Best Credit Cards for Bad Credit

The best Bank of America credit card for bad credit is the Bank of America® Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card because it is the only BofA card that accepts applicants with credit scores below 640, and its annual fee isn't too high at $0. There are no one-time or monthly fees. But Bank of America® Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card does require a minimum $300 security deposit to open the account. The credit limit is equal the amount of the deposit, and the maximum deposit is $4,900. The security deposit is fully refundable after closing the account with no balance. BofA may even refund the deposit after 12+ months of on-time payments.

The Bank of America® Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card is designed for people with bad credit. In this situation, it's very hard to get approved for any Bank of America credit card that does not require a deposit. Consider secured cards from other issuers such as the Discover it® Secured Credit Card or the Secured Mastercard® from Capital One. There are also unsecured cards for bad credit from other issuers. One good option is the Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card.

Another way to get a Bank of America credit card with bad credit is to become an authorized user on someone else's card. Authorized users share a credit line with the main cardholder. Information about the account gets placed on the user's credit report. This can help a user build good credit if the primary cardholder uses the card responsibly. Only the primary cardholder is responsible for making payments. But customers with bad credit who want their own Bank of America credit card account will have to settle for the Bank of America® Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card.

Here is the only Bank of America credit card for bad credit:

• Card Name: Bank of America® Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card
• Annual Fee: $0
• Min. Deposit: $300
• Min. Credit Limit: $300
• Reports to Credit Bureaus: Yes – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion
• 2nd Easiest BofA Card to Get: Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students - available to people with limited history
• Best Non-BofA Card for Bad Credit: Discover it® Secured Credit Card - $0 annual fee

The best Bank of America credit card for bad credit is the Bank of America® Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card. But if you want to choose one of the other credit cards for bad credit, the Discover it Secured Credit Card has a $0 annual fee. It requires a minimum $200 with a $2,500 maximum. It also offers 2% cash back on the first $1,000 per quarter at gas stations and restaurants and 1% on all other purchases. Discover also matches all cash back earned during the first year on the first account anniversary.

Another good secured card choice is the Secured Mastercard® from Capital One. It has a $0 annual fee. There is a guaranteed $200 minimum initial credit limit with security deposit of $49, $99 or $200, based on creditworthiness. The maximum deposit is $1,000.

The best option when it comes to unsecured credit cards for bad credit is the Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card. It has a $0 - $99 annual fee, depending on creditworthiness. And it has a $300 minimum credit limit with no deposit required. The Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card offers 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases (determined after approval).

There are no tire credit cards for bad credit, as they require at least fair credit for approval. So, your best bet is a secured credit card with rewards. That means the best tire-purchase credit card for bad credit is the Discover it® Secured Credit Card because it gives 1 - 2% cash back on purchases (doubled year one). The Discover it® Secured Credit Card also has a $0 annual fee.

Your other option is to rebuild your credit a bit. If you can get your credit score to “fair”, you might be able to qualify for something like the National Tire & Battery (NTB) Credit Card or the Tire Kingdom Credit Card.

The best credit cards for poor credit with no processing fee are the Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card and the Official NASCAR® Credit Card from Credit One Bank®. Both have annual fees of $0 to $99, depending on how bad your credit is, but there's no one-time fee for application processing. Although some unsecured credit cards for people with poor credit do charge processing fees, there are at least a few options without them.

People in search of credit cards for poor credit with no processing fees have even more choices when they consider secured credit cards. For example, you'll have to place a refundable deposit of at least $200 to get the Secured Mastercard® from Capital One and the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, but neither charges an annual fee or a processing fee.

The truth is, most credit cards for people with bad credit don't charge processing fees. So, you shouldn't ever settle for paying one. You can learn a bit more about the best alternatives below.

Here are the best credit cards for bad credit with no processing fee:

• No security deposit: Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card – No processing fee. $0 - $99 annual fee. $300+ limit.
• Partly unsecured: Secured Mastercard® from Capital One – No processing fee. $0 annual fee. $49, $99 or $200 deposit. $200+ limit.
• NASCAR fans: $0 - $99 – No processing fee. $0 - $99 annual fee. $300+ limit.
• No credit check: OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card – No processing fee. $35 annual fee. $200 deposit. $200+ limit.
• Rewards: Discover it® Secured Credit Card – No processing fee. $0 annual fee. $200 deposit. $200+ limit.

If you're worried about keeping costs down, try to get a credit card for poor credit with no processing fee, no annual fee and no monthly fee. You should try to pay your bill in full every month too. Even the best cards for bad credit have really high interest rates.

Both the Discover it Secured and the Capital One Secured are designed for people with bad credit and offer a longer-than-average grace period of 25 days. Credit card grace periods are typically between 21 and 25 days.

The grace period only remains in effect when you pay the full balance by the due date each month. If you lose your grace period, you can get it back by paying your full balance on time for two consecutive months.

The easiest tire credit card to get is the Walmart Credit Card because you can get approved with a score in the "fair" credit range. The Walmart Credit Card can be used for purchases in all of the store's departments, including automotive, which sells tires.

The benefit of getting the Walmart Credit Card instead of a tire brand's credit card is that you can use the Walmart Credit Card for things other than tires, because Walmart carries everything from groceries to cell phones. Also, many car care credit cards - Firestone, Goodyear, and Discount Tire, to name a few - come with deferred interest. Deferred interest may look like a 0% APR deal, but it means you'll be charged interest from the purchase date if you don't pay off the entire balance by the time the promotional period ends. It's better to get a credit card without deferred interest whenever you can.