Consumers with bad credit often only concentrate on removing negative information while repairing credit.
But there is nothing worse than having only negative credit on your reports. Adding positive credit is an integral part to rebuild credit history and raising credit scores.
Once you get new credit keep the total balance on the new credit low. Using more than 30% of the available credit may cause your credit score to decrease.
The below credit card offers can help add positive information to your credit reports.
Get an Unsecured Credit Card
Orchard Bank® Classic MasterCards is an excellent credit card choice for people looking to build their credit. The reason I like this card so much for consumers looking to rebuild or build credit is that Orchard pre-qualifies you for the card you will most likely be approved for before an actual hard inquiry is placed on your credit report.
Most credit card companies just pull your credit when you first apply for a card and a hard inquiry is placed on your credit report whether or not you are approved. Prequalify today for a new MasterCard that matches your credit profile.
Use Secured Credit Cards for Rebuilding Credit
Consumers who may not be approved for an unsecured credit card still have an excellent alternative in the form of secured credit cards. Secured credit cards offer many of the same benefits as unsecured credit cards.
You determine your own credit limit with the savings deposit used to secure your credit card. The Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Credit Card has no annual fee or account set up fees, you can choose your credit limit from $200 to $5,000 and there is monthly credit bureau reporting. Even though you are securing your credit card with a deposit, payments must be made on-time and account balances should be kept low just like an unsecured credit account.
Add an Installment Loan
Adding an installment loan such as an auto loan, personal, mortgage or even a student loan to your credit files will help rebuild credit scores. The credit scoring system rewards consumers who have a good credit mix and an installment loan will give you a good credit mix.
If your credit scores are less than perfect you may be required to make a downpayment. Another option would be USACarCash. It is a service that provides free auto loan quotes without obligation from its Nationwide Network of qualified, hand selected dealerships to consumers with or without perfect credit.
Get a Retail Credit Card
Retail credit is typically easier to qualify for than a visa or mastercard; however the interest rates may be slightly higher than credit card interest rates. Fingerhut is an established online retailer carrying over 20,000 products including electronics, computers, ipads, clothing, house wares, appliances and much more. They provide consumers that have less than perfect credit an opportunity to build credit history.
Are you pre-approved for Fingerhut Credit. Enter your name and address and find out now. Fingerhut offers shop-at-home convenience and a wide selection of products both online and through regular mailings.
The Gettington credit card has a low APR making it easier to pay as you go, there is no annual fee or over-limit fee. You can shop online with confidence because Gettington credit comes with fraud liability protection. Take control of your account with online account management. Apply for a Gettington credit card and shop thousands of name brands with flexible payment options.
Keep account balances low
Consumers who max out or charge close to their credit limit are more likely to experience problems repaying the debt should a change of circumstance occur, such as loss of income or illness. The lower the utilization rate, the better your credit score.
Keep those balances low — And by low I mean do not charge more than 30% of your available credit limit. If at all possible aim for 10% of your available credit limit and your credit scores will get better and better as long as you pay all of your credit obligations on time.
Credit scoring models calculate the utilization of available credit because it is thought to be a good indicator of risk. Using too much of your available credit may land you in the high risk category.
New Credit Should be Reported to Major Credit Bureaus
In the event you only qualify for a secured credit card, the way the credit card company reports payments to the credit bureaus is very important. The ideal scenario is to have the credit card company report the account the same way an unsecured credit card is reported. No one will ever know the credit account is secured.
