But if you’re anything like a lot of people, you may have had some bad experiences in your past that negatively affects your credit. Perhaps you made some ill-advised purchases as a young kid furnishing your first apartment, or you missed a few payments on your credit card during a lean time. Whatever the reason, if you have a poor credit rating, you’re probably looking for a loan that does not require an in-depth credit check.

If you’re looking for an unsecured loan with no credit check, there are several things you want to keep in mind in order to avoid perpetuating the same cycle that caused you to have a poor credit rating in the first place. Be a smart consumer! Read the fine print of any contract you’re faced with, look out for super-high or variable interest rates, and make sure you’re going to be able to make payments on time.

What is an unsecured loan?

Many lenders offer a loan of this type without the usual verification of the borrower’s past credit history or credit rating. Such background checks can take time, from several days to even weeks, which negates the entire purpose of such emergency loans. Knowing that they have, in effect, a captive audience that requires cash fast, lenders usually charge high interest rates or attach large fees to loans of this type.

Check your credit score!

One thing you’ll want to be sure to do before considering an unsecured loan, no credit check is to make sure you need a loan of this type. Your credit score may not be as bad as you think it is. Just because you never paid off the video store for your late fees doesn’t necessarily mean you’re considered a credit risk. There are countless places online where you can check your credit, but many of them charge hidden fees, so be wary.

Watch those interest rates!

One of the reasons lenders can safely feel free to offer unsecured loans with no credit checks is the high interest rates these loans pretty much always carry. This allows the lender to make a profit even if a good-sized portion of their borrowers default on their loans. These high interest rates are good for the lender but not so great for you, the borrower.

As long as you take the interest rates into account when considering an unsecured loan with no credit check, you should be okay. Always remember that the amount you’ll be paying back will be drastically higher than the amount you’ll be borrowing. While that may be acceptable for instances of, for example, medical emergencies, it may cause you to rethink whether or not you need the loan for something like holiday gifts.

There are benefits to you.

There are some benefits to an unsecured loan of this type. The most obvious being, if lenders don’t check your credit past, you can still get a loan despite a multitude of credit sins. That flat-screen TV you bought on a whim or the pair of shoes that weren’t on sale will matter a little bit less. In addition, since the loan is unsecured, the lender will not be able to take any of your assets as security or to repossess them if you fail to repay.

However, usually a defaulted loan will cause the lender to charge you penalty interest on top of the already high interest rate the loan originally came with. So, take repayment of your unsecured loan seriously. Failing to make your payments on time or in full could make your financial situation much worse than it already is.

Be an informed consumer!

Sometimes life creates circumstances when we need cash fast. In situations such as these, an unsecured loan, no credit check, is often the best solution. Just make sure to make a well-informed decision about the loan you are taking out. This is not something to be undertaken lightly, as any problems with a risky loan of this nature can seriously affect your credit in the future.

However, as long as you’re aware of what kind of loan you’re getting, and as long as you make sure to keep up with your payments, an unsecured loan shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Hopefully your financial situation will improve with the help of the cash acquired from your unsecured loan, no credit check.

Several types of no credit check credit cards are available.

Establishing credit of some type is a necessity for anyone who wants to own a home or buy a car.

Debit Cards by Another Name

Many of these “no credit check credit cards” are nothing more than a debit card. They secure your purchases by using a bank account or a deposit. These deposits are kept for you in a special account which is used to pay for your purchases as they take place. While they are not  an actual “credit” card, they can be helpful in building or rebuilding your credit score.

Minimum Deposit Credit Cards

This type of no-credit check credit card requires a minimum $300 to $5000 deposit in a bank account. This amount is the credit limit you receive. The funds are NOT used to pay for your purchases, but they are held as security in case you default. You pay the bills each month as you would a regular credit card, at a rate of about 19% interest.

Stop Gap Credit Cards

Some credit cards do not require a deposit to secure them, but they begin with tiny credit limits, high fees, and high interest rates. This makes them a stop-gap solution. Use this kind of credit card to build your credit, and then pay it off right away.

How No Credit Check CreditCards Work

How do these credit cards work, what’s the catch, and can they actually help you to build credit up over time? Is the price of the card more costly than the credit it helps you to establish?

These “debit cards in disguise” options are your best bet. The security funds are moved into your account as you need them to pay for purchases. You pay no interest, but you do pay a monthly fee of $6.95+. They report monthly to the credit agencies, which builds up your credit rating while spending your savings. Chalk the fee up to the cost of building a better credit rating.

The  secured credit card where you use your own funds as security for your card credit limit is our least favorite option. You deposit between $300 and $5000, but you’re not permitted to touch the amount for any reason. The card gives you as much credit as you will keep funds in the account. You pay for your purchases at the end of each month, and the monthly fees and the rate of interest does not reflect that the card is secured.

Many of these cards have a monthly fee as well as interest rates. You’re paying a $7+ per month fee for the privilege of having a credit card, which is reasonable. What’s unreasonable is the nearly twenty percent interest for the use of money that you have in a bank account.

Avoid outrageous interest rates on secured credit lines. You shouldn’t have to pay 20% interest to use your own money. Put your $5000 into a savings account and spend it wisely instead. You’ll save lots of money in interest and fees, and you’ll earn a little bit of interest each month.

You can use this solution to teach your children how credit cards work. And you can use this solution to build your credit score. But this isn’t a cost-effective way to manage your finances.

The high interest rate/tiny credit line cards also report monthly to the three major United States credit bureaus, and they do offer you an unsecured line of credit of $250 to $500. This is perfect for college students and/or the credit-challenged. These cards charge high interest rates (19-20%+), but high interest rates in exchange for an unsecured line of credit makes more sense. And as you build your credit score, you can graduate to lower interest, higher limit credit cards.

Use your credit wisely, build a good history of timely payments, and use credit cards only when you need to. In no time at all your credit will be built or rebuilt, and you can transfer the balances of your higher interest credit cards to cards which carry a lower rate of interest.

Always read the fine print prior to signing on the dotted line. Comparison shopping is just as intelligent and necessary when shopping for a credit card as it is when shopping for any other goods or services.

When filling out a credit card application, certain questions will be universal. So we’ll start this how-to guide for a credit card application by collecting the information that will make the application process so quicker and easier for you.

Prepare For Your Credit Application

1. Know Your Own Credit History – Many credit card companies allow you to select consumer credit cards according to your credit rating, if you know it. This saves you the trouble of applying for credit cards you have no chance of being accepted for.

2. Collect Personal Finanical Information – Figure out what your gross income last year was. “Gross income” is the total amount of money you received last years from wages, tips, bonuses, alimony, child support or any other source. A credit card company almost always asks for this information, to determine your ability to pay off debts you incur.

Choosing a Credit Card

3. Learn the Credit Terms – select a credit card by learning about the credit card “APR” rates, the credit card terms and what plans each company is offering. If reading through the terms on a credit card application seems confusing, search on the internet under the specific name of the credit card you’re considering applying for and see what present and former customers say about it. Also, know that credit card companies generally have the right to change certain terms, so make certain you know which terms they can change at any time.

4. Know What an APR Is – “APR” stands for “annual percentage rate”. The APR is how much of a percentage of your debt you will pay every year. We’ll use a very simplistic example. Example: You have charged $500 on your credit card. The APR is 10%, so over the course of the year, you’ll be charged 10% of your debt of $500, or $50. If you don’t pay down the debt, after a year, you will owe $550. Figure out how much your debt goes up every day by taking the APR and dividing it by 365 (days, that is).

5. Check Who Endorses the Card – When applying for a credit card, make certain that card is endorsed by the corporation. For instance, if you decide to apply for a Visa credit card online, go to their official website and make certain that card is listed among their endorsed credit cards. Getting into a credit card scam will cost you lots of time and money.

6. Learn the Preconditions – Figure out what the preconditions for a card are, so you don’t end up applying for a bunch of credit cards you have no chance of acquiring. This can be frustrating. Most preconditions are fairly easy to meet, such as drivers license, social security number, proof of address (license usually is enough) and date of birth (the same).

Applying For a Credit Card

7. Fill Out a Paper Application – If you fill out an application in a bank or retail store, this will be a paper application. This will be easy, because you’ll have an employee there to assist you if you have questions. If you would prefer filling out applications on paper, then find a credit card application online and print it out. You can send this application through the mail to the address given.

8. Apply Over the Telephone – You can apply over the phone for most cards, if you learn the phone number for the credit card company. Most have a 1-800 number for credit card applications, though you might have to maneuver through an automated system to get to that number. Learn the toll free number via the internet or through magazine ads, newspaper ads or even the yellow pages phone directory.

9. Apply For Credit Online – Most people apply for credit cards online, because it’s the quickest way to get credit and the simplest process. Also, credit card companies prefer you fill out credit applications online, because it cuts down on paperwork, postals costs and phone bills. Therefore, credit card companies make it as easy as possible to fill out internet credit card applications. Make certain you have the information you’ll need for the application, and make certain you do your research as you would on paper applications or over the phone. Fill out all necessary boxes and wait for a reply.

10. Contact the Credit Institution for Questions – If you have any questions during the credit card application process, find their online contact information and email them your question.

The Best Student Credit Cards

The Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students offers bonus points for college book purchases and high grades, while it also gives points when the university student pays their bill on time and doesn’t go over the limit. That’s right: a credit card which wants you to stay under the limit and avoid the biggest fees. The standard APR on this credit card is high (16.24%), so you want to make sure you’re a responsible borrower. But the APR is around what most new debtors are going to be paying, anyway, and if you can stay within your budget and get good grades, you get extra credit for it.

You earn 25 bonus reward points every month you pay your credit card bill on time, as well as 25 rewards points every month you stay within your credit limit. And when you use your Visa Card for College Students in a book store, restaurant, video rental store, music store or cinema, you get 5 rewards points for every $1 you spend. This means you’ll be getting bonus points for those outrageously high college book purchases you make.

Bonus Points For Grades

• 4.00 – 2,000 bonus points twice a year.
• 3.99 to 3.50 – 750 bonus points twice a year.
• 3.49 to 3.00 – 500 bonus points twice a year.
• 2.99 to 2.00 – 250 bonus points twice a year.

So you should be getting a few bonus points, even if you don’t get very high grades. If you go lower than 2.00, you probably have other concerns besides your credit card.

In other words, you can earn up to 5,200 rewards points with the Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card for College Students, along with whatever bonus points you get from purchases in book stores and on your personal entertainment costs. College is a time where you learn you responsibilities, and this colelge student credit card not only reinforces responsible behavior, but gives you a small break when you decide to blow off a little steam.

Best Credit Cards Rewards Programs

The problem with rating credit card rewards programs is they change all the time. In the past six months, all the major credit card companies have radically altered many of their practices and programs – including their rewards programs. So if you’re reading this a few months out from posting, you might check out on your own again. I’ll try to point out the best credit card rewards program of the moment.

American Express Membership Rewards probably has the most well-rounded rewards program presently. You get a nice selection of rewards and aren’t pigeon-holed into one or two specific rewards. Frequent flyer rewards tend to be the hardest to qualify for, because they’re more expensive for the credit card firms to organize. At the moment, American Express Membership Rewards is the only rewards program that allows card holders to transfer points directly into the frequent-flier mile program. Note that this option is only available with the American Express charge cards and there is a yearly fee to go along with their charge cards.

The Citi Thank You Network maintains its reputation for creative points programs, such as paying bonus points for having your checking or savings accounts at Citibank. Also, you can transfer your reward points directly to paying off your Citibank credit card balance or paying off your student loans, as long as these are through Citibank. Granted, these are self-serving policies, since each encourages you to handle your financing through Citibank, but just because they’re self-serving, does not mean they don’t have advantages you can use. Keep in mind that Citibank doesn’t offer quite as generous of a rewards program as American Express presently, but Citi rewards programs are competitive.

Best Credit Cards – Low Rate Credit Cards

Finally, if you’re searching for nothing more than the lowest APR on your credit card, you’ll probably need to search out the smaller banks. Don’t expect to get the lowest rates possible unless you have really good credit, and don’t expect to be issued a card if you have bad credit. That’s because smaller banks have a smaller stack of chips and therefore can less afford to take risks that you’re going to default. But if you have a good credit score and all you’re looking for is the lowest rate possible for your credit card, search through local banks in your area. Currently, credit cards like Simmons First Visa Platinum, Capital One Platinum Prestige and Pulaski Bank Credit Card (Visa Classic, Standard MasterCard, Gold MasterCard) are cards you could look at.

Of course, creditors don’t want to look like they are being stingy with their credit card rewards, so I’ll try to point out some of the ways credit card companies are limiting their financial losses due to their advertised credit card rewards programs. It should be noted these methods are stricly legal and mainly involve making it harder to know how to collect on your credit card rewards, or making it a little harder to collect on your credit card rewards.

Types of Credit Card Rewards

Below are some of the most common types of credit card rewards. Search long enough and you’ll find all kinds of odd or remarkable credit card rewards in these programs. The first three mentioned are fairly common rewards, while the fourth and fifth may or may not be included in credit card rewards programs.

1. Gift Certificates – Perhaps the most common credit card rewards is a simple gift certificate that can be reimbursed at select locations. These gift certificates might be issued automatically through the mail or might require you to apply for them through customer service when you qualify.

2. Rebates and Cash Back Incentives – Similar to gift certificates, the cash back incentives allow you to apply for a rebate on some purchase if it qualifies for the credit card rewards program. This is a valuable incentive for credit card companies, because a certain percentage of customers will forget to apply for the rebate and therefore the credit card issuer doesn’t have to pay off a certain percentage of these rewards.

3. Frequent Flyer Points – One of the most common credit card rewards you’ll receive. Like an airline’s frequent flyer programs, you receive this credit card reward when you have built up enough points. Generally, you receive a free ticket to fly anywhere within a certain radius or country. Most credit card rewards programs will advertise frequent flyer miles,

4. Cash Advances – Roughly synonymous with “payday loans”. A creditor gives a cash advance on a very short-term loan. The debtor agrees to pay a certain large fee on the next payday. Credit card companies will offer cash advances to customers and sometimes the money transferred are included in the rewards program numbers. You should remember that many rewards program do not figure cash advances into their rewards total.

5. Balance Transfers – Like cash advances, these are often not figured into your rewards program, though some credit companies do figure these into your running rewards program tally. A money transfer is simply when you transfer money from one account into another, like when you transfer money from your credit card account to your bank account, or vice versa. These tend to involve bank accounts, other credit card accounts or trading accounts at financial institutions. These often have transaction fees. In this case, they might qualify as part of a rewards program.

Credit Card Rewards Loopholes – Credit Card Rewards Scams to Look Out For

Sometimes, the credit card issuer will offset the cost of their rewards programs by using credit industry tricks, so here are some of the tricks to look for. These are perfectly legal, but the credit card institution assumes that most customers won’t take notice of the clever bookkeeping, and won’t realise the customer is either paying for the customer rewards or being discouraged from collecting from the rewards program.

1. Customer Service Hassles – A lot of credit card rewards programs require you to go through the credit company’s customer service to collect on the rewards. This is an extra hassle, and many customers would prefer to avoid the hassle altogether than actually collect on their credit card rewards program. Those who don’t mind or are willing to deal with the hassle get the full benefits of the rewards program, while those who don’t get no rewards program. Credit card companies generally know about what percentage of their customers won’t get reimbursed due to customer service hassles and figure this into their numbers.

2. Hiding the Rewards Information – One very common tactic is to hide the information on the credit card rewards program, so some customers never know exactly what rewards they are receiving or how to collect on those rewards. Unfortunately, hiding your rewards in fine print is perhaps the most common way credit companies discourage customers from collecting their rewards. This is even common on the rewards program website, or the part of the creditor’s website that deals with the rewards program.

3. Increased Card Fees – To pay for the roughly 1/4th percent to 2 percent of credit profits that rewards programs generally cost the credit institution, the big credit card issuers have increased the fees to use their cards. In a way, these increased credit fees mean you are paying for the rewards program.

4. Encouragement to Collect Lesser Rewards – Some credit issuers encourage customers to collect lesser rewards than go through the hassle of collecting the advertised large reward. For instance, free plane tickets from frequent flyer programs are expensive to administer, while gift certificates are less expensive to hand out. Also, credit institution gift certificate rewards are not the same as gift cards given out by other institutions. In many U.S. states, if you don’t use a gift card, that leftover money goes to the state treasury. In the case of credit card issuer gift certificates, if you don’t use the gift certificate, that money doesn’t go to the state treasury, but is retained by the credit institution.

A reader recently emailed and asked, “What is a prepaid credit card”. A prepaid credit card is very similar to a debit card, except the debit account is issued and stored on computers affiliated with the issuer of the prepaid credit card. If you are thinking of a personal debit card, you are probably thinking about a debit card issued by your local bank and tied to your personal savings or checking account. The prepaid credit card has an account specifically tied to that card, and has a value the same as the amount listed on the card. Visa and Mastercard, along with many other credit institutions, offer their own prepaid credit cards.

There are a variety of prepaid cards on the market today, so let’s go over the various types.

Prepaid Cards

• Gift Cards – The gift card is considered a “closed system prepaid card”. It’s a “closed system” because the gift card only works in certain retail outlets. For instance, if you buy a Starbucks gift card, that card is only going to work in participating Starbucks stores. If you buy a Target gift card, the card will only worked in Target stores. In either case, you buy a card with a fixed amount of money on it. When you buy a $40 card, the card has a stored value on it and will be useless when the forty dollars have been spent. These cards are issued anonymously, so whoever holds the cards can spend the money.

• Open System Prepaid Credit Cards – These cards are generally what you’re thinking of when you say “prepaid credit card”. These cards work anywhere most standard issue credit cards work. Also, when you buy these cards, you register them with a central database, therefore tying the card to your personal information. If you wish, you can transfer funds from another account you own into this prepaid credit card. The account information is kept in a computer maintained by the issuer of the credit card: often Mastercard or Visa. Essentially, this kind of prepaid credit card becomes an alternative debit card. “Debit card” is a better descriptor, because the credit card company is not really offering you a line of credit. You must pay into the account before you can use it, though you’ll usually have a certain amount of money stored in the card at the start: the amount you paid to purchase the credit card (or a little less, given surcharges, taxes and other fees).

• Stored Value Cards – The prepaid credit card differs from another similar credit account card, the “stored value card”, in that the stored value card is generally issued to an anonymous person. That is, if you walk into Wal-Mart and buy a $50 prepaid gift card issued by either Visa or Mastercard, that card can be used by anyone holding the card (or its number). Like other gift cards, these prepaid cards will expire when their limit is met – in this case, the $50 gift card limit. Unlike a gift card, though, these storage value cards back by a credit card institution (and not by the store chain itself) will work just about anywhere that your credit card will work.

• Prepaid Phone Card – This is a certain kind of stored value card or open system prepaid credit card which allows specifically for phone calls. These cards are bought for those people wanting to make long distance phone calls or otherwise fund their cellphone usage or texting, but who cannot use their standard credit card or cash to pay for their telecommunications.

What Is a Prepaid Credit Card – Why should I have a prepaid credit card?

There are several reasons to use a prepaid credit card instead of a credit card or debit card associated with your bank accounts. These might include gift giving, anonymity, internet security reasons or an inability to be issued a line of credit (bad credit or lack of qualifications). This latter case is the most common reason for buying a prepaid credit card.

Prepaid Credit Card Anonymity – Prepaid Credit Card Security

Stored value cards and gift cards do not require you to identify yourself. This way, you can make a purchase without giving out your personal information or exposing your credit card information to identity thieves. If you wish to avoid fraud or identity theft, you can purchase a prepaid credit card that is not tied into your standard money accounts. Without access to your bank account, a thief can only take from you the amount of money on the prepaid credit card – usually no more than $100. That’s no fun, but it’s nothing like the hassle and danger you put yourself in by paying with your credit card.

For instance, I don’t like giving out my credit card information to just anyone online. If there’s a purchase I want to make, but I’m afraid the merchant will continue billing my credit card account after I try to cancel a subscription, I’ll sometimes buy a gift card for around the amount of money being transferred. I don’t have to make call to my credit card company to cut off this merchant. Or if I’m just not sure if an online merchant is exactly trustworthy (or don’t want my information sold to a mailing list), I’ll use my prepaid credit card to maintain my anonymity.

Bad Credit and Prepaid Credit Cards

If you have a bad credit score and you can’t get a credit card, but you still want the ability to buy items online or in stores with a virtual credit card, the prepaid credit card gives you the ease and efficiency of buying with a card. You don’t have to carry around a wad of cash or a checkbook, but can pull out a Visa prepaid credit card or Mastercard prepaid credit card and use it.

I’m told that people who do not have their citizenship, and therefore find it difficult or impossible to apply for a credit card, often use prepaid credit cards for the same reason.

Prepaid Credit Cards as Gift Cards

If a parent wants to give a child a credit card for an emergency, but doesn’t want their child have their own adult line of credit, that parent can buy a prepaid credit card and determine exactly the amount of money that child will have on the card. For instance, with the open system prepaid credit card, a parent can purchase the prepaid credit card and transfer (as an example) $500 into that debit card. You are essentially giving your child a debit card with $500 on it. In this way, you give your child the resources for an emergency or a trip, while not exposing your bank account to the whims of a teenager. If this goes well, you can always add more money to their prepaid credit card account.

Finally, the prepaid credit card can be used as a universal gift card. If you want to give a gift of money, but you don’t want to limit a person to buying only at Starbucks or Target or Best Buy, you can buy a Visa prepaid credit card or Mastercard prepaid credit card for the same amount, letting the person choose where they spend their gift card money.

As you can see, there are a lot of different prepaid credit cards and a lot of reasons to have a prepaid credit card. These are just some of the ideas about using prepaid credit cards, but if any of them sounds like something applicable to yourself or your situation, take a look at the prepaid credit card section the next time you’re at Target or Wal-Mart. Generally speaking, you’ll find the pre-paid credit cards near the gift cards and the candy bars on the checkout isles.