Years ago people had to actually show that they were responsible in any number of ways before they got a credit card with a reasonable limit and a decent APR.  Sure there were companies out there that would extend you a pittance of credit, but you could expect a very low line of credit and a very high interest rate and potentially a wide variety of hidden fees to go along with that offer of credit.

Nowadays, with the high level of competition among all the credit card companies out there lining up to get your business, it’s possible for even someone with a very low credit score to obtain a card that can not only fit their financial needs, but help them rebuild their poor credit score as well.

So what should you, as a credit seeking consumer look for – how can you get a credit card that is as good as the guy with a credit score of over 700, when yours is somewhere below 600.

The Main Differences:

If you’ve got an above average credit score, and a long history of maintaining that score you can expect the best of all worlds.  You’ll probably get a high credit limit, a relatively low interest rate (APR), no annual fee, rewards points for purchases etc, etc.  While all of those things can be very nice, the things that should be of the utmost concern to those looking to get a new card are 1) the APR, 2) the APR and 3) the APR.

Having bad credit used to be the stigma that would get you saddled with an APR of well over 20%, but that’s not always the case anymore.  As a consumer with a less than favorable credit score now, you can find cards with an APR of less than 15%, and sometimes even close to 10%.  You may have to start with a very low credit limit and forego many of the perks that your fellow consumers with perfect credit scores may have, but there are good cards out there for those of us that have dug our credit into a bit of a hole in one way or another.

The important thing to remember when making your selection is that all of the perks will come once you’ve put in the time to repair your ailing credit score.  Your credit limits will slowly but surely begin to rise; you’ll begin to get pre-approved offers with tons of perks and advantages.

If you pay very close attention to the fine print and make your selections wisely the differences (the important ones anyway) between “good credit” credit cards and “bad credit” credit cards are negligible.  Regardless of your credit score you should be able to find a reputable credit card that will suit your needs financially and work with you to improve your financial status as a consumer.