#How Can I Get A Credit Card With Bad Credit?

Technically a score of 624 is considered “average,” though it is getting close to poor. You could be doing a lot worse—anything below 500 is where you are guaranteed to get zero consideration for any sort of loan or credit line. At 624, though, you could still struggle, since lenders are far more likely to want to work with you if you actually have good credit. Not only that, but if you are offered a loan with your credit the way it is, you could be given one with high interest and fees. Waiting long enough to fix your credit score could pay off in the long run.

Your FICO credit score as reported by any of the three bureaus is calculated roughly like this:

• 35% of your score is based on your payment history.
• 30% of your score is based off the amounts you currently owe.
• 15% comes from the length of your credit history.
• 10% refers to any new credit you might have (not necessarily a positive).
• 10% is based on the types of credit you have used.

Having had credit a long time is usually a plus, unless you have a long history of bad payments. The bills you owe usually refers to credit card bills, but if you owe on any previous loans (like school loans or home loans), those could also be integrated into the formula, and reflect in your poor credit score.

The “new credit” section should concern you. You mentioned that you were thinking of getting a new credit card, but that is not necessarily a good idea. If you are current on your existing card, you should continue to use that card. If you were not current on that card, it would make a lot more sense to catch up and pay off that card’s debt than it would to go out and get another. The worst thing you can do is go and apply for several new credit cards at once. So how do you get a new credit card with bad credit? In your case—don’t. Keep paying off the one you have.

The most important thing you can do if you have bad credit is work on improving your score by 1-catching up on payments you are behind on, and 2-staying current and paying on time on all your loans. If you have trouble remembering to make payments on time, start setting up reminders. Don’t make any charges to your credit card which you cannot afford to pay each month in full. If you are struggling with your old loans, call up your creditors to see if any of them are willing to help you by putting you on a payment plan. That way you can afford to stay current each month with the amounts you owe, even if you are still struggling to catch up. You also may wish to speak to a credit counselor to try and come up with additional plans to recovery our credit.

If you are not in Gerald’s situation and you no longer have a credit card, and you have bad credit, you will need to apply for a secured credit card. With this type of card, you offer up collateral, usually several hundred dollars. You will have a low credit limit equal to the amount of your collateral, and you will have to use the secured card for a while before you can apply again for an unsecured card. Paying off the secured card each month in full will improve your credit score.

After you have caught up on all your bills and paid off all your creditors in full, your credit score should start to reflect this and look much better. Thankfully you are not starting out at rock bottom, so be grateful for that. Also, while bad credit is obviously frowned upon, it is not nearly as bad as having no credit when you are applying for a loan. Check your credit once every six months or so to see what kind of progress you have made. If you notice some slight discrepancies between the three bureaus, don’t worry. That is normal, and reflects differences in how they calculate your score.