How to Get a Credit Card After Bankruptcy

After bankruptcy, you'll find that you'll get denied a lot. You might see yourself a little bit like George Costanza from the Seinfeld TV Show. George was always being rejected, and in some perverse way, he reveled in it.

While you rebuild your credit, you're going to need to have the same thick skin that George has. Don't let it get you down. While others may have plenty of credit and plenty of credit cards, remember that they've got the debt that goes along with those cards!

In fact, they may be considering bankruptcy, too! So your first job is to let go of any emotional attachments to your current (and temporary!) financial situation.

I've done lots of research on how to rebuild credit over the years--especially after bankruptcy. Many so-called experts will suggest that you create other identities and use a different social security number or employee identification number for example.

That strategy could land you in jail. Yes, it violates Federal law.

What do do now:

Frankly, getting a credit card isn't so difficult once you've been discharged from your Chapter 7 bankruptcy (and even if you're in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can still get a card!). Yes, for now the card will be a secured card.

A secured card is nothing more than a credit card that has money on deposit at the bank to guarantee payment. It bears no risk to the bank. Unfortunately, there aren't many banks offering these sort of cards, and most lenders that do have such a card will be taking advantage of you (I spent hours of online investigation on this. One card I found offered me an interest rate of over 50%!).

Here's what to do.

1. Get a secured credit card and build up your balance. You want to focus on adding as much money to that secured bank account as possible. Why? Well, the larger the balance, the larger your line of credit becomes.

And the larger your line of credit is, the better your credit score will be. If you're noticing that you've got to think a bit differently, now, you're right!

2. Go to your local community bank or credit union. Notice that I didn't say "go to your local branch of the 'big brother who doesn't care about you despite their friendly ad campaign' bank."

Your local community bank (or credit union) is dedicated to your community, and generally the more established ones (over 5 years in business) have a bit more lending flexibility. In other words, you're more than just a credit score to them.

See if you can talk to the decision-makers. I'm talking about talking to the senior lender, and even the President! They're approachable, and when you tell them that you're looking to develop a long term relationship, you may be surprised at how open they may be.

Here's a key--DO NOT ASK FOR A LOAN ON YOUR FIRST MEETING! That would be the kiss of death. Your objective is to get to know them, and for them to get to know you. In other words, you develop rapport. You build a relationship. This will take some time after your bankruptcy, but it's totally possible to develop new credit after a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

Think of it like dating. You probably want to get to know your mate before you commit to a long term relationship. Once you've got the banker on your team, and have some money in their bank, you may be surprised how flexible they will be when you ask for that unsecured credit card application!

3. Keep a vigilant eye on your credit report. This is so important! Most Americans have an error on their credit report, and you're probably no exception. While you are probably working on cleaning up your credit report, once it's cleaned up, you must continually monitor that report. You never know what may appear on there after your bankruptcy, so check it out often!

If you find a problem, get it handled immediately. I've written a book called "The Credit Repair Boot Camp" and you can get information on it if you visit my website.

I hope you found some value in this brief report on how to get a credit card after bankruptcy. Remember, there is life after bankruptcy, and I'm happy to help guide and motivate you to build your fresh start!

Good Luck!