Compare Credit Cards
- Airmiles credit cards
- Bad credit credit cards
- Balance transfer credit cards
- Black credit cards
- Business credit cards
- Cash back credit cards
- Credit builder credit cards
- Low interest rate credit cards
- Luxury credit cards
- Overseas credit cards
- Prepaid credit cards
- Purchases credit cards
- Rewards credit cards
- Under 18’s credit cards
- Worthy causes credit cards
Credit cards by issuer
Credit Card News
-
10th May, 2012
Credit cards or loans – which is better? -
3rd May, 2012
Are your credit card details for sale to the highest bidder? -
20th April, 2012
Never look a gift card in the mouth… -
6th April, 2012
Want an Easter break? Where can you get the best value for money?
Bad Credit Credit Cards
Our favourite for May
Dynamic Credit Card for those with bad credit
Vanquis Credit Card
- Best for building your credit rating
- For people with a no credit history
- Easy to manage credit limits
- Credit limit increase every 4 months*
- Choice of funky colours
Representative APR 39.9%
Also consider
(If you’ve applied for Vanquis in last 6 months)
Capital One Classic Credit Card
- For those with little track record of credit
- Helps build or establish a credit history
- Email alerts to help you stay in control
- Low, easy to handle credit limits
- Rapid decision, real-time acceptance
Representative APR 34.9%
Bad Credit Credit Cards (Bad Credit Cards) are aimed at people who may have had trouble obtaining a credit card due to problems making payments on time in the past, or people who just don’t have an established credit rating.
Sometimes also called Poor Credit Cards, even the best Bad Credit Cards usually cards carry a higher interest rate, and they will also tend to offer lower credit limits, at least initially. Take a look at our Bad-Credit Credit Card guide below for more detail.
 |
Granite Credit Card | Innovative new credit card for people with poor credit | N/A | 34.9% |
Easy to manage initial credit limit Limit review every 4 months up to £3000 Range of retail rewards with Granite Rewards Up to 56 days free credit on purchases
No promotional purchases rate No promotional balance transfer rate No balance transfers from Vanquis cards High interest rate |
Aquis Credit Card | Initial credit limit up to £1000 | N/A | 29.9% |
High initial credit limit Limit review every 4 months up to £3000 Up to 56 days free credit on purchases No transfers from Vanquis or Granite cards No promotional balance transfer rate No promotional purchases rate |
Vanquis Visa Credit Card | Poor credit credit card, helps rebuild your credit history | N/A | 39.9% APR |
Dynamic card for those with bad credit Easy to manage initial credit limits Limit review every 4 months Choice of funky colours High interest rates |
CashPlus Gold Prepaid MasterCard Credit Card | Top prepaid card, cash-back & comes with Euro card | Prepaid | Prepaid |
CashBuilder feature to build credit rating Purchase Protection Cash back and rewards Shop online |
Aqua Credit Card | Credit builder card for people with zero or poor credit history | 3% | 32.9% APR |
For those refused credit elsewhere Up to £1,600 credit limit Flexible payment dates No promotional purchases rate No promotional balance transfer rate |
Capital One Classic Credit Card | For those wanting to build or establish a credit rating | 3% | 34.9% APR |
Easy to manage credit limits Will help rebuild credit rating For people with poor credit history High APR No promotional balance transfer rate No promotional purchases rateBad Credit Credit Card Guide
Although the credit card industry and personal finance websites talk about bad-credit credit cards (also called bad credit cards, poor history cards and adverse history cards), the phrase tends to encompass credit cards aimed at consumers who for one reason or another can’t access the market leading credit card deals. They may not necessarily have a bad credit history.
Bad credit credit cards could be applicable to you if you’ve applied and been turned down for the most competitive credit card deals. Put a more positive way, these types of cards are packaged for people who are trying to build or rebuild their credit rating.
Bad credit credit cards can work for some people, but the charges and even the best interest rates tend to be very high. It’s difficult for us to give rigid and specific advice about who would and wouldn’t be accepted for any specific credit card. The decision is always down to the lenders underwriting criteria; that changes regularly to assist them in managing their lending book and making the best of the market conditions; here we try to outline the basic parameters of the way the market is currently structured.
Note to obtain a credit card that allows a line of credit in the UK you need to be over 18 years old.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be accepted for any credit card that offers a line of credit if:-
- You’ve been declared bankrupt in the last 2 years even if you’ve been discharged
- You have 1 or more unsatisfied County Court Judgements (CCJ’s) against you
- You have more than 1 satisfied Country Court Judgements in the last 6 years
- You have more than 2 credit defaults in the last 3 years
If one of these statements applies to you, or you’re under 18, should consider prepaid credit cards.
If none of these above statements applies to you, but you have had some minor credit issues, but also have some positive credit history, there are a number of credit cards that may be open to you. It’s these kinds of consumers that bad credit cards are aimed at.
You still need to bear in mind that the credit crunch and the gloomy employment market have made all lenders tighten their 2012 criteria for taking on new customers, and to further reduce the credit limits they offer to new borrowers.
You stand a better chance of getting accepted for a bad credit card if:-
- Your name is on the Voters Roll at the address your financial statements are sent to
- You have some track record of managing credit positively (even if you’ve had the odd problem)
If you apply and are accepted for a so-called bad credit credit card expect:-
- High interest rates, more than double the market leading rates
- No 0% balance transfer offers or frills that the market leading deals offer
- A low credit limit until you’ve got a track record with the credit card issuer, usually £150 – £200
- Regular contact from the lender to ensure you’re managing the credit OK and staying in control
- Higher minimum payments on some cards to ensure debt doesn’t get out of hand
The positive side of bad credit cards is that if you apply and are accepted, and then spend a year paying your monthly balance off every month, making payments on time, and not exceeding your credit limit this will significantly improve your credit rating.
When you’ve run a bad credit card within its terms and conditions for a few months, you may also find that the card issuer will increase your credit limit; the best will even offer you a reduced interest rate.
If they don’t offer you improved terms, then come back and compare credit cards again and apply for a normal rate card. If you’re accepted, you can cancel the more costly bad credit card!
Before applying for any new credit card, particularly bad credit cards:-
- Ensure that your correct full name is listed on the Voters Roll
- Check out your credit history with the credit reference agencies, ensure that it’s up to date, and correct. If there’s incorrect information there, take steps to correct it. You can get a FREE copy of your credit report and the credit reference agencies websites are very good at explaining what to do if there’s inaccurate information on your file. Be warned though, it can take 2 or 3 months for adjustments or corrections to appear on the main files and this can obviously hold up your potential application
