Bad credit can have a damaging effect on your life.  If you have had bad credit for a while you already know that there are limits to what companies are willing to do for you, especially in the lending department.  Having bad credit doesn’t mean you can’t get a loan or other type of credit though.  In this article we are going to look at bad credit unsecured credit cards. 

 

First it is important to understand what bad credit really is.  Bad credit is going to be a score lower than 600.  While you can be in the 580 and above range and be in good standing this doesn’t mean the credit card companies are going to think the same as you.  If you are below 600 you are considered a high risk and therefore you will be labeled with bad credit.  Anything that is below 500 is going to be in the poor section of the credit score and this is typically a place someone heading for bankruptcy will be.  It means that this person probably has failed to pay several of their debts at all or on time.  So knowing where you fall on the bad credit range can help you determine what type of credit card you may be able to get.

Let’s look at the second portion of the title, unsecured credit cards.  Unsecured credit cards are any credit card that has revolving credit and a credit limit.  Basically all credit cards are unsecured because they are not backed by a bank account.  Prepaid credit cards or debit cards are the only types of secure credit you can have with a credit card company.  The credit card company offers you a line of credit that you can use, but you are not placing any collateral on that line of credit.  This is why it is not secured when you have a credit card. 

It can be difficult to obtain a bad credit unsecured credit card.  As the consumer you will fill out an application stating your current financial status and the company will access your credit scores.  Based on the information they may approve or disqualify you for the credit card.  Some of the companies that are a little easier with their credit cards, especially in awarding bad credit unsecured credit cards include:

Does this mean you will be awarded a card with these companies?  Typically yes, if you seek out one of these companies they are more likely to award a credit card to you.  However, you should note that they reserve the right of judgment on your financial status and credit scores in determine what risk you pose.  The higher the risk the less likely they are to award a credit card.  The reason you should try for this type of card is to repair your credit.  The other reason is that they do offer higher risk people credit cards, so you may discover you have no issues getting the bad credit unsecured credit card.