Secured Credit Cards Are a Great Way to Rebuild Credit

See our complete list of recommended Secured Credit Cards available!

For whatever reason, the economy, youthful negligence, divorce, health problems or general ignorance, you may now find yourself with a bad credit score and no means of getting small business loans, home loan, or favorable car loan terms. What you need is a way to increase your credit score in a hurry. Credit cards are a great way to establish credit. But people who have never had credit or need to repair a poor credit history may not qualify for a regular credit card. For them, a secured credit card may be the only way to establish, or re-establish, credit.

There are a lot of "bad" secured credit cards, so you want to make sure you do your homework first before getting one of these cards. Getting the right one and using it the right way, will go miles in the journey of rebuilding your credit and increasing your credit score.

What is a Secured Credit Card?
A secured credit card requires a cash collateral deposit that becomes the credit line for that account. For example, if you put $500 in the account; you can charge up to $500. You may be able to add to the deposit to add more credit, or sometimes a bank will reward you for good payment and add to your credit line without requesting additional deposits.

A secured credit card should have the following:
    No application fee and a low annual fee.
    The ability to convert to a regular, unsecured credit card after 12-18 months of on-time payments.
    Be reporting to ALL THREE credit bureaus.

Rebuilding Your Credit With a Secured Credit Card
Your best bet is to make arrangements with all of your current creditors to pay off your current debt and then make your payments on time. But this alone will not build a good credit score, it'll simply undo some damage to your credit score. You need to have a credit card you can use at least once per month and pay off in full each month to make your credit score go up quickly.

Even in the present economy, a person with a bad credit score can get a credit card. And, you don't even have to stoop down to cards with annual fees. A secured credit card issued by your bank allows you to rebuild your credit score quickly, if you use it responsibly. You only need to make a small purchase each month and then pay the card in full each month. After several months of doing so, and if you are faithful with your other debt payments, your credit score will quickly rise.

After about six to nine months of responsibly using your secured credit card, you will find your credit score rising sharply. At this point you should also know how to use your secured credit card responsibly. This is an important part of rebuilding credit scores. You need to continue using your secured credit card responsibly or your credit score will soon be damaged again.

Rebuilding a Good Credit Rating
First, get a couple of secured cards. Next, spend small amounts wisely, pay more than the minimum payment (or pay it all) every month and pay it right when you get the bill, don't wait for the due date and don't be late.  For people with poor credit or no credit, a secured credit card is the fastest, most effective way to reestablish themselves as good credit risks in the eyes of lenders. Secured cards are easy to get and the card issuer reports your payment history to major credit bureaus every month.

Using Credit Cards Responsibly
Using credit wisely is important since your credit reputation influences the rates that will be paid on a loan for a house or car, or for a credit card. The better your credit reputation, the lower the interest you will have to pay. Although secured cards tend to have higher interest rates and annual fees, they provide a valuable steppingstone to unsecured credit.  If you cannot use your secured credit card responsibly, it is time to consider that loans and credit cards are not for you. Some personalities
simply don't work with credit. There is no shame in being someone who must live on a cash basis, but there is shame in taking on lines of credit when you are someone who must live on a cash basis.

Establish a Sound Payment History
Establishing a payment history will help you qualify down the road for the major credit cards. Using this secured card appropriately and within the set parameters will help rebuild your credit. Only make small purchases and pay the bill in full when it arrives and well before the due date. Doing this regularly over time helps build your credit history as a prompt payer.  Don't fall into the trap of credit cards-overspending and/or making minimum payments. Once you have built a solid credit history over 12 months or more, you can apply for an unsecured card. Or, you can talk to the card issuer about converting from your present card to a regular card.

Secured Credit Cards We Highly Recommend:

Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Credit Card
Guaranteed Approval Regardless of Your Past Credit History
9.99% Low Fixed APR - Your Rate Won't Change Even if You Are Late.  Choose Your Credit Limit - From $200 to $5,000 
Highest Ratings for Financial Strength and Security in the Country


Click Here To APPLY

Platinum Zero® Secured Visa® Card from Applied Bank®
ZERO - 0% FIXED APR on purchases - No Intro Rates!
ZERO - 0% Rate Won't Change - Even If You're Late!
ZERO Application Fees
ZERO Worries - FREE Personal ID Theft Protection
Click Here To APPLY


As with all hurdles in life, you must take the initiative to accept change, remain diligent & focused looking into the future working towards your goal of a better financial health.  These two recommendations are just the start you need on your road to credit recovery.

Prepaid Debit Cards: A Money Option

Traditionally, people think of banks as a place to put your money, and credit cards as a way to spend it, with debit cards being an interesting hybrid. They spend like a credit card, but draft out of your bank account. For many consumers, though, none of these options are good. Many people have difficulty tracking their spending with a debit card, and many don’t even qualify for a checking account. If this is you, don’t panic! You have other options.
Announcing a Prepaid Debit Card ready to save the day! Prepaid Debit Cards come in many varieties, depending on what your needs are. If your employer wants you to set up direct deposit, but you can’t get a bank account, there is a prepaid debit card that would be perfect for you. If you want a way to do some online spending, but don’t like to deal with banks or credit card companies, you can use a prepaid debit card. Load up once, spend when you need to, and then reload if you need to spend more. If you are tired of bank fees, credit card fees, interest charges, and so forth, you can get a prepaid debit card with a one-time fee and then never pay fees again. No matter what your needs, if the banks don’t like you, or you don’t like them, there is probably a prepaid debit card that would be perfect for you.
Prepaid debit cards are a great way to control your budget, too. Ever try sticking to cash spending, only to find that all your cash disappears? Consider getting separate prepaid debit cards for each budget category, and use them to control your spending. Prepaid debit cards can be a great way to better control your finances. In short, prepaid debit cards can definitely come to your rescue!  There are several ads and links here for you to click on and sign up for a prepaid debit card that can be reloaded time and time again and most can be funded from your bank account.

Some people want to keep some of their spending private from say the eyes of a spouse or significant other who might open and read their credit card statement. We’re not going to list what this spending might entail, but suffice to say, even if some merchants provide generic sounding names for purchases, a curious or suspicious spouse might want to know what the spending is all about.
A prepaid card offers a measure of privacy in that no bank statement is mailed to your house. You check your account by logging in to your account online. So you don’t generate a “paper trail.” Only you have access to your transaction history.
You can also set up direct deposit to have a chunk of change put on the card at regular intervals. This might be your “mad money” or “hobby fund.” It’s apart from your finances, taken out before the rest of your pay is recorded into your bank account as a deposit. Thus, somebody looking at your bank statement won’t know that you have already set aside your own private spending funds.

Sign up for one or for several.  Many require an initial load of only $40 and then after that load what you want up to a total of up to $10,000.  Remember to read the Terms & Conditions and only sign up for the ones that will meet your own personal needs.

CherokeeFinancialinc.com