Credit Cards After Bankruptcy

Whether you are a business or individual that has filed for bankruptcy in the past, it always seems harder to secure credit cards after bankruptcy. Depending on the type of bankruptcy that you filed, you may have a hard time securing a credit card for up to ten years or more after you originally filed your claim.

There are a few steps that you can take to at least make this process easier on yourself if you happen to file for bankruptcy.

The most obvious thing that you can do when you file for bankruptcy is adhere to whatever rules and regulations are enforced upon for you. For instance, if you file for chapter 7 bankruptcy reorganization, the bankruptcy court will create a strict payment plan in which you must pay back your creditors. If you show that you are able to successfully meet those payments it will only increase your chances of securing a credit card after bankruptcy.

The United States Government has also come up with a new plan for people that have low credit scores or who have been mired in bankruptcy in the past. Subprime credit cards are normally issued with very low limits in order to ensure that the borrower does not get carried away. In addition to the very low limit, they also have very high interest fees if you are unable to pay the balance back. These subprime credit cards have interest fees higher than 30% in most cases. These are usually issued so that the borrower can have a credit card again but are under much stricter regulations.

Credit cards after bankruptcy are attainable, but as mentioned they can be hard to obtain. Some credit card companies view past bankruptcy victims as high risk and will only offer subprime credit cards or outrageous terms. This is a demoralizing blow to the past debtor who is simply trying to get a decent limit and interest rate.

Your best chance of getting decent credit cards after bankruptcy is to follow whatever rules are set in place by the bankruptcy court. If you have done that, then you are simply at the mercy of the banks.