintaining low balances. Credit cards are not free money and so do not spend money frivolously. To avoid accumulating unnecessary debts, pay off the balance each month.

Bad Credit Cards Improve Credit Score

Companies providing bad credit credit cards provide monthly reports to four major credit bureaus. These credit bureaus maintain the credit history of millions of people around the country. Most credit card companies contact these bureaus to verify the credit rating of credit card and loan applicants. You can enhance your credit rating by timely paying your bad credit credit card dues for some time and after some time you become eligible for normal credit cards.

Tips for Selecting Bad Credit Credit Cards

People with bad credit are always on a lookout for offer of bad credit credit cards. These days you will find hundreds of offers such as bad credit instant guaranteed credit cards, instant bad credit loan approvals, credit card instant approval bad credit, instant approval credit cards bad credit, instant credit card approval for bad credit and many more.

Such offers are a big temptation for the persons with bad credit. However, you have to be careful in selecting any of such offers for credit cards and loans for bad credit because a wrong selection of Credit cards for bad credit could land you in a bigger financial mess.

When selecting instant approval credit cards for bad credit, ensure that you are not unscrupulously being charged for program fee, account set up fee and annual card fee, etc. You may be able to identify unsecured credit card companies that would charge an annual fee and little or no set up fee etc.

By: Al Falaq Arsendatama

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If you have been trying or are in need of finding credit cards for bad credit, presuming that your own credit history is not good, you could be or may well find that actually being accepted for one is far from easy. You may have made many an application only to be declined time and time again which can leave you feeling very disappointed and thoroughly disheartened too. So let’s look at some of the ways to get a credit card for bad credit, with particular emphasis upon those with little to no fees attached.

You may have spent time looking on the internet for such cards and although there are very many around, they do tend to have high fees involved, which is understandable due to the high risk nature of the credit involved. Often too, these cards will require that you deposit a sum of your own funds to secure the card. Fine if you have funds available for such a thing and you can leave those funds for some time to come. Not many of us with poor credit have money available for this.

Let us look at an example here. Let’s presume you wish to have a credit card with a low to no annual fee.

They are available for sure, but you will tend to find that they will have a higher interest rate to compensate. This will be the case for other types of fees too. A lower interest rate on a card balance will tend to be offset by an annual fee or higher penalty fees for something else than would be normal for traditional credit cards.

What to do then? The only real answer to this is to continue to search and to compare many different credit card plans to see what best suits your needs. This is fairly easy to do on a decent credit card website and is not so time consuming either.

Do make very sure to read all the fine print though. Its easy to avoid one fee only to find that you are hit in the pocket with something else you did not even realize at the time of applying for the card.

However, even with these higher fees, the facts of the matter is that in the longer term its much more important to find a way to build up your credit rating again. So by all means do accept that right now you can’t really expect too much and you will have to pay that bit more and you may well suffer with a lack of flexibility in the terms and conditions. Use the card wisely though and soon enough you will be in a decent enough position to then apply for something better than credit cards for bad credit tend to offer.

By: Joseph Archibald

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I kind of laugh when I hear someone say, “I have no credit, what kind of card can I apply for?” Well, when you’re a student, I’m just going to assume that you don’t have a credit history. Since your typical college student is a 18-22 year old young adult, I believe it’s safe to say you haven’t had a credit card for too long, or even have one at all.

Just because you have no credit, doesn’t mean that you’re not going to be approved for a card. Thanks to Obama’s wonderful new CARD ACT, you’re going to find that it’s going to be a lot harder to find a card that works for you.

If you’re looking for a card, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re following these minimum requirements….

* You must be at least 18 years of age. No credit card company will assign a card to one that isn’t an adult yet.

* If you’re under the age of 21, you’re going to want to be able to prove your income. I believe you won’t be able to get a credit limit higher than 25% of your gross income.

* If you can’t prove your income, you’re going to need a co-signer. This may be tough, but ask a family member on this one.

When you have no credit, I would recommend that you look a the Discover line of cards, as well as the Citi line. Both are great companies and they both have a fairly high approval rate, as long as you meet the minimum requirements that I mentioned above.

By: Tom Tessin

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Credit cards are important today in our daily lives. We may need cards to pay our bills or help us through tough financial times. This is very common in daily lives. But sometimes we are denied this facility because of our past credit. It is difficult to get credit cards for those that already have bad credit. However, today the competition in the card market has completely changed this scenario. Today there are Credit cards for poor credit available for those that would really require such help in times of emergencies. There are many banks that are offering such facilities.

The easiest and the fastest are the credit cards that are available online. These companies would make money with the more cards are issued. Hence the verification process is very quick. If you are looking for a quick card then this is where you should head to. The entire processes are completed electronically and you can have your card delivered to your doorstep by the end of the day. There are some queries that are asked about your details especially if you have a bad credit. It is best to answer then honestly if you want your card to be delivered to you quickly.

Poor credit personal loans have helped millions across the world today. You might be wondering how the banks make money if the they give out loans at this rate. This is through the interest charged towards these types of cards. Your credit history will influence the rate of interest that is charged on your next credit card. However, paying is little extra is better than not getting any money at all. Therefore if you want to make sure that you achieve financial stability in your life then this is path that you should take.

By: Pinky Savika

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When you need to obtain a mortgage for bad credit, there are a couple options you have to choose from. Before you commit to anything, it is crucial that you know your options and spend some time thinking about this important decision. Whatever you decide is something you may be stuck facing and paying off for the next 30 years, so do not take this decision lightly.

Your mortgage for bad credit options are basically the following:

1. Search for and try to find the best offer with your current credit situation
2. Focus on credit restoration to qualify for preferred treatment

There are a number of companies and organizations that will approve you for a home loan no matter what your credit score, but that comes with major consequences. You’re likely to pay outrageous fees and the interest you’ll pay on the loan will be two to three times the average rate.

As a result, not only will it cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars more to live in your home every month, but by the time you pay off your mortgage it could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars more. That’s because each month you pay your mortgage, more money is sent to the bank to pay interest than to actually owning your home. You’re simply paying a fee.

Whether you need a mortgage for bad credit to purchase a new home, refinance your current home, or buy a second home, you’ll end up paying more with these plans – and not just in mortgage payments. Because of your bad credit, your closing costs could be higher and you may end up paying private mortgage insurance (PMI), which is nothing more than a fee because of your bad credit score.

This can all be entirely eliminated by simply planning 30 – 90 days before you purchase your home. By putting a little effort in restoring your credit, you can erase any worries about getting approved for a mortgage. In doing so you’ll save thousands of dollars in the process and reduce your closing costs.

By: Ryan J. Taylor

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Easy credit cards can be a financial trap, but they can also be a great financial tool if you can learn to use them responsibly. These days, finding easy credit cards isn’t, well, easy, but there are a few steps that you can take to get a credit card, even if your credit isn’t the best.

There are also a few ways that you can use these cards to improve your financial situation rather than to simply spend money you don’t have on things that you don’t need, which is how many people use these valuable financial tools. If you’re looking around for easy credit cards, you should check your credit score first, since it will affect the types of cards that you’ll be able to get. On your credit report, be sure that you check for mistakes that may lower your score unnecessarily.

Also, be sure that you aren’t in so much debt that taking out another credit card loan is a ridiculous idea.

If your debt to credit ratio is bad, though, getting another card that you use sparingly can actually improve your credit score. Next, start checking around for credit card offers. Many websites will show offers from several different credit card companies at a time, and these can be very helpful.

Often, these sites will also show you the credit scores that these cards are looking for, whether they are low, average, or high. This will also give you a good idea of the different cards you could reasonably apply for. When looking for easy credit cards, this is the best way to figure out what cards you can and cannot expect to actually obtain.

When you apply for cards, if you have poor credit, try applying for cards with lower credit limits.

The less money you’re asking for, the more likely you are to get a loan. You can always request a higher credit limit down the road when your credit improves slightly. The credit card company is more likely to trust you with this if your card isn’t maxed out and if you make your monthly payments on time on a regular basis.

Also, don’t forget to check the interest rates that you’re being offered.

If you really need the credit and plan to pay off the card every month, you can afford to use a card with a high interest rate, but if not, you could end up paying hundreds of dollars a year in finance charges. Finally, once you get your card, be sure that you use it wisely so that your financial situation improves over time instead of getting worse. You can, for instance, improve your credit score by paying your card on time all the time and by paying more than what you owe.

The best way to improve your credit score, though, is to never owe more than 50% of your credit limit and to pay off your card faithfully every month. After a few months of this, you’ll probably gain several points on your credit score, making it easier to apply for credit the next time around.

By: Peter Kirkham

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With the new credit card laws in place, you’re going to find that a lot of card companies are buckling down on those that are getting approved. If you’re the type that has bad credit, or may no credit at all, you’re going to find out that you’re going to need a co-signer.

First off, if you don’t know how to find a co-signer, let me give you some tips on how you can find one.

#1 Ask your parents: The first place that I would go to is my parents. Explain your situation and see what they say. If you have to, get a lawyer involved, or draw up a contract.

#2 Ask friends: Your friends are going to be a tough egg to crack. If you’re not trustworthy with your money, you will find that it’s fairly hard to get a card.

These are really the only 2 ways. Create a legal contract up and let them know that you’re going to be responsible. You definitely don’t want to let these people down if you screw up!

Now, if you’re looking for a co-signer card, I would advise that you look into a student card. If you’re going to school, this is going to be your best bet. With the new card laws, you will find that many of these cards are going to require a co-signer, if you can’t prove your income.

Another route that I would advise that you take is that you go down the secured credit card route. By taking this route, you can also save a lot of time as well. Simply supply your deposit, and you can get on the right path!

By: Tom Tessin

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