 TITLE: How to Apply for a Credit Card With Bad Credit CONTENT: How to Improve Your Credit Before Applying for a Credit Card\n------------------------------------------------------------\nImproving your credit score can increase your chances of getting approved for a new credit card. But your next steps can depend on why you have bad credit.\nIf you're behind on bills, you may want to focus on bringing past-due accounts current and settling or paying off collection accounts. You could even look into working with a credit counselor to get an outside perspective on your finances.\nOr, perhaps you have bad credit due to previous late payments, collection accounts or filing bankruptcy. Patience can be important here, as these negative items will stay on your credit report for seven years or possibly longer in the case of bankruptcy. The good news: The impact of negative items decreases over time.\nIn either case, you can commit to improving your credit by making on-time debt payments that add positive information to your credit history and reducing balances on revolving accounts, such as credit cards. Paying those down could help your scores by lowering your credit utilization rate. Payment history and credit utilization are the most important factors in calculating your credit scores, so these two steps could go a long way toward helping you rebuild your credit.\nIf you don't have any open loans, a credit-builder loan is one option to help you build credit. These loans are often offered by credit unions and smaller community banks. END