What do you think about getting a secured credit card to increase your bad credit? Is it worth paying for credit?

No. No credit card is going to “help” your credit report if you have to pay to open the account. Sorry, that’s just not the way it works.

If you want to increase your “good” credit, pay all of your bills on time…or better yet, before they are due.

If you already have “bad” debt, make a point of clearing it off your credit report.

There are few things you should know before you apply for secured credit cards. The most important thing to remember is that secured credit cards are “secure” because they are backed by your cash! (your $95) In other words, by keeping or adding cash in an account you have opened with the lender, you maintain a balance that provides security for that lender and you. As you may already be aware, these cards aren’t really credit cards; they are often used more as debit cards. While “secured” credit cards are not a solution to spending problems, they can be used to limit some people with wild shopping sprees (like my wife) as you set the limit by the amount of money you deposit. There are no credit limits to be exceeded. If you can’t say “no” to yourself when you go shopping, the secured card will say “no” for you. Try it out!

Is the $95 a fee? That seems high to access your own money!

Horrible idea in my opinion. Just keep a good amount of money in your bank/credit union for about a year. Any decent credit card bureau will have a simple application, where maybe they deduct about 35$ for a yearly fee. You should avoid having to “pay” for opening a credit line. I once fell through a scam and it took me 2 whole years to rebuild my credit, and I received tons of secured credit cards that wanted me to pay an upfront fee from my own pocket. The good old American way is the best way, save up that hard earned cash & apply elsewhere. The only plus side I see to a secure card is what Bill up there had to say. Oh and the best way to get your good credit back is to simply pay off any debt as soon as possible.

The $95 is for the first year fee and the credit limit would be $400. The card would be issued by First Premier Bank

@silky1 It’s not a real credit card. Do not go for it. They are preying on people just like you. They want you to believe it will “help” you. It will not help in anyway, except to have you lose $95.

@silky1 – I agree with @SpatzieLover. It sounds like this is going to be more of a rip-off than actually help you. Please try to research some better alternatives.

So there are two types of bad credit rating…
1 you have borrowed money previously and were unable to pay it it back demonstrating you are a risk. Borrowing more money in this case is not a good idea.

2. You have never borrowed or had any credit previously. This will also give you a poor credit rating as your credit rating is based on heavily on your history of demonstrating you can be trusted to repay money lent to you and the best way to demonstrate this is to borrow money and repay it. In this case being accepted for a credit card will improve your credit rating as long as you use it responsibly (if you max it out and only repay the minimum each month it will do more harm than good).

Not a good idea!
If you need to reestablish credit, open a savings account at a local credit union, and they will require you deposit some amount of funds as collateral and then they’ll extend you that same or similar amount as a credit line, usually without but sometimes for a small yearly fee. It’s best to shop around.
This is assuming you reside in the US.
Best of luck.

If you get a secured line of credit through the bank you do your checking and savings with then it’s possible to slowly bring up your credit score by showing a pattern of paying on time, paying off the balance and leaving the balance available for periods of time. It’ll take a year or two of being responsible but if you can do it then your bank will likely issue you a unsecured line of credit with competitive rates. Ideally, the only fee you should be paying is the amount you will borrow against.

Spending money you don’t have, to pay off more money you don’t have but already spent….What could go wrong?....fuck it, we can always just blame it on the president.~

When my husband and I were applying for a loan for a second house, the loan officer told us if we got a secured credit card (almost exactly like the one you described), it would raise our credit score high enough to qualify. I paid $70 for the card and it raised my credit score a few points, but not enough for the loan (as promised). The card was legitimate, it just didn’t help as much as I was promised. The only real cure for bad credit is to start paying on time, keep your credit cards active, but don’t use them and pay down your credit card balances.