The Orchard Bank card is issued by HSBC Bank, one of the largest and most reputable banks. This card is designed for those with a damaged credit score.

This card has a unique application process. When you apply they will match your credit score to one of four sub prime credit cards.

This includes a secured card and three unsecured credit cards. If you have made some mistakes in the past with your credit then you are guaranteed to be issued a card that corresponds to your credit score.

If you have many negative items on your credit report you will likely be issued the secured card. With this card you must make a deposit and then your card will have a credit limit equal to the amount of your deposit.

This card will work just like an unsecured card, meaning you will have monthly payments. Your APR will be between 8.9% and 14.9%. This is lower than most bad credit cards that carry an APR of roughly 19%.

If you have made only a few mistakes with your credit you can be approved for an unsecured credit card. However if you still want to be issued the secured card instead you can be.

The unsecured cards will have some fees like a 19$ account set up fee with one of the cards. These cards also carry an APR between 8.9% and 18.9%.

However the fees with the Orchard Bank cards are dramatically less than any other available bad credit cards. In addition they offer considerably lower APR’s too.

All four of these cards do report monthly to the major credit bureaus. By using your card responsibly you can create a positive payment history.

This is an important factor when your score is being calculated. It makes up approximately 30% of your score.

In addition these cards will improve your ratio of available credit to debt. This factor weighs roughly 30% of your credit score. It is how the bureaus judge if you can financially handle another credit line.

You should know that once a bad credit item on your report ages four years it will have much less influence on your score. However we do still encourage you to remove bad credit items from your report.

In sum we do suggest the Orchard Bank cards to those with a low credit score. This card can be a very valuable tool to rebuild your credit.

The baby phat rush card is a prepaid credit card. It was created by Russell Simmons he co founded the popular Def Jam record label.

The rush card works like this; you deposit money into your account, then you use your card to make purchases. This card guarantees approval for everyone.

There is no credit or chex systems check. The baby phat rush card is issued in a pink design and the rush card is issued in a black design.

This card offers free direct deposit. To use this you simply fill out a form and turn that into your employer.

Then you checks will be deposited into your rush card. You will still get a breakdown on your hours and how much the deposit was.

With this card you receive free online account access. You can also access your cash at over 800,000 ATM’s.

You card can be used to make purchases over the phone and online. In addition your rush card allows you to write physical paper checks.

To do this you simply go online and fill in the payees details. This includes address, name, and amount of payment.

Then a physical check in your name is sent to the payee. This is a great way to pay your bills, no more buying money orders.

With this service and direct deposit you will also save money by not having to pay for check cashing fees.

However, we do not recommend the baby phat rush card. This is because they have many fees that other prepaid cards do not have.

For example the rush card charges you a convenience fee. A convenience fee is simply a fee for using your card.

The convenience fee is $1.00 with a monthly maximum of $10.00. However you will be charged a convenience fee for every purchase you make in a month.

Then at the end of the month all the extra charges above 10.00 will be credited back to your account at the end of the next calendar month.

That can end up being a full 2 months before you are refunded. This is unbelievable especially because many of us use are card more than ten times in a month.

Furthermore to be charged for every purchase you make seems outrageous. Then to have to wait for a full calendar month to expire before you are issued your refund is unbelievable.

To enroll in bill pay the rush card will charge you $2.00 and then another $1.00 for every check you write from your account. There are other prepaid cards where this service is free.

The rush card claims there are no hidden fees however that seems to be a very contradictory statement. Especially when you are forced to read the fine print to discover that you will be charged one dollar for every purchase you make.

In sum, stay away from the rush card. There are many other prepaid credit cards available that have lower fees and better benefits.