When it comes to bad credit unsecured credit cards, they sure do run the gamut. On the one hand, there are those with fair credit terms and reasonable fees. Then there are those with ridiculous terms and conditions and interest rates that make your teeth hurt. Of course, you get what you can take when your credit history is damaged, right? Wrong. Here are some things you should know if you're trying to find credit with an imperfect credit history...

How Bad is Bad?

Really, how bad is your credit? Is it horrible as in "bankruptcy and then further damage after the bankruptcy bad"? Or just "I forgot a few payments and have a library book I never returned" bad? Because that is going to make a difference as to what type of card you qualify for.

The first thing you need to do when considering bad credit unsecured credit cards is how bad your credit is. If it's not too bad, you can probably qualify for a card that's not even considered a "bad credit" card. If, on the other hand, your credit history is one of the worst apples of the bunch, you might have to go for a secured credit card before qualifying for one of the better unsecured ones.

Filtering Out the Junk

Now, if you've determined that your credit isn't good enough for a conventional unsecured card but not bad enough to require secured credit, you're going to have to research the different bad credit unsecured credit cards before applying for one. After all, two cards may look the same on the surface, but be very different underneath.

First, look for cards with low fees. If a company wants to charge you in excess of $200 in fees to open up a credit account, go elsewhere. That's just plain wrong. There are many stories of people opening bad credit unsecured credit cards with credit limits of $300, and then by the time the fees are charged they're left with an available limit of only $35 or so.

Also, make sure you avoid being taken in by "pie in the sky" scams that offer a $5,000 credit limit at 9 percent interest as long as you pay $500 up front. Don't fall for it. You're not going to get the card, even if you do send the check in.

In cases like that, you're better off going with secured credit. If, however, you can qualify for the bad credit unsecured credit cards that offer acceptable fees and decent interest rates, then there's no reason to even consider a secured card application.