Credit cards that I found on Myfico.com for ppl w/ bad credit

[debtmonster]

[Never_Again]

Since many of these are prepaid cards, you should be able to get one of those immediately. A prepaid card is like a giftcard. The money is already on it. I think that many of these cater to people who can not have a bank account. They also seem to want you to direct deposit your paycheck, or figure some other way to load the card.

If you are determined to rebuild your credit, and to play with fire again, one of the secured cards is a better option. For that, I would wait until after discharge. You make a deposit to a bank account, and they use that as security. Many of them have outrageous fees and interest. You shouldn't be carrying a balance anyways, but paying them interest on money that you have lent them just doesn't seem right. They literally have no risk.

I would avoid many of the prepaid cards out there. They know that people want to "rebuild" their credit, and will collect huge fees to "help" you with that process. From my understanding, Bank of America has a pretty decent prepaid card.

[StartingOver08]

Out of the group of results you showed, only one actually reports you to the 3 CRA's. None of the others seem to do that (note, I did not check further than your published results).

Depending upon your actual goal, if you decide to start rehabbing your credit again, you will want to make sure that whichever credit card you select reports so you can build your credit score. Otherwise, it will not help. Now, if the score is not a factor to you, then by all means, use a prepaid card.

[debtmonster]

I only want to use the ones that report to the CRA's, otherwise it's pointless.

So none of them report but one?! Which one. That's why I posted all of them. I've always gotten unsecured cards my whole life.

[jadams]

Public Savings Bank will report, but you should check with your local Credit Union first. They might have a secured card program with better rates and no fees -- plus they would have something to offer you beyond that first card (i.e. auto loan, unsecured card in the future, etc.).

Right now a credit union is probably going to be your best bet for a secured card. Bank of America and Citi are very picky on their approval. National City is not, but isn't available in all states.

Public Savings Bank will never unsecure.

The other cards you posted are not going to work for you. Those "prepaid" cards that say they report do not report to the three credit bureaus that matter. They report some history to junk bureaus just to be able to say they report your history.

Lots of fees on those, little to no benefit.

[mike258]

Forget those cards. Like the previous poster said, open up a secured card at a credit union.

[debtmonster]

But how do you get those with a credit union? I thought those are not available to the general public. I thought you had to be like a teacher, fireman, police or work for a specific company to be allowed to open an account at a CU. When I had an account at a CU many years back, I could have not have opened one without being on the authorized list from the corporation that I was working for.

[mike258]

But how do you get those with a credit union? I thought those are not available to the general public. I thought you had to be like a teacher, fireman, police or work for a specific company to be allowed to open an account at a CU. When I had an account at a CU many years back, I could have not have opened one without being on the authorized list from the corporation that I was working for.

[mike258]

...and placed like DCU will let you open up a secured loan. Deposit $1,000 into a CD and they will loan you the $1,000 back and report the loan to the CRA. If you default, they will take the money in the CD.

Now if you do that (the secured loan route), take that $1,000 that the CU gave back to you and open up a secured credit card. That way you can get two positive tradelines with only one security deposit.

[debtmonster]

...and placed like DCU will let you open up a secured loan. Deposit $1,000 into a CD and they will loan you the $1,000 back and report the loan to the CRA. If you default, they will take the money in the CD.

Now if you do that (the secured loan route), take that $1,000 that the CU gave back to you and open up a secured credit card. That way you can get two positive tradelines with only one security deposit.

That's a slick idea. Don't you have to pay interest on the CD that you're borrowing against?

[mike258]

That's a slick idea. Don't you have to pay interest on the CD that you're borrowing against?

Yes, but it's usually very low...usually 4-7% or less

Say it was 7%...and you borrowed $1,000 for 24 months. You will pay about $45 a month...with a total interest charge of $75 over the life of the loan. That is alot less than the outrageous fees you would pay if you opened up a First Premier (or similar) account. Plus the CD will ear interest, maybe only 1-2% but that would effectively lower your interest rate.

[debtmonster]

Cool idea. Thanks for the tip. I'm really gonna have to look into doing this.

[TroubleinCalif]

...and placed like DCU will let you open up a secured loan. Deposit $1,000 into a CD and they will loan you the $1,000 back and report the loan to the CRA. If you default, they will take the money in the CD.

Now if you do that (the secured loan route), take that $1,000 that the CU gave back to you and open up a secured credit card. That way you can get two positive tradelines with only one security deposit.

That is a slick idea my friend!!!!! Nice one!

[jcregs28]

Dcu

Mike 258, are you from the Massachusetts area? I am looking into DCU to get started and was just discharged 8-24-09. I wanted to see if they would approve me for a secured CC so soon after bankruptcy...any thoughts? What was your experience? THanks!

[Mi Bankruptcy]

I was discharged in March and got an unsecured credit card from CAP 1 for $500.00. I only applied for one card and was approved. I checked my FICO and it was 633