'Bad Credit' Credit Cards - 5 Things You Should Know

With the number of Americans with "bad credit" on the rise, more and more credit card companies are looking to this market segment to grow its overall customer base. Along those lines, issuers have created a number of bad credit credit cards targeted toward those with an imperfect credit history.

Which of these offers is better than the others? And what features should you compare before you apply?

1. Interest Rates
First and foremost, you'll want to compare interest rates (also known as APRs) of the various offers. Simply put, the lower the interest rate, the less you'll have to pay in interest on balances you carry forward from one month to the next. Credit cards for those with bad credit will tend to have higher rates than "prime" cards like those from Chase, Discover, and American Express. Do your research before you apply for anything, and you might just be able to find an offer as low as a 9.9% APR that will approve you regardless of a poor credit history.

2. Annual Fees
This is an aspect of credit card offers that often gets overlooked, but can end up costing the consumer big-time. Because approving people with bad credit comes with a significant amount of risk, credit card companies charge high annual fees to offset a potential revenue loss if the customer ends up not paying his/her bill. Always be aware of annual fees before applying.

3. Approvability
Don't waste your time applying for credit cards that you are not qualified to get. If a particular card requires good or excellent credit for approval (like American Express for instance) you are very unlikely to get approved with bad credit. In addition, each offer you apply for drops your credit score slightly, so applying for offers you will not get does more harm than good.

4. Reports to credit bureaus.
Your ultimate goal, of course, is to repair your bad credit rating, so you want to be sure that whatever card you end up getting reports your good behavior to credit bureuas. Make your payments on time and it will be reflected in your credit history; over time, this good behavior can be rewarded with a higher credit score and a better financial future.

5. Compare before you apply.
Several websites allow you to compare each of the aforementioned features before you apply for a card, so why not take advantage of it? One of the most popular such sites is BadCreditOffers.com, which has a credit card section along with home loans, auto loans, credit repair, etc. Here's the link to their bad credit credit cards.

So there you have it, the five things you must know and/or do if you have bad credit and need a credit card. The offers are out there for you, you just have to do your research and pick the right one!