If you are looking for unsecured credit cards bad credit okay you may be faced with limited options. For an unsecured card bad credit is a factor that will stop you nearly every time. This, as opposed to no credit which will generally guarantee you a card, even if its simply a few hundred dollars as your beginning credit limit. After that, the credit limit will be increased as the company sees that you are responsible and pay your credit card bill on time. You can either wait for them to offer to raise your credit limit, or if you want to go the shorter route, you can call them and ask them to raise it.

So what are unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit as opposed to secured credit cards for those with a poor credit score. Well, an unsecured card is one that you don’t have to put up any kind of money upfront or collateral. With a secured card, the company asks you to put money upfront for collateral and usually the amount you put up is equal to your credit limit. For instance, if you give them $200 then that will be your credit limit. If you put up $1000 then a thousand dollars  will be your credit limit. However, there are some things that you should understand about secured credit cards.

These are not debit cards. The money that you put up is a bond against nonpayment, it is not your money to spend. After you charge an amount to the card you will be required to pay back the amount, plus interest, within the grace period or face late charges. If you consistently refuse to pay your credit card bill, then eventually they will shut down your card and keep the money that you paid up front to pay off the bill and any associated fees. However, if you do pay your credit card bill responsibly, then you will get a refund of the amount that you put up, usually within a year of having the card.

As far as unsecured credit cards for bad credit go, there are very few options that you have to choose from. There is no reason for a company to take a risk by offering you unsecured credit cards with bad credit when there are many people with good credit that are applying. However, if you have no credit at all, or if your past credit problems are several years old and you have some recent good payment history then you may be able to get this type of credit card by applying and explaining your situation. Talk to your bank or credit union for details.

As far as true unsecured credit cards for bad credit, they are not usually available except in the form of a credit card that is available to be spend at a certain store or website. However, these type of cards may have certain stipulations or terms that make it easy for them to offer it to people with bad credit, such as requiring that you pay a certain amount up front before they will ship the item. It is not truly credit in this case, but rather a cleverly disguised sales pitch designed to get you to buy something and then have to pay for it.

I had to twist our editor’s arm to allow me to teach about credit cards, but I felt that this lesson was extremely important for people who want to take control of their finances. If you don’t use credit, it’s hard to have a good FICO score and if you have a weak FICO score it’s going to be a lot harder to get loans.

I have personally struggled with my credit in the past and want to help people with bad credit to understand how to overcome this difficulty. I now have excellent credit and you can too.

Getting unsecured credit cards with bad credit is extremely hard in today’s climate. Banks are in trouble right now. My credit card company used to increase my available credit limit almost every month. They won’t do it anymore because like most banks, they are struggling. This affects people that don’t have cards because it’s slightly harder to get approved. I pay off my card in full each month, have a 770 credit score, and make more than $12,000 per month. I guess they want to give their credit to people who are more qualified.

Since credit is a little harder to come by than it was a few months ago, I want to teach you how to play the game. Getting unsecured credit cards for bad credit isn’t the same game it was in the past. It’s something you’ll have to work towards, starting today.

The best shot you have is at your current bank – the bank where you have your current checking account. Step one is to go to your bank and apply for a credit card. If you don’t get approved, I have more options for you. I they tell you that they’ll notify you by mail that means you weren’t approved and you can move on to step 2.

Get A Secured Card First

If you didn’t succeed at your bank, you need to get a secured credit card today. Don’t waste time because with credit, every day counts. The sooner you can open up a credit line, the sooner you’ll be able to get a regular, unsecured line of credit.

When I took out my first secured credit card, I had a FICO score of under 500. Getting my card cost about $400 because I had to put down a deposit of $300 and pay a fee of $100. That card was one of the smartest decisions I ever made. My limit was $300 (the amount of my deposit).

I paid that card off every single month and in a few short months, I started getting offers for legit, unsecured cards in the mail. I took out a few of those cards and the rest is history. It’s been a few years now but my credit score is now almost 800. I took control of my situation and can now get any loans I want, at the best interest rates out there.