If you have bad credit and are looking for a credit card, Orchard Bank has some of the best offers you can get. We’ve previously written about the Secured MasterCard from Orchard Bank which is what you can expect to be approved for if your credit really is at the bottom of the ratings. Depending on the company’s assessments of your risk factors, though, it’s possible to get approved for an even better card than the secured unit.

What credit cards can you hope to get approved for from Orchard Bank?

1. Orchard Bank Secured MasterCard

Read our review of Orchard’s secured MasterCard here.

2. Orchard Bank Gold MasterCard

If your credit is bad but not terrible and your credit risk factors don’t appear too unseemly either, you can get approved for an unsecured credit card. Credit limit won’t be too high but the terms will be pretty reasonable. You’ll be required to pay an account set-up fee of $19 and an annual fee between $39 and $96. You can get an APR between 8.9% to 18.9% (most likely you’ll get slotted into the higher end though).

3. Orchard Bank Platinum MasterCard

Another option you can get approved for is the Platinum MasterCard which, unlike the two previous choices, won’t require you to pay to have the account set up. You can also get the extra benefit of no annual fees - although most will likely get between $50 and $72. APR ranges from 8.9% to 18.9%.

4. Orchard Bank Prime MasterCard

If your credit rating is actually better than you expected, Orchard Bank will approve you for the Prime MasterCard. The card has no annual fee and APR is a fixed 15.99%. It carries a few extra benefits, including 0% introductory APR for the first six months.

Sometimes, opening your credit card bill can bring an unexpected and unpleasant surprise - erroneous charges. Credit card issuers are obligated, by law, to follow certain rules when it comes to correcting billing errors. A copy of these rules should have been sent to you when you first opened the account. If you’ve lost it, you can probably find a summary somewhere on the actual bill.

Unknown Charges

If you find charges on your credit card bill for purchases that you didn’t make, inform your credit card company immediately. It’s possible that your credit card information has been compromised - reporting it immediately is the best course of action you can take. Your issuer may have to give you a new credit card in such situations.

Billing Mistakes

The most common billing errors consist of wrong amounts being charged, being billed for a product that you didn’t accept and items you returned for one reason or another. If you find one of these mistakes on your list of transactions, you can withhold payment on those specific amounts. Make sure to file a dispute, though, as you can only keep off paying if the issuer agreed and are currently investigating the charge.

Even though you’ve informed the issuer’s customer service about the problem, you will still need to file a written dispute. Send a letter to the address for “billing disputes” or “billing inquiries” as indicated on your statement. Include information such as your credit card number, personal details and a clear description of the billing problem. Send it as soon as you notice the disputed item - the law only provides up to 60 days for you to respond from the date the statement was sent to you.

In turn, the credit card company is required to respond to your letter within the next 30 days. Any disputes will need to be settled within 3 months from the date it was filed.

If you have bad credit scores, getting a credit card can prove an exercise in futility. You can fill out all the card applications you want - getting approved isn’t likely to happen unless the fates suddenly align in your favor.

In case you really need a credit card, though, for whatever purpose, your best bet is a sub-prime credit card. Laden with less attractive features than regular credit cards, they might be able to serve your purpose - albeit not at the best conditions.

When you’re trying to build up your credit score back to respectable levels, a sub-prime card with low credit limit can help you in your quest. To ensure you get that benefit, make sure that the credit card issuer reports back to the three credit unions (Equifax, TransUnion and Experia) before applying to one.

Fees And Charges

Credit cards for people with bad credit are usually laden with fees considerably higher than normal. Similarly, other terms are likely not as good as what’s on tap elsewhere. Keep that in mind before signing up for one - the cost of maintaining a card like this will be high.

Most credit cards in this category will extort charge you a one-time non-refundable fee the moment you send in an application. It’s not cheap either with some cards charging as high as $150. Remember that it’s non-refundable, which means that money’s gone even if you are eventually disapproved.

Annual membership fees will be high, as expected, with little options in getting it waived. Even worse, most sub-prime credit cards charge a monthly maintenance fee that can add up (around $60 to $80 a month).

Credit cards can cost you an arm and a leg when you miss a payment. Even skipping your due date by a day can tack on $100s in fees in the blink of an eye. Whether the late settling of the bill is your fault or not, the same penalties will apply. Once you see the charges it incurs on your next bill, you’re never going to want to pay late again.

Automate It

The single easiest way to ensure that you never miss a due date is to automate your bills payment. Unless you’re keeping your money with the most obscure rural banks in America, chances are that your bank has an online facility that allows you to settle bill payments on schedule.

Ask your bank for their electronic payments system (EPS) and get acquainted with it. Even if you’re not very comfortable with computers, most EPS interfaces should be simple enough to easily get the hang of. With these online systems, you can schedule your monthly bills the day they come in the mail. It should take no more than 5 to 10 minutes to add a new payment schedule in most systems (probably even shorter if you’re already well-versed in the system). That way, you’re guaranteed timely payments regardless of whether the due date fall on a holiday or the same week you’re in a vacation with the family.

Errors

Occasionally, the system will fail and you’ll see a late charge on your account. When you do, log on to your EPS and review the scheduled payments. Most of the time, late payments occur because of input errors - like putting in Aug 29 instead of Aug 19, for instance. In case the error is on the software side, contact your bank or the EPS provider and explain the situation - if it’s their fault, most companies will either settle the matter with the credit card issuer or reimburse you for the fees you incurred.

Are you unsatisifed with your credit card?   Do you find your current rates too high? If they are, they could be bringing the overall cost of maintaining it to pretty unacceptable levels. If you feel you’ve been a good cardholder - using your card responsibly and paying on time - you might be able to negotiate a better rate.

Calling up the issuer and bargaining your card’s fees down can sound like an intimidating process. We’ll be honest - it is. However, it’s not as complicated as you may think.

Check Your Numbers

Before picking up the phone, check if you actually have a shot at talking your rates down. If you have bad credit ratings from the bureaus, getting approved for a lower rate is unlikely, even if you’ve taken care of your credit card pretty well. If you’ve over-extended your limit a few times and have incurred more than one late payment in the last 24 months, your chances are significantly diminished - you likely won’t get it.

If you’ve checked and feel confident about your chances based on those two factors, its time to arm yourself with appropriate information. Run through some credit card sites to find similar cards such as yours and compare the rates. Make sure to take note of low-rate offerings - you can use them later in your negotiations.

Negotiating Tips

When you call the issuer and speak to a service rep, always be courteous and polite. Keep a professional tone. Let them know you’ve done your homework and found credit cards with better offerings - give them names and numbers, the more details, the better. If your credit score is good, be sure to make a point of it. Similarly, mention your track record of timely payments and responsible spending over the last 12 months.

In case the customer service rep denies your request, don’t threaten to stop using the card…yet. Ask for a supervisor, instead. Once they pass the call over to their superior, repeat the pitch. The supervisor should have more power to make the rate change happen. In case you still get a denial, it’s time to pull out the threat. You’ll likely be transferred to the account retention department, where you can repeat the same spiel, hopefully, for better results.

If you’ve got bad credit and can’t get approved for any credit card application you file, it might be time to hold off from applying to regular credit cards at the moment. Most likely, you’ll need to bring your credit rating back up before qualifying for some of those credit cards with awesome deals.

While most of the cards available to people in your boat will be incredibly high-interest with a generous serving of fees, there’s at least one that will treat you a little better than the rest. Sure, it’s a sub-prime card, but not a terrible one.

The Orchard Bank Classic Secured MasterCard is a great credit card for people who don’t have a good credit score. Keep in mind that HSBC owns and operates Orchard Bank so this sub-prime card, unlike many offerings in its class, has the backing of a large and reputable institution behind it. Unlike other “bad credit” options, Orchard Bank can actually give you one of four different cards - the less unsavory your credit looks like, the better deal you will get.

If your credit rating is really terrible, non-existent or you’ve just recently filed bankruptcy, the secured MasterCard will be the best you can get. Don’t think you’re settling for the short string though. This is one of the best secured credit cards you can find on offer today.

Annual fee is very reasonable ranging from $0 to $48 depending on their assessment of your credit risk. There’s also no application fee, a common feature on most sub-prime cards. You can get a credit limit equal to whatever amount you deposit - anywhere from $200 to $15,000. APR is a reasonable 8.9 % to 14.9 %, pretty good considering the circumstances. Even better, the Orchard Bank Classic MasterCard is a great card to have once you’re starting to build your credit back up.

If you like booking your own travel arrangements, the Blue Sky Credit Card from American Express will be one of your most beloved companions, allowing you to get the best travel deals.

Getting The Best Travel Deals

Most travel reward cards require you to book flights and accommodations through their own in-house agents. While it’s a nice perk, you’re limited to whatever deals they have on offer. If nothing interests you or if the ones that do are too expensive for your current points, you have no choice but to either sit on your rewards or fork up some extra cash.

The Blue Sky offers a unique travel reward that allows you to book through any agency, hotel, car rental, airline, cruise line, online booking agents and tour operators that you prefer. There are certain limitations (non-industry compliant operations and back alley deals won’t count) but they are hardly restrictive. With this card, you can exhaust those points getting the best deals you can find on your own.

When redeeming your rewards, you will need to make your bookings first and pay for them using the credit card. You can then use the points to get a credit rebate back to your card. Every 7500 points get you a $100 charge-back (1.33%, which is better than the 1% offered by most charge-back rewards). For instance, when you book a $120 ticket and subsequently use 7500 reward points, you’ll $100 credited back on your monthly statement.

Other Features

The Blue Sky Credit Card has no annual fee with APR that starts from prime rate plus 4.99%. It also brings standard Amex benefits to cardholders, including travel insurance and various store discounts worldwide as well as exclusive Blue card offers such as discounts on numerous hotels, show tickets and music downloads.

When your credit card is stolen (something that can happen a lot especially when you’re using the card while traveling), you need to report it immediately. If you don’t notify the credit card issuer and someone uses it to purchase goods, you will likely be held responsible for up to $50.

While you can always just shrug the $50 off (it’s a small price to pay for the loss), it may not end the same way for the credit card issuer who can incur serious damages if the thief uses your card to accumulate substantial sums of purchases.

In such cases, you’ll likely be asked to show proof that the card was really stolen and you’re not just scamming the credit card company. Most likely, you’ll need to file a police report of the theft. If substantial amounts are at stake, the credit company may even launch their own investigation - a process that can eat serious amounts of time and create plenty of inconvenience.

Failure to report it immediately can also lead to bad marks in your credit report, especially when the thief uses the card to obtain further information about you. Identity theft is seriously rampant and a damaged credit can take you a long time to fix.

To be on the safe side, report any theft or loss immediately. Most card issuers offer a 24-hour toll-free call center that you can call for such emergencies. Additionally, follow-up the phone call with a written report of the incident and send it to the credit card company.

I don’t know how far off into the future before it sees mass adoption, but some companies are actively seeking a way to make biometric credit systems a reality now. Biometric systems are basically technologies that use a person’s physical characteristics - fingerprints, retinas, facial structure - to correctly identify who they are. If you’ve ever watched shows like CSI and 24, you’ll see the protagonists employ similar software and hardware to put a name on various photographs and evidence.

For credit use, biometric systems will allow customers to stroll into stores without cash or a credit card. To charge a purchase to their credit line, they can just go through a biometric identification process like a fingerprint or retina scan. The scanned image will be verified against the credit company’s databases and, if it’s a match, sales is done. If implemented on wide scale, it can mean an even more convenient way of shopping - not only cashless but cardless as well.

Indivos Corporation, one of the companies racing to establish such a technology in place, has been working on a biometric electronic payment system or at least the last six years. Their systems, now on operational tests, can be seen among several select retailers who use the identification against their customer’s in-store credit lines. They’ve also been busy in recent negotiations with Visa and American Express.

SmartMetric, another of these companies, is currently focusing their efforts on establishing a security system for biometric use on retail payment systems. If a setup like this can be proven viable security-wise (which is likely, since no one can steal your fingers), it could effect a whole new paradigm shift in the way we shop.

Not only will biometric systems make shopping easier, it’s going to save us plenty of wallet space. Imagine using a biometric-equipped ATM where you can withdraw cash by simply placing your finger on a scanner. My wallet can finally be free of everything except some pocket money and my driver’s license.

Business is risky.  We all know that.  That’s why would-be entrepreneurs are often advised to have at least eighteen months of operating expenses before taking to town.  The reality, however, is that very few of today’s businesses will exist if the people who put them up are that careful and stickled to the rules as much.

If you’ve had your eye on doing your own thing for a while, using credit cards as a source of capital (especially cash-back cards) can be a viable way - albeit a very risky one - to get your baby off the ground.  Failure is always a possibility so better prepare yourself to either re-enter the job market or find an alternate source of income to pay for the debt should things not go your way.  Similarly, make sure you know what you’re getting into - a solid year or more of experience doing it part time can go a long way to increasing your chances for success.

While most banks will not loan you money for business, they always seem to be ready to give you another credit card.  Believe it or not, they’d rather send you a plastic cash substitute you can use to buy clothes, bar tabs and online dating memberships than actual money for a start-up.

Don’t wanna risk going into debt?  Then keep plugging away at your J-O-B and hope you’ll save up enough mid-year bonuses to raise that capital for the future.  If you’re willing to risk it all, though, realize that you’ll probably be working harder than you ever did in your whole life.  It’s going to be hard - but the rewards are worth it.