Friday, January 2, 2009

Sub Prime Credit Card

By Dan Moskel

A sub prime card was designed for those with a low credit score. It was created to give people a second chance with their credit history.

They can be used to improve a low credit score. This is because it can create a positive payment history and improve your ratio of available credit to debt.

Your payment history and available credit to debt are both very important to your credit score. By improving these you can improve your score even with bad credit items on your report.

There is monthly credit reporting with these cards. You should expect an APR of 19% and you will have some fees for these cards. This is the cost of a low score, however used correctly and this can be the last time you have a cost due to your score.

Most of these cards come with a $300 credit limit. However some cards such as the Tribute MasterCard will also approve individuals for a $70 credit limit and many will offer periodic limit increases.

A sub prime credit card is superior to a secured card when it comes to credit reporting. With a secured card it will report to the bureaus as a secured account and will not help as much as an unsecured account.

You should still try to remove derogatory items from your credit report. However you should know that once a derogatory item ages for four years then it will have much less weight on your score.

You should know that to get the most out of your card on your credit you should try to keep the balance at roughly 20% of your available credit. This will help because it shows the bureaus that you do use your card and are using it responsibly.

You can still get approval for a sub prime card even with; charge offs, collections, judgments, and even a bankruptcy. However each card has different approval requirements. Many of them will give you an instant decision upon submission of your application.

In sum we do suggest a sub prime card for those looking for a second chance with credit. With proper use it can rebuild a low credit score. - 15224

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