Secured credit cards, the Pro’s and Con’s and what you should watch out for!
If you have been turned down for any type of credit card, even one with a low credit limit, then a secured card may be right for you. In todays society, having a credit card is no longer a luxury, it’s become a necessity! You need a credit card in order to rent a car,book a motel romm and a vacation or even to rent a movie from your local video store. People with no credit cards are even locked out of our E-Commerce revolutuion since you must have a credit card to buy anything online. Most of us can qualify for a traditional credit card, even one with a low credit limit and a high interest rate, but what about those with some serious credit mistakes or even a bankruptcy in their past? Are those people doomed? Not at all!
Advantages of a secured credit card.
While it’s true that a debit card attached to your checking account can often be used as a credit card in most situations, a debit card has no effect on your credit rating because it will not utilise credit. That means that this method will not do one thing for your credit score! A debit card withdraws the money you spend right out of your account and since it does this, there is no way to get out of paying. After all, you are using your own money. But you aren’t showing future creditors that you have learned from your mistakes and are ready to start over again either! In order to do that, you have to have one thing, the ability to use other people’s money.
Well then how does a secured card work?
Good question! A secured card falls somewhere in between because you have to place funds in a secured account in order to establish the line of credit you are seeking. This certificate of deposit or CD is used as a hedge to guarantee the creditor you will repay the money you borrow. If you default on this line of credit, your creditor will claim the funds you put into the CD to get your line of credit in the first place.
The Good news is that your CD earns interest while you earn your credit rating. If you establish a line of credit with a secured credit card in the amount of $1000.00, your $1000.00 earns money and if you can get in the habit of paying your bills on time, your credit line will earn money for you! The bad news is that sometimes your credit card company will report that your card is a secured card and send this information to all 3 credit bureaus. In doing this, they make the account look a little less valid since there is little risk to the card issuer. However, you can shop around for a creditor that will not report your card as being secured and many of them will honor your request if you just ask!
Make sure that you are secure too!
Credit constrained consumers are the target market for secured credit cards and there are plenty of credit card scams and unethical companies out there ready to take advantage of your desperation. Unless your secured card company is a National and Reputable institution you have heard of before, you should contact you Better Business Bureau to verify your company doesn’t have an excessive amount of complaints against it! Even the best companies will have a few complaints about them because it’s not possible to satisfy everyone, but if the company that wants your business seems to have a slew of complaints and dissatisfied customers, keep looking. Thanks to the Internet for providing publishers like Ezine and articles like this one as well as the websites below, you have a variety of options working for you.
Getting a good secured card with a guaranteed approval just got easier and better! With the current credit crisis the way it is, banks are more willing to take a chance on you with a smaller line of credit to offset their recent losses. This presents a marvelous opportunity for you and you should take advantage of it!
Related to : www.universalcard.com