Credit Card Options For People With Poor Credit

It can be surprisingly easy to build up a poor credit rating. Making a late credit card payment, going over the limit on your card or overdraft, overlooking a small bill or debt - all of this is recorded on your credit file and over time will combine to produce a bad credit rating. Even having too many credit card accounts or loan facilities open at one time will count against you - bad news for repeated balance transfer users who don't cancel their cards once the introductory period is over.

Having a bad credit rating can be a serious hurdle to being approved for a new credit card, or indeed any kind of credit, but if you find your applications being declined time after time, all is not lost - there are a few issuers offering credit cards for people with bad credit ratings.

High APRs

This kind of card certainly isn't cheap - the usual APR of around 30% reflects both the risk bad credit customers present to the bank, and the lack of choice for applicants with poor credit. Because of this, it's not wise to use a bad credit credit card for borrowing - it should serve only as a payment convenience and as a method of re-establishing your credit rating (using your card responsibly will add positives to your credit file to compensate for the bad).

Not Many Features

You're unlikely to find these credit impaired cards in any of the best buy tables for any major benefit. There's unlikely to be any rewards or cash back, and balance transfer or 0% purchase deals will also be notable by their absence, Credit limits will also be fairly low, although they can be increased over time if the account is operated responsibly and stays in good standing.

A Step Towards Credit Repair

Despite these drawbacks, credit impaired cards can offer a way back for people with moderate amounts of credit rating damage, giving you the chance to build up some positive credit history which will in time make it easier for you to be approved for a more mainstream card with a better range of features.

Related Articles:

• 4 Reasons to Cancel Unused Credit Cards
• Bad Credit Credit Cards
• Credit Cards and Credit Ratings
• Use Care When Applying Online