Credit card after bankruptcy

Can you recommend a good credit card following a bankruptcy? Is it possible to get an unsecured card?

Terry Says:  You probably want a “secured” credit card — one funded with a savings account in your name.  The amount in the account becomes your line of credit.  When you buy things on the card you should pay off in FULL and on time every month.  They report this pattern to the credit bureaus and thus you start building a new, better credit report.  Even though the bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for ten years, this new credit will demonstrate that you are now managing your money more responsibly.

To get a secured card, go to www.Bankrate.com and click on credit cards.  Then click on “Secured Cards” and you will have many choices of Visa and MC, and can compare deposit requirements, interest paid on your deposit (which certainly will be minimal) and other features such as annual fee.  No one — not the merchant or your friends who see you use the card — will know this is a “secured card.”

If you can’t afford the “security deposit” for one of these cards, you probably shouldn’t have a credit card now –until you build up some savings. And if any institution will offer you a traditional card after bankruptcy read the fine print carefully.   One late payment could trigger huge costs, fees are higher, and so are finance charges that start if you are even a day late in payments.