If you are looking for a credit card after bankruptcy you may be very weary in getting one because you know that your credit score will take a serious beating once you go through the bankruptcy process. Sure, your credit score was probably nothing to write home about before you filed for bankruptcy, but being bankrupt is certainly not going to help improve your score. Furthermore, the fact that you went through a bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years.
Although all of this might discourage you from getting a card, because you don’t want high interest rates, the reality isn’t as bad as you may think it is…
Within several years you’re going to be able to apply for a secured card with the same or similar interest rates. This assumes, of course, that you have been building up your credit score by putting saved money away into your bank and using a secured credit card…
A secured card is the only type of card you can have after you are bankrupt. It is “secured” because your credit limit is as much or a percentage of a deposited amount in a bank account. If you fail to pay your card statements, the credit card company can just take the money from your bank account. Don’t just get the first secured credit you see. You can expect to get one with an interest rate in the teens, a low or no yearly fee, and no upfront fees.