The Multiple Income Stream Blog

I think almost every post I’ve ever read on personal finance sites talks about the best credit cards, or what rewards to get (I know I’ve done this many times before).

However, I thought it would be fun to highlight some traits of bad credit cards.  There are more of these types of cards out there so be cautious.

Common Bad Credit Card Traits

To start, here are some traits of bad credit cards.  Usually, many will have high fees, high interest rates, and charges for every type of transaction under the sun.

Some cards even try to take advantage of consumers.  For example, there are many bad credit credit cards  that are designed to help individuals rebuild their poor credit, but in reality, keep these people chained down by fees or other restrictions.

Worst Fee Cards

The worst fee card is the New Millenium Bank card.  This card is a secured card, but it comes with a $59 annual fee, and many other fees just to open an account.  On average, to open the card, it will cost you a whopping $140 dollars – and this is to just get started.

This card also has no grace period (meaning the balance is due in full immediately – where most cards have a 21 day to 30 day grace period).  Finally, the interest rate is high, at 19.5%.

This card is no longer available, but it gives you a sense of what some companies are going.

Highest Interest Rate Cards

How would you feel having an interest rate of 79.9%?  What about if you knew the national average for credit cards was around 15%?

Believe it or not, First Premier Bank tried issuing a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate, and if you qualified, a 59.9% interest rate.  Furthermore, the credit line was only $300 – so it is clearly designed for individuals with less than great credit.

The scary thing is that this is completely legal – as long as it is clearly disclosed up front. So, if you’re feeling bad about your 19.9% card, just think you could be paying 4x that amount.

Readers, what are your thoughts on these outrageous credit cards?  

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