If you’re in the hunt to improve your credit score, you’ve probably have already come across secured credit cards.  If you’re not familiar with them  just yet, these are great cards to help you improve your credit score when you have bad credit.  The nice thing about these cards is that most of them have instant approval.  What does this mean for you?  It means that you can get approved instantly and you can start to build your credit score by next week.

Now, a common question that is asked or searched for is “Does a secured credit card report to the major credit bureaus?”  Well, most of them do but some of them don’t.  I’m going to show you what you need to look out for in order to make sure that your credit card reports to the major bureaus.

Look for it on the application – If the card reports, a bank is going to let you know.  Look at the application when you’re applying and look for a bullet point that says “reports to major credit bureaus”.   Make sure that you look into because some may mislead you and may say something like “great for credit building” but doesn’t say if it reports or not.  You need to make sure that it reports.

Call if you have to – Whether you’re confused about the application or you just don’t know if it’s going to report, make sure that you call up and ask because it never hurts.  By law, the company will need to tell you and this is an area that they can’t lie with.  Calling up will no only assure you, it will let you know for sure if this card is meant for you.

Look for the major logo and bank – Most cards with a major logo from Visa and MasterCard generally report to the bureaus but once again, make sure you check.  Another thing to look out for is by looking at the bank name.  If it’s from a major bank or corporation, there’s a good chance it reports.

These are three things that you can look for when you’re looking for a card that reports to the credit bureaus.  Make sure that you just don’t fly through an application when you’re applying.  Do your research and as long as you do this, you will find a card that helps your future and credit score.