Credit Cards For Poor Credit — Loans for Bad Credit Score

Before you take a loan or credit card, lenders need to know how likely you are to pay back the money. Will you be late in giving monthly payments, default every time, or are you likely to even go bankrupt? This is why there is a credit score system in place. It is actually a number ranging from 350 to 900 in India.

The closer you are to 900, the better your credit score is.

What is a Bad Credit Score?

Conversely, the further you are from 900, the worse your credit score becomes. Sounds confusing?

Let’s clear away the cobwebs. A bad credit score is typically considered to be those that are below 580. The unfortunate thing for those having such scores is that they may get loans and credit cards only with unfavorable terms, if at all they manage to get any.

Is There Any Hope?

Think about it from the perspective of a money lender. If you were one, would you be inclined to give your funds to one who is not likely to pay it back at all?

No, correct? This is how moneylenders think, and rightly so as it is their business.

The lower your credit score is, the harder it will be to be approved for credit cards.

However, you still have hope. There are ways to get credit cards, even with a bad credit score.

6 Ways to Get a Credit Card Even With Bad Credit

Check Your Credit Score

You already know that you have bad credit when most lenders appear unwilling to give you loans or credit cards. It is now time to check how deep a hole you have dug for yourself, unfortunately.

Checking your credit score is something you can do through any one of the three major credit reporting companies in India. These include TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. While you are entitled to get a credit score report from them once a year, you must definitely ask for it.

Don’t Apply for the Top Cards

When you have a bad credit score, you don’t want to waste your time looking at the top credit cards. Sorry, but you can’t get them at this time. Those are made available only for people with high credit scores. Most likely, you’ll be denied.

Besides, these denials will be recorded in your credit report as hard inquiries, thereby affecting your score further further. Cards you want to stay away from are those with low APRs, low-interest rates, and excellent rewards.

Find the Best Credit Cards for People with Bad Credit

Bad credit scores warrant a different sort of credit card. What you should be looking for are secured credit cards. Many borrowers dismiss secured credit cards because the cards require cardholders to make a security deposit against the credit limit.

As long as you pay back loans on time and do not default, you shall get your deposit back. Later on, when you have a good credit history, you can easily convert this into an unsecured credit card as well.

However, these cards come with such terms that they report directly to the credit bureaus. This means that you need to be extra careful with the credit balance.

Stay Away from Fee Harvester Credit Cards

There are two types of cards that you need to watch out for. The first variety is the Fee Harvester kind. These charge a high upfront fee which matches your credit limit. The other type is Prepaid Cards. These are not really credit cards at all, as these require you to load money on the card for use.

Plan to Move onto Better Credit Cards

Using a secured card is best for a temporary period. They are for those having bad credit scores and first-time credit card users. What you need to do is to pay back your loans on time. This helps improve your credit.

You can improve your credit by 12 or 18 months if you use the card responsibly. Later on, you can even switch to an unsecured credit card without the need to close your account.