In today’s economy we often find so many credit card offers on the internet that its hard to spot the real good offers from the not so good. So what constitutes a good charge card offer for someone who’s experienced serious credit problems and wants to take action toward rebuilding his or her credit? At the risk of annoying the big credit card account marketing companies who target the “sub-prime” market (people with bad credit histories), my advice is to completely avoid any offer that comes to you unsolicited. Instead, do the research on your own.
Check out www.jemcreditcards.com for current offers by legitimate charge card account companies. Shop and compare before you apply. Remember, the APR is only one aspect of your decision, and not necessarily the most important. What you want to look at very carefully are the annual fees, setup fees, and monthly fees.
It’s important to realize that you may not be able to obtain an unsecured charge card when you’re just starting to rebuild your credit. Instead of paying $257 to obtain $300 in credit, you’d be far better off placing $250 as a deposit toward a good SECURED charge card from a reputable major bank.
In this real-world example, the annual fee is only $29, the APR is 19.99%, and there are no setup fees or monthly maintenance charges. Your $250 deposit will net you $250 worth of credit (less the $29 annual fee), and you’ll build positive credit history just as quickly as with the ridiculously expensive offer discussed above. Plus that original $250 deposit is still YOUR money. After you’ve been granted unsecured credit again, and you’ve paid off any outstanding balance on the secured credit card, you can get your deposit back.
One final tip. If you have the opportunity to join a credit union, you should consider checking out their offers for low-limit unsecured and secured charge cards. Credit unions frequently offer much better terms than regular commercial banks. Through credit unions you can often find charge cards with no annual fees, lower interest rates, and more flexibility.
Be sure, however, to confirm that the credit union reports account activity to the credit bureaus. Otherwise, your positive payment history on the new credit card account won’t lift your credit score. And remember, no matter what card offer you’re considering, be sure to read that fine print!
This article is brought to you by www.JemCreditCards.com – Not Just credit card accounts, We Create Financial Security! Compare the best credit cards including Chase cards, Discover cards and much more! Don’t need a charge card? Enjoy other financial resources like free access to our blog where you are free to read and write financial articles!
Tags: charge cards, credit card debt, credit cards, Finance, personal finance
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