Good rates for bad credit

By Jeremy M. Simon

If you suffer from bad credit, you may have low expectations when shopping online for a credit card.  Perhaps you don't expect your current options to be very good since you may have been turned down for cards in the past.  But just because you have bad credit doesn't mean you have to settle for a bad credit card. 

Nowadays, there are a wide variety of credit cards for consumers with bad credit.  And these credit cards do not necessarily have unfair terms. 

In fact, consumers with bad credit may enjoy interest rates that are actually lower than those for card types are designed for individuals with good credit histories.

For example, products that fall into the rewards credit card and student credit card categories often charge a higher interest rate. 

While these cards may provide a low introductory APR for several months, once this intro period ends, their regular interest rates are frequently above the APR on cards for consumers with poor credit. 

Taking a look at the Credit Card Rate Report from CreditCards.com, which summarizes the APRs for various credit card categories, shows how the interest rates on cards for bad credit compare to cards in other categories.

While having one of these credit cards may mean a low interest rate, individuals with bad credit will often have to pay fees that may not be charged for other types of credit cards.  These fees range from annual charges to account maintenance fees to the money you must put down for a secured credit card.

Unfortunately, these fees are simply part of the cost of borrowing money when you have bad credit.  But with a low interest rate, you will still be saving money when revolving a balance.

Published: May 18, 2007

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