The holidays are quickly approaching and if you aren’t convinced, then just go to almost any local retail store and you can see for yourself. Every year the holiday decorations, sales and all things related seem to come out earlier than the previous year. We also want to help you get a little jump start on the holidays by providing some advice to those with bad credit to be better prepared this season. You can take advantage of your normal holiday spending as an opportunity to improve your existing credit with several of the credit card offers we have for people with bad credit. We’ve put together a small list of general items to be aware of when searching for a credit card.
The most important thing to do is to find a credit card designed for people with bad credit or whose credit needs improvement. Our site features many different bad credit credit cards, but we recommend only a few of them. We particularly like Orchard Bank credit cards for several reasons. When you apply for any of the cards with Orchard Bank your application is “pre-screened” to determine which cards you are actually eligible to receive. Most often, you are able to apply for more than one Orchard Bank credit card, but you can choose which card or cards you would like to apply for. This can help you save time by only applying for the card you know you’ll be approved for.
If you will be carrying a balance from your holiday purchases, then make sure you take into consideration the APR associated with the credit card. Interest rates on credit cards for those with bad credit vary widely from under 10 percent to over 20 percent. The APR on the card you select should be weighed along with the other finance charges.
Other finance charges considered relative are monthly maintenance fees, application or processing fees and annual fees. Many bad credit credit cards charge monthly maintenance fees. If you were paying a $5 monthly maintenance fee and you had a $500 balance; that is equivalent to 1 percent per month or 12 percent extra per year! If your monthly maintenance fees were more and your balance was less, you would be paying more than an additional 1 percent per month. With monthly maintenance fees, you could be paying well over 30 or 40 percent interest per year when you factor in the APR and the monthly fees. No monthly maintenance fees are charged on any Orchard Bank credit card.
If you are not eligible to receive a credit card, but need to start with a secured or prepaid credit card, there are several options to also consider. We recommend the Orchard Bank Secured or the New Millennium Bank Secured Black Diamond Visa® cards. These secured credit cards report to all three major credit bureaus and are a great alternative to using cash during the holiday season with reasonable fees. You can control spending by just loading the necessary amount onto the card and using it like you would a debit card.
The last thing to do to improve your credit this holiday season is to make sure you make all your payments on time. A significant portion of determining your credit score is recent credit history and your repayment history. You could potentially boost your credit score just by making your payments on time over the course of several recent months. The holiday season is a great time to enjoy family and friends with food, fun and activities. Take advantage of your holiday spending and use it to improve your credit with a credit card offer from PlasticRewards.com
