What's the Best Credit Card to Have?

In short, there is no best card. There is only what’s good for your situation.

People often try jumping onboard trains that aren’t meant for them, and because they don’t have a ticket, they end up left behind at the train station. The best card for someone with a credit score of 750 is not what is best for someone with a score of 550. With bad credit, you are in the rebuilding phase and need to take whatever you can to get and used the credit wisely. Lenders don’t have to open their doors at all. Low interest rate credit cards are earned.

In 2011, I was left with filing for bankruptcy or paying for a house in which my ex-husband and his new girlfriend lived in. The decision was a no brainer. Bankruptcy it was, and if I had to file everything would be listed. Afterwards, my credit report was marked with the big red “B”. The mark stung harder than harder than a Scarlet Letter, Bastard of Winterfeld if Ghost found out Tasha is sleeping with his lawyer.

My credit catapulted from good to very poor. Before I had a moment to wallow in self-pity the prescreened letters rolled in. First Premier and Credit One and a bunch of unknown companies filled my mailbox. I needed them and they knew it.

I opened the letters and weeded them out by who charged the most fees up front. A few wanted an application fee and annual fee that would be charged directly on the card. The limit would be $500 but after fees only $350 would be available. I set all those to the side and chose First Premier and Credit One. The interest rates were sky high, but I wouldn’t start out in debt. Both offered $500 limits as well. Bottom line is, I chose what worked for me and once received I knew how to keep the utilization under 30%. I couldn’t be upset that I didn’t qualify for high limits any longer or that they weren’t Discover or American Express.

My situation in 2011 may not be where you are today. The best advice is to go with what fits your personal credit report. Here is a short breakdown of some credit cards and the rating to go with them. Whatever you choose, use wisely.

For people with poor to excellent credit here is a list of options:

For people with Poor credit:

Open Sky Secured Credit Card

Capital One Secured Credit Card

First National Bank Secured Credit Card

You can also get a secured credit card from the bank you currently bank with.

For people with Good credit the recommendations are to get an unsecured card:

Capital One – Platinum or QuickSilver

Store Cards – Walmart, Target, Sears, JCPenney etc…

Bank Cards – Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo etc…

For people with Very Good to Excellent credit:

Discover