Gina Marte, WalletHub Advisor
@ginamarte
There is no such thing as a prepaid credit card for bad credit. There are credit cards for bad credit (both secured and unsecured), and there are prepaid cards. For prepaid cards, your score has absolutely no relevance, as they are similar to debit cards. The only difference is that a prepaid card is not linked to a traditional checking account. Funds are transferred to a prepaid card online through direct deposit, among other means.
Things to Know About Prepaid Cards
Since your score is not a factor in getting a prepaid card, it stands to reason it will not affect it in any way. Because you’re only spending the money that you’ve added to the card, they’re not considered to be a loan like a traditional credit card. And because you’re not borrowing or repaying funds when using a prepaid card, your transactions aren’t reported to the credit bureaus.
While a prepaid card will effectively help you manage your spending and limit your level of debt, they’re not going to help you build your credit. So, a secured credit card is the closest thing you’ll find to a prepaid credit card for bad credit. A secured credit card requires a refundable security deposit that establishes your spending limit. This means you’re basically pre-paying for your purchases while you build credit.
Notable Secured Credit Cards
- Rates & Fees Overall: Capital One Platinum Secured Credit CardLearn MoreLearn Moreon issuer's website
- Rates & Fees Overall: Capital One Platinum Secured Credit CardLearn MoreLearn Moreon issuer's website
- Overall: Capital One Platinum Secured Credit CardLearn MoreLearn More
- Rates & Fees Rewards: Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit CardLearn MoreLearn Moreon issuer's website
- Rates & Fees Rewards: Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit CardLearn MoreLearn Moreon issuer's website
- Rewards: Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit CardLearn MoreLearn More
- No Credit Check: opensky® Secured Visa® Credit CardLearn MoreLearn Moreon issuer's website
- No Credit Check: opensky® Secured Visa® Credit CardLearn MoreLearn Moreon issuer's website
- No Credit Check: opensky® Secured Visa® Credit CardLearn MoreLearn More
- Overall:
- Rewards:
- No Credit Check:
Feel free to also take a look at our editors’ latest picks for the best secured credit cards on the market to weigh your options.
Popular Credit Cards for Bad Credit from Our Partners
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No Deposit
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No Credit Check
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Rewards
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Partially Secured
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However, this isn’t...
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Easiest Unsecured Credit Cards to Get
Alternatives to unsecured credit cards for bad credit
Unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit tend to be very expensive, charging lots of fees and high interest rates. So, if you don’t need...
read full answer by WalletHub, Financial CompanyDo prepaid business credit cards build credit?
No, prepaid business credit cards don’t build credit. Even when they’re marketed to businesses, prepaid cards are not credit cards, as there’s no credit line attached to them. Unlike a credit card, prepaid cards have their funds stored in a stand-alone prepaid account which you can reload. So you can only spend what you’ve deposited into your account. That’s why they don’t help build personal or business credit.
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