What are the best guaranteed approval unsecured credit cards for bad credit?

Question

The easiest credit card to get with bad credit is the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card because there’s no credit check required for approval. As long as you have a U.S. mailing address, proof of your identity and some income, you can get an OpenSky. It has an annual fee of $35 and requires a refundable deposit of at least $200 to “secure” the credit line. The deposit amount becomes your credit limit.… read full answer

If you’re looking for an unsecured credit card for bad credit, one of the easiest to get is the Fingerhut Credit Account. It’s a store credit card, meaning you can’t use it for anything but Fingerhut purchases. That said, the Fingerhut online store has a wide range of merchandise for sale, and the Fingerhut Credit Card will report to credit bureaus and build your credit in the process. It has a $0 annual fee.

You should be wary of credit card companies that offer unsecured credit cards to people with bad credit though. They can give you an unsecured line of credit, but most come with big fees and high interest rates. Unless you need an emergency loan, it’s better to get a secured credit card and build up your score enough to qualify for a good unsecured card.

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Answer 1 · 2021-01-20 20:41:10

Lisa Cahill, Credit Cards Moderator

@lisacahill • 01/20/21 This answer was first published on 01/21/21 and it was last updated on 01/20/21.For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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The best guaranteed approval unsecured credit cards for bad credit are the Fingerhut Credit Account and the Indigo® Mastercard® for Less than Perfect Credit, because both credit cards are designed for people with bad credit and both are easy to get approved for. To be clear, there are no credit cards with absolutely guaranteed approval. But some unsecured cards, like these two, are much easier to get than others. And both will help to build credit.

The problem with many unsecured credit cards for bad credit is they tend to be expensive. Many have annual fees and some have one-time fees or monthly fees, too. That’s on top of a high APR. Notably, the Fingerhut Credit Account has a $0 annual fee and no monthly fees. But it’s not a physical credit card, and you can only use the credit line at Fingerhut’s online store. So it’s not good if you need an emergency loan.

The Indigo Mastercard (for less-than-perfect credit), on the other hand, is a real credit card. In exchange for a $300 credit limit, you’ll pay an annual fee of $0 - $99, depending on your creditworthiness. And you can check to see if you pre-qualify before you apply, so at least you’ll know your approval chances before you get a hard pull on your credit.

Overall, the closest you can get to guaranteed approval for a credit card is with secured credit cards, which require an up-front security deposit. Secured cards aren’t going to provide an emergency loan, but they do help rebuild credit.

Answer 2 · 2020-02-26 03:59:07

Zachary Schmidt, Member

@zac_schmidt • 02/26/20 This answer was first published on 02/26/20. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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There are no guaranteed approval unsecured credit cards.

The best unsecured credit cards with lenient approval conditions are the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa and the NASCAR Credit Card from Credit One.

They offer credit lines of at least $300 and charge $0-99 in fees per year.

Answer 3 · 2020-05-05 05:24:10

Alice Kane, WalletHub Analyst

@Alice_K • 05/05/20 This answer was first published on 01/06/19 and it was last updated on 05/05/20.For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

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No unsecured credit cards offer guaranteed approval.

However, if I were to pick the best I'd go with Indigo, Total Visa and Credit One.

And even the best aren't great. Unsecured cards typically come with higher interest rates than secured cards. They will also often charge a variety of additional fees, including annual and processing fees.