If you’re sitting at home wondering to yourself “how can I get a credit card with bad credit?”, you’re not alone. But there’s good news. Many credit card companies thrive off of customers with less than stellar credit, mainly because they’re frequently willing to pay outrageous annual percentage rates (APR). If you’ve got bad credit, here are a few things you may not know about credit cards:

1. A fixed APR isn’t fixed. In fact, the company can change it at any time and only has to give you 15 days notice. You don’t need to resign a contract, you automatically agree to it when you use your card.
2. When you use your credit card at a gas pump, in many cases $50 is automatically reserved for your purchase. It can take several days for the remaining money to be released, and if you have less than $50 remaining on your balance, your card will be rejected.
3. Similar to gas pumps, restaurants generally authorize and reserve your entire bill, plus 25 percent for gratuity. If you don’t have the extra 25 percent, your card will be declined.

So before you search for a step-by-step answer to how can I get a credit card with bad credit?, you may want to take a few minutes and learn how the credit card industry operates. Once you’re familiar with the way things work, you’ll be much better equipped to handle the responsibility of credit card ownership.