Best Credit Cards to Build Credit
You should think of your credit history as your financial services’ Twitter account. Whenever you enter into a financial transaction with a creditor like a bank or credit card company, they periodically tweet your account’s status update. These tweets are collected by the major credit bureaus building a history. That history tells a story about how well you manage debt.
Lenders read over those stories to get a feel for you. Two things scare them most: villains and short stories. Maybe your story has a few big bad wolfs and Captain Hooks. Or your story may have yet to start. Here are four credit cards that can help you to get rid of those villains, or start a great story, and build out a history so you can get to “happily ever after.“
Orchard Bank Classic MasterCard
The Orchard Bank Classic MasterCard is geared toward helping people repair and build a credit history. This card reports to the three major credit bureaus, so as long as you stay current on your payments, you will improve your credit score. The interest rate on this card will not be as high as some alternatives. You can use this card to make purchases and reservations. You can also conveniently access your account online. Online access comes with courtesy email and text message bill reminders.
AccountNow® Prepaid Visa® Card
The AccountNow Prepaid Visa Card offers a convenient way to build a solid credit history. This card reports your activity to the national credit reporting agency, PRBC®. The card has a monthly fee of $4.95. It provides unauthorized purchases protection, which is uncommon with prepaid cards. You can load up to $5,000 on the card per day via direct deposits and up to $950 per day if you are using with cash. The most amount of money you can store on the card is $10,000.
Discover® Student Card – Tropical Beach
If you are a student and limited history is your problem, the Discover Student Card – Tropical Beach is an option for you. This card reports to the major credit agencies, helping you to build your credit history. For the first six months, there are no interest charges. Also, there is no annual fee, and you can transfer prior card balances. An attractive feature of this card is the rewards program. As you make purchases, you can earn rebates from 0.25% to 1%. The benefits double when you purchase items from Discover’s participating partners.
Vision Premier Prepaid Visa Card
The Vision Premier Prepaid Visa Card helps you build you credit history every time you make a payment. If you fund the account with a direct deposit, the weekly $0.95 fee is waived. However, there is an activation fee. There is no limit on how often you can use the card. You can set up email and text message reminder alerts. A useful benefit of enrolling in this program is that it even comes with online bill payment and checking account features.