Credit Card Offers

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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A starter credit card is a credit card designed for people with limited credit or bad credit to use to establish and improve their credit standing (including students and immigrants). The best starter credit cards can help you build credit and save money. 

Based on WalletHub’s research and years of experience, starter credit cards usually have a $300+ starting credit limit, annual fees as low as $0, and rewards of up to 1% cash back on purchases (some cards are from WalletHub partners). If you’d like a recommendation, you can check out WalletHub’s expert picks for the best starter credit cards below.

Your objective in picking between these beginner credit cards should be to pay as little as possible in fees and interest. As long as you remember to pay your bill on time and in full every month, you will be able to build credit inexpensively with the right first-time credit card. Within a few years, you may be able to qualify for one of the market’s best overall credit cards.

Best Starter Credit Cards of February 2023

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The best credit card deals include initial rewards bonuses worth $500+, 0% intro APRs for as long as 15-21 months, and $0 fees for the first year or longer. Lots of money-saving credit card deals are available right now, but the details change often, and the very best credit card deals only last for a limited time.
 

6 Best Credit Card Deals of 2023

If you're not sure whether you can qualify for a given card, simply click on its name and compare the Required Credit Score to your own. If you don't know what that is, you can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub.

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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Four major types of credit cards are Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. These are the major credit card networks, which most credit cards belong to, and they dictate where cards can be used as well as what secondary benefits cards offer. Fundamentally, the credit cards on these networks work the same way, however.

4 Types of Credit Cards

1. Visa credit cards
2. Mastercard credit cards
3. American Express credit cards
4. Discover credit cards

Overall, Visa and Mastercard credit cards have the greatest worldwide acceptance, but American Express and Discover cards still have very broad coverage. When it comes to benefits, different networks provide different perks like rental car insurance, travel insurance and purchase protection. But which network benefits a card has is often left up to the issuing bank or credit union.

There are other nuances to these four types of credit cards, too. For example, American Express and Discover are the only two networks that issue their own credit cards. All cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks are issued by separate banks and credit unions.

Other Types of Credit Cards

Aside from the four types of credit cards split up by network, there are a lot of other categories that could be considered “types” of credit cards. For example, there are secured cards that require a deposit and unsecured cards that don’t. Similarly, some cards offer rewards, some are partnered with specific merchants, some have special financing deals, and some are only available to students or businesses.

You can learn more about the different types of credit cards on WalletHub.

A free credit card is an offer with no annual fees, monthly fees or one-time membership fees. Some free credit cards also have 0% introductory interest rates, $0 balance transfer fees and no foreign transaction fees. The best free cards are usually reserved for people with good or excellent credit, but no-fee options are available to people of all credit levels (some cards are from WalletHub partners). Even folks with bad credit can usually find a free credit card, as long as they’re willing to place a refundable deposit.

4 Best Free Credit Cards (February 2023)

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The top 5 credit cards offer good initial bonuses, valuable rewards, intro APRs on purchases and balance transfers, as well as $0 fees. As a result, the top credit cards can help you save hundreds of dollars per year.

Top 5 Credit Cards of 2023

Keep in mind that there are many worthy candidates for the top 5 credit cards, each of which excels in different areas. You can check out our editors’ latest picks for the best credit cards on the market to see which one suits your needs better.

Yes, you should get a credit card. You should get your own credit card account if you’re at least 18 years old, and you should get a parent to make you an authorized user on their credit card account when you are too young to get a credit card alone. There are many reasons to get a credit card, including convenience and earning rewards on purchases, but the best benefit is building the credit history needed to eventually land great interest rates when you need to borrow a lot of money, such as for a home or a vehicle.

Why Should You Get a Credit Card

• Credit cards help build credit. Every month you pay your bill on time and keep your account in good standing, credit cards report good information about you to credit bureaus – even if you don’t use the card at all.
• Credit cards are convenient. Credit cards – especially Visa and Mastercard – are accepted nearly everywhere in the world, and it’s much easier to keep track of a credit card than a wad of paper currency.
• Credit cards are better to use abroad than cash or debit cards. As long as you don’t get a credit card with foreign transaction fees, credit cards are a huge asset when traveling outside the U.S. You won’t have to worry about changing money into local currency because it happens automatically at a low rate with a credit card.
• It’s easier to deal with credit card fraud than debit card fraud. All credit card networks have $0 liability guarantees for fraudulent transactions. When credit card fraud takes place, it’s usually a simple matter of calling the card issuer to get the charges taken off your account. Debit card fraud isn’t as easy to deal with, because it involves money that was taken from your bank account.
• Many credit cards offer rewards on purchases. Most people welcome free money, and that’s exactly what credit card rewards are. With the best rewards credit cards, you can get up to 6% back on some types of purchases, or up to 2% back on every purchase with a flat-rate cash back card.

When used responsibly, credit cards are a win-win situation. Plus, many credit cards give the opportunity to earn bonus rewards and enjoy perks such as free airport lounge access or 0% introductory APRs. There are even credit cards for people with bad credit - some of which can help rebuild damaged credit.

It’s reasonable to be worried about the downsides of credit cards – namely, overspending. But don’t give up on building credit as a result. Tools like secured credit cards and automatic payment features can help mitigate the risks for people who are new to credit cards, and you don’t have to even use a credit card to make purchases for it to build your credit history.

If you aren’t quite ready to take on the risk yourself, ask a parent or good friend if they can add you to their card as an authorized user. As long as the primary cardholder uses the card responsibly, authorized users get to build credit history without having to remember to pay the bill.

Ultimately, remembering these three critical rules of credit card use can go a long way toward ensuring credit is a positive in your life: 1) Always pay your bill in full and on-time; 2) Don’t spend more than you can afford to pay every month; and 3) Always read the fine print before you apply. Do those things and your wallet will thank you.