Bankruptcy: If you have bankruptcy on your credit report, your credit card selection may be limited. We recommend a stored value, guaranteed credit card.
Poor, no credit or bad credit: Again, your credit card options may be limited, but depending upon the types of entries on your credit report that reflect bad credit, you may still qualify for some unsecured credit cards.
Excellent credit: Excellent credit generally means your annual income is over $30,000, you have been paying all bills on time, and you have at least 3 good credit references.
There are credit cards for all credit types, ranging from instant, guaranteed approval to credit cards that offer rebates and rewards. You can use our credit card search to find prepay credit cards, secured and partially secured credit cards, and gold and platinum unsecured credit cards. Simply enter your credit card search terms in the box above.
Guaranteed credit cards offer unsecured credit with no credit checks and no turndowns, whereas gold and platinum credit cards often require a credit check to prove credit worthiness.
If you have been rejected for a credit card, it's possible that you applied for a card that requires a higher credit rating. In such case, you may want to consider lower limit cards with less frills, and work on rebuilding credit.
If you already have a high credit limit, platinum credit card from a major issuer, such as American Express, Discover, Chase, etc, and are looking for a 0 intro balance transfer, be sure to read the terms when you apply to see if there are any transfer fees, limitations or restrictions, and if the 0 introductory period actually includes balance transfers.
Regardless of good or bad credit or the type of credit card you desire, use our free credit card search engine.
Credit
Card
Before
traveling, call the credit card company so that purchases will not be halted due
to fraud measures. This is especially necessary when traveling to a foreign
country. This helps avoid a freeze on a credit card account. There is antifraud software that monitors customers’ spending
patterns. When cardholders stray from usual habits, for example, like making
purchases in another state instead of at a store in the home ZIP code area, it
could be flagged as fraud.
Many
people are glad about this, but others get upset when purchases are denied. In
addition to watching for unusual spending patterns, banks also monitor where criminals use stolen
cards, which can be places like automated payment kiosks in metropolitan areas.
This is why some people have more than one credit card when they travel. It can
be a big problem to unfreeze a card when traveling in a foreign country.
For
people who travel all the time, countries in Europe, Japan, Canada, and Mexico have adopted a
credit card that has a chip. The customer must enter a PIN. Merchants that accept
Visa, MasterCard and
American Express are supposed to let customers pay with either type of
card, yet some employees at stores outside the United States do not always know what to do with the magnetic version.
Another
problem can be that automated kiosks in Europe, may only accept chip and PIN cards, particularly in
train stations, parking garages, gas stations, and some tollbooths. When this
happens, Americans with magnetic stripe cards usually have to wait in line to pay with cash or have a clerk swipe their cards.
These lines can be long and frustrating when trying to catch a train. Some merchants in other parts of the world often have higher minimum-purchase
requirements, to use a credit card or simply do not accept the cards because they
do not want to pay the fees card companies charge retailers. Be sure to contact
card issuers before traveling and check the credit limits on each card.
Auto Loan: Get free quotes and apply for a new or used auto loan or for auto refinancing.
Credit Report: Free credit report help to fix credit report errors and improve credit score ratings. You are entitled to one free credit report annually.
Debt Counseling: Get your expenses under control with credit counseling, an unsecured debt consolidation loan, debt management or negotiate debt settlement.
Free Credit Offers: Get no obligation, free credit offers plus financial tips to help effectively manage your personal finances.
Home Loan: Free multiple quotes from mortgage lenders. Apply for a new home loan and start building your financial security.
Mortgage Refinancing: 2nd mortgage loan and other types of mortgage refinancing for home remodeling, equity cash out or a debt consolidation loan and more.
Payday Loan: Easy approval bad credit unsecured loan with no credit check, no deposit and no security.
Personal Loan: Submit a short or long term personal loan application (if available), or apply for other secured or unsecured loan offers.
Personal Finance: How to file bankruptcy plus free bankruptcy forms. Create a household personal budget, balance a checkbook register, track expenses and more.
Tip of the Day: To curb credit card charges, wrap your credit card in a sheet of paper and keep a log of purchases written on the paper, with a grand total of charges in view each time you reach for your card. Before swiping your card, figure out how many hours you'll have to work in order to payoff the charge and jot on the paper: "IOU #Hours of Work". Perhaps seeing how long you'll need to work to payoff the charge will help curb spending.
