Your credit is poor. Perhaps you have a string of unpaid bills haunting your past. Maybe you declared bankruptcy within the past a decade, or defaulted on a student personal loan.
All of the above can certainly block your access to obtaining a major credit card, such as VISA or Mastercard.
But bad credit seriously isn't the only reason you can certainly be denied a major credit card. Some folks simply have never used credit. People who like to pay cash only, have never financed a car, taken out a college bank loan, or a mortgage may have zero practical experience with credit. In that case, most card companies will reject your application, not because you have bad credit -- but because you have no credit rating.
Many women who marry young and do all their borrowing under their husband's name often find themselves with no credit rating after they are widowed or divorced. Thousands of women have been denied personal loans and credit cards on that basis.
Still other individuals carry too much debt to be considered a great risk. If you have a car personal loan, a student personal loan, a mortgage, 2 or three -- out cards, you are unlikely to be granted another credit card.
But in any and all of the above cases, you might still obtain a credit card. No matter how negative your credit, and even should you have declared bankruptcy, you can still be granted a VISA or Mastercard with a limit as high as $5,000, if you know the create enterprise to call, and easy methods to make your application.
We are going to reveal these card companies and the methods by which you can certainly obtain a VISA or Mastercard later in this report, but first, let's converse about some of the other things you really should know about credit cards, including annual fees, interest rates, credit reports and more.
Your Credit Rating
How do credit card businesses decide should you are a good credit risk or a bad credit risk? Well, it's sort of a Big Brother thing. You will find several large agencies in America which track the borrowing and buying behavior of just about every single American who has borrowed money at one time or another.
The three major credit rating agencies are: Experian Equifax and Trans Union Corp. :
When you send in an application for a credit card, the card corporation contacts among the above agencies, which pulls your file, if one exists, and let's the corporation know should you have any poor debts in your background.
If you have never borrowed money or used credit of any kind, your name won't appear inside the data base of any of the above. If you have, there will almost certainly be information about you. If you have ever defaulted on a bill, or walked away from a debt owed, that information am goin to be available. In the event you have never defaulted on a bank loan, but have made frequent late payments, that is recorded, too, and goes against your credit rating.
25 Percent Error Rate -
If this sounds a bit like Big Brother, most would agree with you that it is. It's scary to think that some large anonymous corporation is keeping a file on you, but it's true. Additionally, they will share your file with any lending institution that would like to know something about you. That's the price you pay to obtain credit. You've heard the statement, 'there ain't no such thing as a free lunch." With regards to the game of credit, the lunch is certainly not free, neither in the monetary sense, or inside the realm of personal freedom.
To top things off, credit agencies make errors in as many as one-fourth (25 percent) of all their reports. At this minute, false information about you may be ruining your credit rating.
To check your credit rating for errors, call the agencies at the numbers we provided above. They'll request that you send them a written letter asking for a copy of your credit report. They are going to send you a copy of the information they have about you.
Now let's look at how card corporations make the big bucks -- interest rates.
Interest Rates
A few decades ago there were laws against charging the kinds of interest rates credit cards get right now. Exorbitantly high interest rates were called "usury," and were forbidden by federal law. Just 30 years back loaning money at 20 percent would have landed any banker in prison. Such rates were the territory of personal loan sharks and organized crime.
Now, on the other hand, it's standard enterprise. Some cards have rates approaching 21 percent. Some product manufacturers, such as Apple Computer, have credit plans that push a whopping 23 percent.
Most credit card businesses attract customers with super low interest rates, sometimes as easy as 5 percent. But what they only tell you in the fine print, which few folks bother to read, it that the rate of interest jumps back up after six months. Several cards that start you out at 6 percent soon jump to 18 percent, or higher. By that time, most folks have chalked up a balance and are stuck. Most individuals simply fail to notice when their rate increases. Credit card companies count on that. They like who take no interest in details. In the event you never watch them, they'll watch you -- and your wallet -- and dip into it inside the most insidious ways.
No Annual Fee Cards
Some credit card corporations charge no annual fee for use of their card. Annual fees range from $18 to $55. You pay it every twelve months simply for the privilege of using the card. Other companies charge no annual fee. You might think, then, that this really is a better deal. Most often they are not. Cards with no annual fee almost always have a higher annual percentage rate. Should you leave a monthly balance, you'll always pay far more compared to annual fee in interest charges. Only if you never leave an unpaid monthly balance might you benefit form a card with no annual fee.
Perks and Freebies
One of those insidious ways is the offer such perks as frequent flier miles or annual rebates. Use the card so often, and get X amount of frequent flier miles. Use your card, and get credit toward the purchase of an automobile. Is this a fantastic deal? Scarcely ever. As you might have guessed, the offer of rebates and gifts is simply an inducement for you to pay super high interest rates. Except you are a big spender and travel a lot, you'll rarely benefit from this sort of promotion.
Be Choosy
In short, never sign up for a credit card until you compare rates. Shop around. Credit card businesses are just as competitive as some other sort of venture. That means interest rates that vary widely. In general, never go for a card that is five percent higher versus current prime rate.
How you can Get A Lower Rate
What in the event you are already on the hook with a major credit card with an agonizing rate of interest? Pick up the phone, call your card corporation, and get tough. Often, if you ask for a lower rate of interest, you'll get one -- it's as simple as that.
As further incentive, you can certainly threaten to transfer your balance to another card corporation with a lower rate. A lot of card corporations are much more than willing to take you on as a customer by paying off one of their competitors for you. Of course, you are then beholden to them. That's okay if you score a lower annual percentage rate.
How Anyone Could Get a Credit Card
Now what about all of you "hopeless cases" out there. What in the event you have deplorable credit, or no credit rating at all. You may have already been turned down by a half-dozen card companies. What could you do?
1st, you should think long and hard about why you want a credit card inside the 1st place. In the event you have a history of negative credit, a credit card may be the last thing you need. Many people feel that credit cards and the debt they lead folks into is a modern form of slavery.
Credit cards are almost magically deceptive and alluring. They get at the deepest psychological lever of the human mind -- a lever which allows folks to have the feeling they are getting something for free, when in fact, they are paying two, three, four, even ten times as much for that product because of the interest they're going to pay on each purchase.
On the other hand, not having a credit card is becoming less and less practical in modern America. You can't rent a car without having a credit card. Carrying cash is dangerous. Checks are not accepted everywhere -- and traveling to another city or country is extremely difficult without the confidence and identity a credit card brings.
A Secured Card
In the event you decide you really need and want a credit card despite your past problems with credit, you should get what is called a secured credit card. Even people who have declared bankruptcy are granted secured cards.
A secured card works this way: you pay a lump sum of cash upfront either to your lender or the card enterprise itself, usually from $200 to $2,500. The card corporation will then grant your credit for up to 150 percent of the amount of your deposit. If you pony up $500, you are going to be granted a $750 credit line. If you put up $1,000, you are going to get $1,500 in credit, and so on.
Your deposit money will earn a very nice 4 to 5 percent interest while it is held as collateral by your bank or the card business. The deposit money acts like a buffer for the lender. Inside the event you default on your card debt, the lender gets to keep your money. They may still incur a net loss, but the risk is far less.
Additionally, the interest you gain on your deposit will offset the interest on your monthly balance should you have one. If you get a secured card with an 18 percent interest rate, you can feel good in regards to the fact that your pre-payment is earning 5 percent.
Author Resource:
For additional information on how to obtain cash advances , and easy payday loans visit the author's website.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")