Low-Limit Cards

• You may need a credit card that will give you a low credit limit. The ideal card will give you a limit of only $200 to $500. You don't need a lot of credit if you filed for bankruptcy due to poor credit habits, as you are trying to overcome those habits from the past and use credit responsibly. Thus, a low-limit card will help you curb your credit card use as you will not be able to run up a big bill. Even if you did not file for bankruptcy because of poor credit habits, a low-limit card will help you raise your credit scores after bankruptcy because you won't significantly increase your debt-to-income ratio by using such a card.
  
  

Low Interest Rates

• Ask credit card companies what types of interest rates they typically charge if a consumer has a bankruptcy in his credit record. Some creditors charge higher interest to people with bankruptcies because of their poor credit history, but others charge low interest to all consumers. You need a card with low interest rates so that if you do have an emergency, you don't have to worry about interest rates significantly raising your monthly credit bill until you can get the card paid off.
  
  

Reports to Bureaus

• Not all credit card companies report payments to the credit bureaus. It is vital to find out whether your card issuer does so before you apply. If a creditor does not report to the credit bureaus, then using that card responsibly and paying it off in full each month will not raise your credit score at all, as the credit bureaus won't know about your credit use.
  
  

Low Fee Cards

• Some cards charge annual fees, late payment fees, application fees or other fees. You must find out what fees a particular creditor charges before you apply for it. You want a card that does not charge a lot of fees. Be especially careful with annual fees; if a card's annual fees take up half your credit limit or more, then they more or less render the card useless.