What credit score is needed for an unsecured credit card?

Question

One of the easiest unsecured cards to get approved for is the Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit. You can get approved for it even with bad (300) credit. It offers a $300 starting spending limit. And you can use it wherever VISA is accepted.

This isn’t your only option, though. WalletHub’s editors compared all of the unsecured credit cards in our database of 1,500+ offers. And we selected our favorite easy-to-get offers.… read full answer

Here are some of the easiest unsecured credit cards to get approved for:

Rewards: Credit One Visa.

Small businesses: Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business.

No credit: Capital One Platinum Credit Card

No annual fee: Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card.

Easiest store card: Fingerhut Credit Account.

Students: Journey Student Rewards from Capital One.

The easiest unsecured credit cards to get generally work best for minor emergencies. You will only receive a small amount of spending power, after all.

Unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit also tend to be very expensive, charging lots of fees and high interest rates. So, if you don’t need a small emergency loan, the best course of action is to improve your credit inexpensively with a secured card. Secured cards are cheaper than unsecured cards, build credit just as effectively, and offer the closest thing you’ll find to guaranteed approval.

To learn more, check out WalletHub's complete list of the year’s easiest credit cards to get approved for.

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Answer 1 · 2021-04-12 01:00:44

Chip Lupo, Credit Card Writer

@CLoop • 04/12/21 This answer was first published on 04/09/21 and it was last updated on 04/12/21.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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A credit score of at least 550 to 650 is needed for an unsecured credit card in most cases, though it’s possible to get approved for an unsecured card with a lower score or even no credit score. For example, some of the best beginner and student cards are unsecured and will approve applicants with little or no credit.

If your credit score is below the 550 to 650 threshold needed to get a good unsecured card, you’d be much better off applying for a secured card such as the Discover it® Secured Credit Card or the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card. They’re easier to get than unsecured cards because you’re putting up your own money, typically a minimum deposit of $200, to secure the account.

For people with bad credit who are set on getting an unsecured card, two of the best options are the Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit (cash back on select purchases) and the Indigo® Mastercard® for Less than Perfect Credit (no upfront fees). Remember, unsecured credit cards for bad credit do not require a security deposit to open an account. As such, they typically come with low credit limits, high fees and high interest rates.

Answer 2 · 2018-09-26 18:47:12

Frankie Solomon, WalletHub Analyst

@frankie.solo • 09/26/18 This answer was first published on 09/21/18 and it was last updated on 09/26/18.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 minimum credit score for unsecured cards for bad credit is around 500. You can get approved with a really low credit score, but you'll also have to live with lower credit limits, high annual fees and high APR rates.

Honestly, I'd say a secured card is probably a smarter alternative.

What credit score is needed for an unsecured credit card?

Chip Lupo, Credit Card Writer

Frankie Solomon, WalletHub Analyst

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