Earn 5,000 Membership Rewards® bonus points when you spend $500 in 3 months - redeemable for a $50 gift card!
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The Membership Rewards program also lets your transfer points to 17 frequent flyer programs: 1 point = 1 frequent flyer mile or frequent guest credit for most programs.
The following credit cards may be able to help build, rebuild or re-establish your credit if you make on-time payments with all of your creditors and maintain your account balances below the credit limits.
Site FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
When should credit card payments be credited?
A card issuer must credit your account on the day the issuer receives your payment, unless the payment is not made according to the creditors requirements or the delay in crediting to your account does not result in a charge. To avoid delays that could result in finance charges, follow the card issuers instructions about where to send payments. Payments sent to other locations could delay getting credit for your payment for up to five days. If you lose your payment envelope, look on the billing statement for the address for payments or call the card issuer.
Shopping Around for the Right Card
When shopping for a credit card, you probably will want to look at other factors besides costs- such as whether the credit limit is high enough to meet your needs, how widely the card is accepted, and what services and features are available under the plan. You may be interested, for example, in "affinity cards" -- all-purpose credit cards that are sponsored by professional organizations, college alumni associations, and some members of the travel industry. Frequently, an affinity card issuer donates a portion of the annual fees or transaction charges to the sponsoring organization, or allows you to qualify for free travel or other bonuses.
Valuable Rewards
Discover Student Card offers cash back bonuses that give you a certain percentage of all you charge back to you. Both these offers, like many others out there, benefit you much more than the credit card that gives you a free hat or keychain just for filling out an application. (Well, you cannot really compare apples and oranges. Keychains and free hats are given out by every card issuers advertising right outside of schools. These are not Rewards; these are free incentives just for filling an application. That same Chase Student card will also give out useless rewards, but it also gives Valuable Rewards like OnePass Miles).
What type of information do credit bureaus collect and sell?
Credit bureaus collect and sell four basic types of information. Identification and employment information Your name, birth date, Social Security number, employer, and spouses name are routinely noted. The CRA also may provide information about your employment history, home ownership, income, and previous address, if a creditor requests this type of information. Payment history Your accounts with different creditors are listed, showing how much credit has been extended and whether youve paid on time. Related events, such as referral of an overdue account to a collection agency, may also be noted. Inquiries CRAs must maintain a record of all creditors who have asked for your credit history within the past year, and a record of those persons or businesses requesting your credit history for employment purposes for the past two years. Public record information. Events that are a matter of public record, such as bankruptcies, foreclosures, or tax liens, may appear in your report.
Credit History
A credit report is a history of your credit reported by credit bureaus. This report shows your credit history, including payment history and total debt owed. It can be accessed by anyone considering lending you money. It may also be accessed by employers, car dealers and landlords. This report shows your ability (or lack of) to pay on debts owed. A good credit history can help you buy a house one day, get a low payment plan on a new car you want buy, or simply convince a prospective landlord to rent you an apartment. If your credit history shows late payments and other negative items, you can find yourself unable to do any of these things. Or, for example, you may be able to finance a car, but it will have very high interest rates and cost you a lot more money
I'm a foreigner and need a credit card to establish credit. I have a Social Security number, but I?m not a U.S. resident. Are there any cards that I may apply for and get approved?
There are many cards you can apply for, as long as you have a social security number. However, you may find it difficult to get approved because you do not have a credit history in the U.S. To start building a credit history in the U.S., you need to obtain credit from a credit card company or bank that reports to all three of the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). You might have to consider credit cards with higher interest rates, security deposits, lower credit balances or application fees. Read all the terms and conditions thoroughly to protect yourself from a card that will cause you more harm than good. If you have a checking or savings account, apply for your bank?s credit card. They may approve you since you have a financial history with them. Also, they may add a stipulation that late or missed payments will be withdrawn automatically from your checking or savings account. Remember: always avoid any credit card offers that charge high fees. There are plenty of options out there to help you establish credit. You do not have to go into high debt to do so. Once you establish a positive credit history, you can then get approved for credit cards that cost you less and offer you more.
What is Consumers Liability for Unauthorized charges?
"If you have a problem with merchandise or services that you charged to a credit card, and you have made a good faith effort to work out the problem with the seller, you have the right to withhold from the card issuer payment for the merchandise or services. You can withhold payment up to the amount of credit outstanding for the purchase, plus any finance or related charges. If the card you used is a bank card, a travel and entertainment card, or another card not issued by the seller of the defective merchandise, you can withhold payment only if the purchase exceeded $50 and occurred in your home state or within 100 miles of your billing address. If these conditions do not apply to you, you may want to consider filing an action in small claims court -- an informal legal proceeding that can be used to settle disputes. While the maximum amounts that can be claimed or awarded differ from state to state, most small claims courts hear cases involving amounts ranging from $25 to $2,000. Some states have recently raised their limits to $5,000. Check Check your local telephone book under your municipal, county, or state government headings for small claims court listings. " * Shop around for credit card terms that are best for you. * Make sure you understand the terms of a credit card plan before you accept the card. Review the disclosures of terms and fees that must appear on credit-card offers you receive in the mail. * Pay bills promptly to keep finance charges as low as possible. * Keep copies of sales slips and promptly compare charges when your bills arrive. * Protect your credit cards and account numbers to prevent unauthorized use. Draw a line through blank spaces above the total when you sign receipts. Rip up or retain carbons. * Keep a list of your credit card numbers and the telephone numbers of each card issuer in a safe place in case your cards are lost or stolen.
What is the difference between an additional card and co-signer card?
An additional card is a card you get on your personal credit account with another person?s name on it. This means that the person now has access to your credit account as if it is their own account and can charge as much as they want without your permission beforehand. In addition, this person is not held accountable by your creditor for making any payment on the account. This responsibility falls on you, the account holder. As a result, no matter how much this person charges on your card, you have to pay for it?even if the person promises to pay you back and doesn?t. A cosigner card is a credit card someone applies for and gets a cosigner to sign on. Essentially, it is the applicant?s credit account, but if they stop making payments, the cosigner is then responsible for the account. The history of the account goes on both person?s credit reports. The cosigner will have to make special arrangements with the creditor before cosigning to get monthly statements on the account or reports of late payments. Otherwise, the cosigner will not have access to the account information. If you do cosign on an account, remember that you assume equal liability.
Do you know if secured deposits earn interest? If so, what is the range and what does it depend on?
some secured credit card offers do include interest on your initial deposit. In addition, some of these secured credit cards also allow you to add more money to this deposit in order to collect more interest. However, these features do not apply to all secured credit card deposits. Your card application and terms should state whether or not the secured card you are applying for has this feature. The amount of interest is usually comparable to the amount of interest you?d get with a savings account and varies with each card. The rate can also vary from month to month, so check with your credit issuer about the exact amount. While these secured credit cards may offer you interest accruing perks, these cards normally have annual fee requirements and higher interest rates on your balance owed. As a result, the interest you earn may not even cover the amount of interest and fees you owe back. Take the time to do the math on what a secured card will cost you and earn for you in reality. This could determine whether or not the secured credit card is a viable option for your financial future
I would like to re-build my credit. I filed for bankruptcy three years ago. How do I find a lender that will give me reasonable annual fee and interest rate?
Its true: after filing for bankruptcy, credit can be difficult to obtain. And what makes things worse is that your credit score will drop even lower each time a company disapproves your application. That means its doubly important that you apply for a card that youre likely to get rather than risk a turn-down. Youre definitely "at risk" at this time?a target for unscrupulous lenders with big promises and shady deals. Many lenders will try to entice you with "super-low interest rates for those who filed for bankruptcy." It all sounds good until they come up with some questionable reason why you dont qualify and then try to convince you to sign up for a card with high rates and fees. Beware! Other companies may offer low teaser rates, but then hike the interest after a short period of time. And if you miss a payment -- look out! Some impose outrageous fees for late payments, sticking you with a $25 fine when youre late on a $5 payment. Heres a secret credit card companies dont want you to know: Late fees represent as much as one-third of the income of some credit-card issuers.
