Rebuild Credit After Bankruptcy: Pick the Right Credit Card For Rebuilding Credit

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Category: The Money Coach
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Rebuild Credit After Bankruptcy: Pick the Right Credit Card For Rebuilding Credit

As millions of people have filed for bankruptcy protection in recent years, many Americans want to know how to rebuild their credit rating after a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. One perennial question I’m often asked is: What is a good credit card to obtain in order to rebuild credit after bankruptcy?

It’s a dilemma for many individuals because they don’t want to risk applying for cards over and over and getting rejected multiple times. Nor do those with poor credit histories want to be financially exploited by subprime credit cards that charge ridiculously punitive interest rates and sky-high fees.

Some people are even scared to open a credit card, because of problems they’ve had in the past. But you don’t have to let fear -– or past credit mistakes –- keep you locked out of the financial mainstream.

So what should you do? My general suggestion is that you shop around for the best credit card deal, using an online comparison site, such as CreditCards.com or CardRatings.com.

But I do also have a specific recommendation that’s worth considering: it’s the Orchard Bank Secured MasterCard. This secured credit card is actually issued by HSBC and has a lot of attractive features for those with bad credit or no credit who want to improve their credit rating.

For starters, the Orchard Bank card has a low annual fee and a low variable purchase Annual Percentage Rate. The yearly fee for this card is just $35, which is waived the first year. The variable APR, which is tied to the Prime Rate, is currently a slim 7.9%.

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Additionally, it requires a low deposit amount, $200, to get started. By comparison, some other secured cards require a $500 minimum. With a secured credit card, whatever amount you put on deposit with an institution becomes your initial credit limit. If any fees or extra charges are imposed, that can reduce your available credit.

Another major benefit of the Orchard Bank card is that your payment history is being reported to credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. So if you handle this card responsibly, and make timely payments, you’ll reap the benefits of watching your credit rating improve over time. Read the rest of Rebuild Credit After Bankruptcy: Pick the Right Credit Card For Rebuilding Credit on BlackVoices.