Although 20 points doesn’t seem like much, it can mean a lot when it comes to your credit score. You wouldn’t know it from the consumer side, but there is a world of difference between a credit score of 580 and 600. Your options open up when you increase your credit score by 20 points, and they close up when your credit score decreases — find out how to increase your score by 20 points.

Free credit scores from your credit card now offer free credit score checks to view your free credit scores instantly. Walmart now offers free credit scores to individuals who hold the Walmart credit card and Citi will begin in January 2015 offering free credit scores to individuals who hold the Citi credit card.

Credit card issuers are ramping up lending to consumers with poor credit but borrowers beware — the terms aren’t always going to be good. Lending to subprime consumers — typically those with a FICO credit score of below 660 — climbed 41% last year, with banks issuing 1.1 million new credit cards to riskier consumers, a four-year high, according to a recent report from credit reporting agency Equifax.

Part of rebuilding your credit is proving that you can pay your bills on time. If your bad credit episode left you without any credit cards, you’ll have to open new ones.

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.