Definition

• Secured credit cards are a common form of post-bankruptcy credit because most people qualify for them despite past financial issues. You open a bank account with as little as a few hundred dollars, Bankrate.com writer Pat Curry explains, and the bank gives you a card with an equivalent credit line. Your money is frozen as collateral, guaranteeing repayment. An unsecured credit card is an account that requires no deposit. The bank gives you a credit card, secured only by your signed contract.
  
  

Terms

• Get an unsecured card if you do not have money to tie up for a secured account. Otherwise, a secured credit card is often a better choice because unsecured accounts tend to have higher interest rates and fees to make up for some of the lender's risk in dealing with risky customers. Your secured credit card can usually be converted into an unsecured version with a year or two, according to MSN Money writer Liz Pulliam Weston as long as you always pay by the deadline, send at least the minimum required account and keep your owed balance below the credit limit.
  
  

Finding a Card

• Some banks have special unsecured cards geared toward bankrupt people or consumers who need to repair their credit for various reasons. You may receive solicitations shortly after your bankruptcy if you never opted out of pre-screened credit card offers. Lenders buy data from the credit bureaus on people who meet specified criteria. Those with high credit scores are common targets, but some seek out bankruptcy individuals who are likely to be looking for cards to reestablish their credit, according to Fox Business writer Jeremy Simon. You can opt back in through www.optoutprescreen.com if you previously opted out of such offers. Otherwise, you can find appropriate credit cards by searching online.
  
  

Credit Bureau Reporting

• Make sure your new credit card reports your activity to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, whether it is secured or unsecured, before you commit to opening the account. Post-bankruptcy credit cards are useless for building new, positive credit records if the lenders do not pass your data along to the bureaus, Pulliam Weston warns.