No matter where you look you can find a credit card and a company looking for you. They want to make interest off you and your payments. Your goal is to locate one with low interest and fewer fees, and it probably won’t hurt one bit to have a few cash-back bonus points either.
If perchance you are the new owner of a bad credit merchant account, a credit card will be pretty tough to get. They are indeed out there, and you can ask for a low balance. That way you can rebuild your credit and if you have an emergency, you have an extra way to handle it.
Options
Many cards are on the market and Visa and MasterCard are the top dogs in the industry. With Visa, Capital One is offering a no-fee card with 1.5% cash back on every purchase that you make. Although we all know, that if you don’t make large purchases, this comes in the form of little itty bitty rewards.
Chase is offering $100 back with 5% cash back on certain categories that they change every quarter. The Discover card has 5% cash back and it does the same thing, changing every quarter with different rewards.
Something to consider
Since you are already working to repair your credit, consider taking some of the money you are making and putting it on a prepaid card. It could be a Visa or MasterCard and know that you can’t go over the balance. You only use what you have. That builds better habits for the future and you don’t destroy what you are re-building. In the long run, it might just be the Band-Aid that you need.
• Consider taking charge so that you can get that merchant account.
• Investigate your credit and get a copy of your credit report.
• Most are available online and they are supposed to be free and available to you.
• Don’t be shy about working out the kinks of your credit, and obtaining the information you need. Hunt down anything that seems suspicious and has them removed from your report. Don’t give up until they are. It takes them forever to repair what they messed up, but they are quick to put them on there. So, keep after them.
What you’re after
Having a rough credit record is always fixable. You have to determine how fast you want to repair what has gone on. Sometimes things go wrong in your life; a job ends, or an illness. Once that is over, trace the people you owe money to and take care of those bills. Positive payment history is the beginning of new things to come and it just makes sense to repair what has been injured.
So go shopping when you are looking for the correct credit card for you. Look at all the options and what makes sense for you. If it’s a pre-paid card, then that is excellent. If it’s a credit card, that’s just wonderful. Good luck with your search.