Secured credit cards are great for establishing or rebuilding your credit history. Unlike prepaid cards, secured credit cards give you a credit line, and your payment activity will be reported to the major consumer reporting agencies.

There are many advantages to having a good credit score. Qualifying for lower interest rates, ability to get approved for loans and lines of credit, and paying less on loans for items such as homes and automobiles to name a few.

Many people are not aware of bad credit loans and they are usually given to people with bad credit ratings — people also believe that once their credit score is bad, their options of getting a loan are finished. Many of them believe that it is impossible to get a loan if you have a poor score on your credit ratings.

If you have been using credit irresponsibly and finally decided to do something about it, you can start by getting a few secured credit cards to rebuild your credit history.

U.S. banks are easing credit standards in search of a safe and profitable middle ground after an era of reckless home lending gave way to the stiffest rules in decades, putting a damper on the housing recovery. Wells Fargo (WFC) & Co., the biggest U.S. home lender, two weeks ago cut its minimum credit score for borrowers of Fannie Mae-and Freddie Mac-backed loans to 620 from 660.