Hello I am new to the board and I see ads on this site for credit cards; are they easier to approve than regular cards. I signed up with a conusmer credit counsulor and they told me there would NOT be a negative impact on my credit. Boy were they wrong. After one year I still can not get a credit card. I travel for work so I need a credit card for car rentals. I might be able to get a secure card but I want to try and rebuild my credit. Any help or advice will be helpful. Also I will not post again until I have read most of the beginner's info.
You may have to start off in baby steps. 1) get a secured card and use it for small stuff and pay it off each month...once you obtain a good payment history there is the possibility that the secured will become unsecured by that lender. Then you can close it out and get your deposit back. 2) Don't overextend yourself...make sure what credit you do get you don't carry balances on. Pay them in full and thus save interest plus you won't get yourself into trouble again. 3) I also found that getting a Target guest card was pretty easy....got one in 1998 w/200 limit and now it's at 900 CL...I pay that in full each month. 4) another card to try is either Texaco/Shell or Chevron....Got a Texaco with a 400CL and now it's 650CL and I use it for gas each month and pay it in full when due....don't have to carry cash for gas and I don't pay interest on it either. My Chevron is a lousy 400CL and I filed that away. Don't think I've ever used it and there isn't too many Chevron gas stations nearby me. After my bankruptcy (discharged in 5/92) I got a Capital One secured card (100 deposit and got a 500 CL). Used it and paid if off each month. About a year later they offered me an unsecured card with a 1200 limit and I closed out the secured card, got my deposit back + interest and eventually graduated to a platinum with Chase and a mortgage, etc...and a unsecured Cap 1 card w/5500CL Remember only way to help your score it to pay on time every month, not to apply in excess for credit (inquiries), and not to charge your cards and max them out. There are other things in a FICO score but I'm finding those are pretty important. You can go to www.myfico.com and view the FAQ's. I know Bank of America offers a secured card also. You may want to take a look at: www.bankrate.com and search under the secured cards area.
