November 2009

Anonymous prepaid credit cards are fantastic holiday gifts (or anytime gifts, really) that allow your friends or family to save face and get some much-needed money. Let me tell you a little story. As a kid, my parents, through no fault of their own, lost their jobs. Our family struggled, and a close relative tried to give us five hundred bucks to tide us over.

To my parents, that was the ultimate blow to their pride. Not only did they refuse the money, they were angry at that family member for years. What was meant as a kindhearted gesture became a family rift.

Anonymous prepaid credit cards are perfect for these situations.

My own search for unsecured bad credit credit cards followed a rocky path. At one point my credit was so poor I just couldn't even think of applying for a mainstream card, and it was coming down to the choice of secured credit card or nothing.

The problem with a secured credit card, of course, is that it's not a credit card at all -- you have to have an account in place specifically to cover your credit card purchases. In fact, it's more like a debit card that accumulates interest. If you have bad credit and simply want to rebuild your history, such a card can be very useful. But if you actually need credit, it's not much good at all.

It's amazing how many people get denied for a credit card and never think to question why. Unless fully aware that you have a past history of credit problems, it's completely legitimate to wonder why the company denied you. And since the company probably won't let you know, the only way to find out is through your credit report.

The problem with bad credit business credit cards is the same as with any other bad credit cards. They tend to charge ridiculously high fees and interest rates. Fortunately, this doesn't apply to all credit cards, and there are bad credit business credit cards that won't leave you scrambling for bankruptcy protection.