Secured Credit Cards Are A Good Alternative
Apr 01 '00
In my own experience, secured credit cards are a good way to re-establish one's credit. Due to poor financial management a few years ago, I had ruined my credit and only had a debit card that also functioned as a Visa. I decided that I needed another credit card, but could not get one because of my credit history. So I researched secured credit cards and decided on one offered by Providian.
I chose the Providian secured card for these reasons: the application fee of $25 was refundable if you were not approved for the card (beware, many secured credit cards have high application fees and these fees may not be refundable if you are turned down), the customer service number for the card was toll free (beware, many secured credit cards do not have toll free customer service numbers), and the amount ($250.00) required to open the card was reasonable (many secured credit card companies want at least $500 to open a secured credit card account). In addition, if I was approved, the $25 application fee was added to the secured amount, which would give me a $275.00 limit.
After contacting Providian and sending in the required amount, I was issued a Providian Visa with a limit of $275. After a year of making on time payments, my original secured credit limit of $250.00 was raised to $500. After another 6 months of making on time payments, my limit was raised by $1100 to an all time high of $1600.
Having a secured credit was a valuable learning experience. Because the card was secured using money that I had sent in, I learned to use my card only when I needed it. Also, I always made an effort to pay off the card at the end of the month.
Overall, having a secured credit card taught me something I had never learned before: financial responsibility. Financial responsibility is very important in adult life and I'm glad that I've finally learned it.
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Epinions.com ID:
inthestars
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Location: CA
Reviews written: 82
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
I'm an avid consumer of makeup products and music.
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