Thursday, May 19, 2011

10 Ways to Search for a Secured Credit Card


1. APR – can have a standard or introductory rate. Can range from 7.90% to 49.9%, average ranges from 9.72% to 22%.

2. Annual fees - average fee is $40 per year

3. Minimum deposit – average deposit required is $300

4. Maximum deposit - amount deposited may depend on consumers annual income and line of credit desired, average is $10,000

5. Red Flags - look for low interest rates and fees, beware of scams, reporting to the credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, deposits, avoid cards with high fees and high interest rates, avoid cards that use your security deposit, income and age restrictions, if the card has a grace period, ask if the card is reported as a secured credit card on your credit report – this may affect future approvals for credit

6. Requirements – requires a savings or checking account with the bank, credit limit is 50-100% of the deposit, for savings accounts the limit can range from $300 to thousands of dollars, money is deposited into a savings account or CD, offer same features as an unsecured credit card

7. Earn interest – if it is a bank card they may pay interest on your deposit, the interest rate varies from 2 to 6.17%, if you deposit more than the minimum or are required to make a high deposit - it is to your advantage to ensure you earn interest on the money

8. Deposit Refund – if application is denied, refund is used to pay outstanding balance and any money left over is mailed to the consumer, may be charged penalty for early cancellation

9. Additional fees – application fee, processing fee, annual fee, finance charge, the application fee may be non-refundable depending on the company, cash advance fees, over-the-limit fees, non-sufficient fund fees, accessing account information, exceeding maximum number of transactions per month

10. Conversion – the account is not touched unless you make a late payment, after making payments on time for at least a year you may be able to qualify for an unsecured credit card, ask if your card can be converted to a unsecured credit card, account may be closed by bank if the account is seriously delinquent

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This matter is downcast to earth, hats off buds out there.
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Reliant Credit Repair said...

The easiest thing you can do each month to repair your bad credit history is to pay your monthly bills on time. If you have the money available then pay each bill in full before the due date. This one thing can have a huge positive impact on your credit history. Reliant Credit

Unknown said...

Does anyone know how to get a free card number that works??