Best Credit Cards for Bad Credit

The best Bank of America credit card for bad credit is the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card because it is designed for applicants with credit scores below 640. This Bank of America card also comes with a $0 annual fee and reports account activity to all three of the major credit bureaus.

Most other Bank of America credit cards require at least limited-to-excellent credit for approval. But there are some options for people with lower scores to work with.

Bank of America Credit Cards for Bad Credit

• Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card
• BankAmericard® Secured Credit Card

If you use the Bank of America Custom Cash Secured Card responsibly over time, you may be able to qualify for a Bank of America credit card with more attractive terms. Responsible card use means establishing a history of on-time payments and not maxing out the card's credit limit.

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 Credit One Bank® NASCAR® Credit Card. Both have annual fees of $0 - $99, 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 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.

• No security deposit: Credit One Bank® Visa® Credit Card – No processing fee. Annual fee of $0 - $99. $300+ limit.
• NASCAR fans: Credit One Bank® NASCAR® Credit Card – No processing fee. $39 - $99 annual fee. $300+ limit.
• Partly unsecured: Secured Mastercard® from Capital One – No processing fee. $0 annual fee. $49, $99 or $200 deposit for a $200 limit.
• No credit check: OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card – No processing fee. $35 annual fee. $200 deposit for a $200 limit.
• Rewards: Discover it® Secured Credit Card – No processing fee. $0 annual fee. $200 deposit for a $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.