Credit Card Forum
  1. #1
    Green Member
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    Question What are interest rates on credit cards after bankruptcy?

    Hello Credit Card Forum!

    This is about credit cards after bankruptcy. I had a bankruptcy 20 months ago and would now like to get a credit card. What are interest rates on loans and credit cards after bankruptcy? Also are post bankruptcy credit cards unsecured? It's not that I really plan to carry a balance but in case I do I don't want to bother with a credit card after bankruptcy if it is going to be a super high interest rate I have to pay. The other thing I want to avoid is paying an annual fee. I don't think that because I had a bankruptcy I should have to pay for the privilege of a credit card now.

    And has anyone here been in the same boat as me and opened up a credit card recently like in the last 3 months? It would be helpful to know how strict they are with issuing bankruptcy friendly credit cards because I'm sure they aren't as friendly now!
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  2. #2
    Centurion Member
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    There were - possibly still are - a few bankruptcy friendly credit card companies out there. But beware - these cards come with low limits, annual fees, and more or less loanshark level interest rates. Try Orchardbank, Householdbank. Orchard was the first one that gave me one 4 months after my Oct. 2004 discharge. The limit was $400, annual fee $49. By now - 4 years after I received this card, my limit with them is only $1200. But I am still getting charged the annual fee.

    Sorry - but annual fees are/is the price you have to pay to get credit cards post bankruptcy.
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  3. #3
    Centurion Member
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    Default credit cards for poor credit are harder to get now

    Unsecured credit card for bad credit are hard to get now. You know what they say- beggers can't be choosers. Where you're at right now that soon after bankruptcy you need to take the best you can get and yeah that probably means an annual fee.

    Bad news is right now there aren't a whole lot of credit cards for people with bad credit out there. Some of the outfits have closed shop and that means not as many are left. Then you take into account their credit terms and criteria have been tightened and it's slim pickings son.
    Last edited by 1bootcamp; Jan 10, 09 at 3:22 pm.
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  4. #4
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    That soon after bankruptcy your goal shouldn't be to get a credit card so you can spend on credit because that won't really happen. They'll give you a low credit limit of a few hundred dollars and charge you high annual fees along with interest rates upwards of 20% and more. The interest rate after bankruptcy on credit cards is too high to use it for actual credit purposes. The real reason you get the bankruptcy friendly credit cards is to begin to build up your credit.
    Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
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