Best No Credit Check Credit Cards

The easiest credit cards to get approved for with no credit or bad credit are secured credit cards. These cards have annual fees as low as $0 and report monthly to the 3 major credit bureaus. Some even give rewards of 1% or more. To help people with no credit or bad credit maximize their odds of approval for a credit card, WalletHub’s editors compared the approval requirements for more than 1,500 credit card offers, along with their fees, rates and rewards.

Easiest Credit Cards to Get Approved For

This content is not provided or commissioned by any issuer. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of an issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by an issuer. Please keep in mind that while some offers may come from WalletHub advertising partners, sponsorship status played no role in card selection. 

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Unsecured credit cards for bad credit do not require a security deposit for approval, which makes it possible for people with damaged credit to borrow money for emergency expenses. The lack of a deposit comes at a cost, though, as unsecured cards for bad credit have tougher approval requirements and higher fees than secured credit cards (some offers are from WalletHub partners). Unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit also tend to have low spending limits, and you can’t increase your credit limit simply by paying more, as is the case when you add to a secured card’s deposit. So we recommend getting a secured card unless you absolutely need an emergency loan of $200 or less.

To help you keep costs down, WalletHub compared all of the unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit in our database of 1,500+ offers. And we identified the cards with the least-bad rates and fees. If you decide to apply for one of these unsecured cards, make sure you have a plan for repaying what you spend. Unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit charge more than twice as much interest as the average credit card, so the sooner you pay, the less you’ll have to spend.

Best Unsecured Credit Cards for Bad Credit

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Yes, you can get an unsecured credit card with a 500 credit score. The best unsecured credit card to get with a 500 credit score is the Credit One Visa card because it offers a $300 starting credit limit, the potential for automatic credit line increases, and an annual fee of $75 intro 1st yr, $99 after. Cardholders earn rewards on select purchases, too.

The downside of applying for an unsecured credit card with a 500 credit score is that you will likely end up with high fees, high interest rates, and a low credit limit. The odds of getting approved for a decent unsecured credit card are higher with a credit score of at least 640. And the higher your credit score is, the better your chances of getting an unsecured card with good terms will be.

Unsecured Credit Cards to Get with a 500 Credit Score

While Credit One Visa may be the best unsecured credit card for people with a 500 credit score, it's still not the most attractive option overall. People with bad credit who are in the market for a credit card should look into applying for a secured card instead. Most secured cards come with $0 annual fees, and some cards, such as the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card, give rewards on purchases.

Secured cards are also easier to get than unsecured cards because you'll have to pay a security deposit, usually $200 at a minimum, to open the account. The amount of your deposit determines your credit limit in most cases, and you can increase your limit by adding more money to your deposit. Your deposit is fully refundable when you close the account in good standing.

The best instant approval credit card with no credit check is the Sable Credit Card. Since it's a secured credit card, it requires a deposit of $10, at a minimum. The annual fee is $0 and you can earn 1 - 2% cash back on purchases. Keep in mind, though, that instant approval isn't always guaranteed.

Here are some of the best instant approval credit cards with no credit check:

If you get one of these credit cards and keep your account in good standing, you can improve your credit score. And you'll eventually be able to get some of the best deals on the market.

A business credit card with no personal credit check is hard to come by. Secured business credit cards are much easier to get than regular unsecured business credit cards, but there's still a personal credit check involved, and you'll have to pay a security deposit. A personal credit check allows lenders to measure a business owner's ability to pay back any debts when there's little or no business credit history to review.

In addition to the personal credit check, lenders require business owners to provide a personal guarantee. This states that the business owner is personally responsible for paying off any balance if the business is unable to do so. Very few business cards don't require a personal guarantee.

If you don't have good credit, there are personal credit cards that do not require a credit check at all. You can use them for business purposes, but they usually require a security deposit and don't let you borrow money.

If you decide that you're comfortable applying for a business credit card despite the personal credit check, check out our editors' top picks for the best business credit cards for each credit level. You might also be interested in WalletHub's credit building guide. This will help you on your road to excellent credit.

The best American Express business credit card with no credit check is the American Express Corporate Platinum Card because it offers the best rewards. Amex offers a few corporate credit cards that do not check the applicant's credit history or report account activity to the consumer credit bureaus. Amex will review the company's financial track record instead.

Best American Express Business Credit Cards with No Credit Check

• The American Express Corporate Platinum Card: $550 annual fee
• The American Express Corporate Gold Card: $250 annual fee
• The American Express Corporate Green Card: $75 annual fee

To get an American Express corporate credit card, your company must be a corporation, LLC, or LLP, and have an annual revenue of at least $4 million. That means Amex corporate cards are not a good option for small business owners.

Credit cards for small business owners with no credit check are hard to come by. All of the Amex cards for small businesses, for instance, require a personal credit check. If you are in the market for a credit card with no credit check, you will most likely have to apply for a personal credit card instead, which can also be used for business-related purchases.

For more options, you can compare 2022's best credit cards with no credit check on WalletHub.

One of the best secured credit cards with no credit check is Secured Sable ONE Credit Card because it gives 2% cash back at Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Uber, Uber Eats, Spotify, and Whole Foods, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Plus, this card has a $0 annual fee. There are, however, a few more secured credit cards with no credit check to choose from.

Best Secured Credit Cards with No Credit Check

The annual fees on secured credit cards with no credit check range from $0 to $48 per year. The Sable Credit Card requires a $10 security deposit. The rest of the cards require a minimum deposit of $200. All these cards report information to the big 3 major credit bureaus each month. So, any of them can help you immediately begin rebuilding your credit.

Still, it's important to note that even a secured credit card with no credit check has some approval requirements. You have to be at least 18 years old, for one thing, and you need enough money for the refundable security deposit as well as your monthly bill payments.

Why You Shouldn't Rule Out Secured Cards With a Credit Check

Before you apply for a secured credit card with no credit check, make sure you actually need it. Even secured cards that require a credit check are pretty easy to get. They're meant for people with bad credit, and the refundable security deposit you place reduces the risk for issuers.

Individual issuers may have specific requirements that rule some people out. For example, you can't get most secured cards with a non-discharged bankruptcy on your credit report. But there are plenty of other cards whose main requirement is that you have enough money to fund the security deposit. Plus, while they may do a credit check, most applicants should still get approved.

What You Need to Know About Credit Checks

Keep in mind that the hard inquiry that comes with a credit check shouldn't be too big of a deal, if you end up opening an account. The score damage will be temporary. And you won't be able to qualify for any worthwhile loans until you improve your score anyway. So, if you don't need the best possible score right now, taking a short-term hit to achieve long-term gains is the way to go.

Finally, if you're nervous about getting rejected, you can check for pre-approval before applying. Pre-approval doesn't mean you're guaranteed an account. But it is a sign that your odds of approval are extremely high. If after all that you're not confident in your ability to get approved, you can always go for a secured credit card with no credit check.

No, there aren't any soft pull store credit card. Store credit cards only use soft pulls during the pre-approval process.

When you receive a pre-approved offer for a store credit card, it is because the issuer used a soft pull to do a preliminary check of your credit and determined that you were likely to be approved. But if you choose to apply for the card, the issuer will always perform a hard pull of your credit report. A hard pull will likely cause a small drop in your credit score, but it should bounce back quickly.

While there aren't any soft pull store credit cards, there are a few general-purpose credit cards that do not require a credit check. They just aren't affiliated with any particular retailer.

No, there aren't any unsecured cards you can get with no credit check. There are, however, secured credit cards that don't check applicants' credit history. 

However, regardless of your credit profile, if you're going to apply for an unsecured credit card, a credit check is necessary. An issuer must have some indication of your ability to pay back the debt. And the information in your credit report will assist them in making that assessment. Even if you're a student, or have limited credit, an issuer will need to know that before they'll extend you any credit.

What you should know about credit checks for unsecured cards

While there is a line of unsecured credit cards available for people with bad or limited credit, approval is not guaranteed without a credit check. That might seem to defeat the purpose, providing customers an opportunity to rebuild or establish credit. But there are instances that may surface during a credit check that would prompt an issuer to maybe reject an application.  

Plus, if you have a pending bankruptcy on your credit report, you will have little chance of getting approved for an unsecured credit card, and likely most secured cards. You might still be in the running for a secured credit card with no credit check. 

Here are some good secured credit cards with no credit check:

It is also worth noting that you may receive offers for cards that guarantee approval or offers that you are “pre-approved” for; but those also require you to apply. And if you submit an application, you are giving the bank permission to permission to check your credit report and your credit score may suffer as a result.

Yes, applying for a secured card does count as a hard inquiry most of the time. Nearly all secured credit cards will do a hard inquiry into applicants' credit reports to assess their creditworthiness, but there are exceptions such as the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card and the Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Preferred® Credit Card. These secured credit cards with no credit check will not do a hard pull on your credit when you apply.

A hard inquiry, also known as a hard pull, will likely drop your credit score by a few points temporarily. But if you haven't had any hard pulls conducted on your credit report over the past six months and you don't plan on applying for a sizable loan in the next few months, this shouldn't be a problem. Your credit score should rebound from a hard inquiry within a few months.

Also, remember that even though your credit score may drop after you apply, responsible use of a secured card will ultimately help your score much more than the inquiry will hurt it. The hard pull will likely be worth it, in other words, especially since secured cards tend to be pretty easy to get approved for. You can track your progress with free daily credit score and report updates from WalletHub.