If you are looking for a way to build your credit, or repair it, secured credit cards may be one of the things that you are considering. These type of credit cards are cards with a cash bond against non-payment. Please don’t mistake these cards with a debit card. This is not the kind of card that you load money on and then spend it, the money that you pay to activate your secured credit card will be your limit. This means that you will still have to pay off these secured Visa credit cards each month, just as if they were a regular credit card.

The best ones are ones that report to your credit monthly, and report as credit cards, and not secured cards. This means that when creditors look at your credit report they will see an ordinary Visa or Mastercard that you are paying on, rather than an obviously secured one. You’ll also want to try to find secured credit cards that report to all three credit bureaus, Equifax, Transunion and Experian. This allows you to build your credit through all three bureaus at once. This big three – reports monthly, reports as a regular credit card and reports to all three bureaus is difficult to find, but companies do exist that offer this.

When you make a payment on your credit cards secured or otherwise, you’ll be building a credit history with that account. Make sure that if you get one of these credit cards that you pay it on time. While they are one of the most powerful tools available for rebuilding your credit, it is quite easy to have them backfire on you. I recommend that you don’t use your it at all unless you are making a purchase that you have the actual cash money in hand for. Then, at the end of the month, when the credit card bill comes, pay it off before it accrues any interest.

There are quite often fees associated with secured cards and it is difficult to find a good company that doesn’t charge one. Don’t be afraid of the fees unless they are ridiculous. A great find is a company that charges a one time fee of $50 to join the program (plus the secured amount) and then a $10 a month charge to use the card. You’ll need to put money down to get the card, which is your secured amount and this can be as little as $200. I always recommend that you go higher than you think you should as far as putting money down to secure the card. This is because part of your credit score is based upon the available credit you have versus the amount you have used (or the amount you owe).

You’ll also need to watch out for secured bad credit cards. These companies do exist but it is easy to weed them out by asking some simple questions. Ask questions like, what their interest rate is, do they charge a monthly fee, what their initial joining fee is and how long it will take to get your deposit back assuming you pay on time (should be about a year). Also, find out if they report, which bureaus they report to, and how they report. If you follow these simple steps you should be able to browse your choices quite  easily and with the knowledge you need to make the right choice.