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Secured Credit Cards 101
By Beth Derkowitz
If you're thinking about a credit card, but don't want the hassle or the worry of a traditional unsecured card, then you might be interested in finding out more about secured credit cards.
Secured credit cards are basically a savings account that uses a credit card to spend the funds. A cardholder will deposit money into an account and that amount becomes the limit for the secured credit card. You can only spend that much.
Advantages
The advantages of the secured credit card are many. First of all, there aren't interest rates to consider because you don't ever carry a balance. You can find a secured credit card through some banks and most credit unions that are simple to set up and reward customers for staying within their spending limits.
You can add money to the card if you wish and as you do so, you are creating a healthy credit history that can make it easier to get unsecured credit cards in the future. Unsecured credit cards are a great way to restore bad credit, usually taking about a year until you are able to apply for an unsecured card. These kinds of credit cards do report the activity to credit agencies, increasing your rating as you spend responsibly.
Disadvantages
The trick with secured credit cards is that you do have a limit, but if you have problems with spending, this is a good thing. If you run into an emergency, however, this can be a bad thing. You will only have the money that is on the card, so you might have troubles in those instances.
Another disadvantage is that some companies will charge an annual fee to use a secured card. Looking at the find print of these service agreements will alert you to the possibility of this and perhaps lead you to look elsewhere. Credit unions tend to waive the fee.
There are also a lot of disreputable companies that are trying to get consumers to sign up for a secured credit card to improve their credit rating, but also telling them that they need to pay exorbitant fees as well as purchase other unrelated services. If you see this kind of 'deal' or notice that the phone number is a 900 number, don't sign up with them.
Secured credit cards can be a step in the right direction for those with poor credit, but only if you take the time to research what you're getting into and how it can truly help you.
About the Author
Beth Derkowitz recommends Find Credit Cards for finding the Visa rewards credit card that's right for you. See http://www.findcreditcards.org/issuer/visa.php for more information.
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/author-articles/903/1.html
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