Credit Cards for Good Credit

There isn’t an official Barclaycard credit score requirement, but you probably won’t be approved for any of the current offers without good or excellent credit. In fact, we only recommend applying for a Barclaycard if you have a credit score of 700+. 

True, that’s toward the upper end of what we’d normally call the good credit range. But barely meeting the absolute minimum Barclaycard credit score requirement probably won’t give you very high odds of approval. For the same reasons, Barclaycards that require “excellent” credit should be reserved for people with scores of 750+. 

These Barclaycards require excellent credit:

• Barclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard®
• Barclaycard CashForward™ World Mastercard®
• JetBlue Plus Card

These Barclaycards require good credit (or better):

• Mastercard® Black Card
• Lufthansa Credit Card
• American Airlines AAdvantage® Aviator™ Silver Credit Card
• Frontier Airlines Credit Card with No Annual Fee

It’s also important to note that your credit score isn’t the be-all and end-all of credit card approval. Credit card issuers also consider factors such as your income and how much debt you owe. But comparing your rating to a given Barclaycard’s credit score requirement is an easy way to get a rough sense of your approval odds.

If you don’t know whether your credit puts you in the Barclaycard ballgame, you can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub, the only site with free daily updates.

The Chase credit card credit score requirement is “good” or “excellent”, depending on the card. Most Chase cards require at least good credit, including the Amazon.com Credit Card, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ card, and the Ink Business cards. There are also several Chase credit cards that require excellent credit, including the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card. Chase does not offer credit cards for fair credit or lower credit scores at this time.

It is possible to get approved for a Chase credit card with a credit score lower than 700. Your chances are best if you have a high income and not much debt. Chase also looks at your employment status, housing information, credit history, payment history and more. These factors, combined with your credit score, will ultimately determine your creditworthiness. But the higher your credit score is above 700, the better your Chase credit card approval odds will be.

Chase Credit Card Credit Score Requirements

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Excellent Credit
• Chase Freedom Flex℠: Good Credit 
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Good Credit
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Good Credit
• Ink Business cards: Good Credit
• Amazon.com Credit Card: Good Credit
• Chase hotel cards: Good Credit
• Most Chase airline cards: Good Credit

Be sure to check your credit score regularly to assess your chances of meeting the Chase credit card credit score requirements. Chase also has an online pre-approval status tool that gives you an indication of how well your credit stacks up without having to formally apply.

You’ll know within seconds if you’re pre-approved for any Chase credit cards. There’s no guarantee you’ll be approved if you apply, but the odds are on your side. Pre-approvals are done using a soft inquiry or “soft pull” on your credit report, which means there’s no effect on your credit score. However, if you decide to actually apply for a card, Chase will perform a hard inquiry, which may cause a slight dip in your credit score.

You need a credit score of at least 700 for a Citi credit card in most cases. That means applicants for Citi credit cards need at least good credit to be approved. But it really depends on which card you’re after. Some Citi credit cards require higher scores, and one has no minimum score at all.

Below, you can see what Citi cards your credit score will allow you to pursue, along with other information about approval.

Here’s what else you should know about the credit score you need for a Citi credit card:

• Limited History: For those with little or no credit history, the Citi® Secured Mastercard® is a good option. A refundable security deposit of $200 is required. It doesn’t give any rewards, but it does offer a $0 annual fee and can help you rebuild your credit.
• Fair credit (640-699): With fair credit, you have a good shot at getting one of Citi’s various store cards. These cards can only be used at their associated store. Some examples of store cards issued by Citi that require at least fair credit are Staples® Credit Card, Best Buy® Store Card and Goodyear Credit Card.
• Good credit (700-749): Good credit opens you up to some of Citi’s more attractive credit card offerings. You can get one of the best cashback cards on the market, Citi® Double Cash Card, if you have at least good credit. Other cards that require at least good include Citi Simplicity Card, Citi Diamond Preferred and the Citi Rewards+ Card. And if you’re a frequent American Airlines flyer, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® also requires at least good credit while offering 2 miles / $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants and on America Airlines purchases (1 mile / $1 on all other purchases).
• Excellent credit (750 and up): You’ll be eligible for all of Citi’s cards with a score in this range, assuming your income and other information check out. Some excellent-credit-only offerings include Citi Prestige (5 points / $1 spent on purchases at airlines, travel agencies and restaurants and 50,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months) and Costco Credit Card (cash back oriented, offering 1 - 4% cash back on different spending categories).
• Other requirements: It takes more than just a good enough credit score to get Citi credit card approval. In particular, you need enough income to pay the monthly bills, along with your existing debts. You’ll also need a valid Social Security number (or ITIN) and U.S. mailing address.

Citi might send a pre-qualified credit card offer to potential customers, but while this increases your chances for approval, it does not guarantee it. If you have received such an offer, visit Citi’s web page and enter your invitation code and last name to apply. Also, keep in mind that applying for a Citi or any other credit card triggers hard inquiries and can temporarily lower your score - the more inquiries over a short period of time, the more damage to your score. So it’s best to know where you stand before applying for any credit card. You can check your credit score and track your progress for free, right here on WalletHub.

You can get a high limit credit card by having excellent credit and a large income. Picking the right credit card goes a long way, too.

If you’re applying for a new credit card with a high limit, your best bet is to target cards known for high minimum initial credit limits. Cards’ terms and conditions usually show the minimum limit, and there are plenty of cards that start at $5,000 to $10,000, such as Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve, Bank of America Cash Rewards and Capital One Venture. But you should make sure you know the ins and outs of high limit credit cards before you apply.

In general, your credit limit is determined by the credit card issuer, based primarily on your income and credit history. So, the higher your income and the better your credit history, the more likely you will receive a new card with a high initial credit limit. But issuers take other things into account too, like the number of other accounts you have and the length of your history.

Here is how you can get a high credit limit on your credit card:

• Apply for a credit card with a high starting limit. Chase Sapphire Reserve has a $10,000 minimum. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture are some of the credit cards with minimum credit limits of $5,000.
  High limit cards usually come with annual fees ($450 for Sapphire Reserve), so you’ll have to decide if high spending power is worth it. They also often have good travel rewards. Sapphire Reserve gives you a $300 travel credit each year, and Venture offers 50,000 initial bonus points, redeemable for $500 in travel purchases. And they require good or excellent credit. If this limits your options, consider a card with fewer rewards and a smaller limit. Capital One Quicksilver’s minimum limit is $300, but it requires only limited credit and gives 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
• Improve your credit score. High limit credit cards typically require good or excellent credit. If you check your latest credit score and discover that you don’t qualify, that means you have some work to do.
  You need to add positive information to your credit report, which you can do by using a credit card responsibly and catching up on any past-due bills, among other things. A good credit card to use in the meantime is Capital One QuicksilverOne. Its minimum credit limit is only $300, but you can get approved with limited credit, and you’ll earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. There is a $39 annual fee, though.
• Earn a higher credit limit with good behavior. Once you have paid on time for several months, you will be eligible for credit limit increases. The issuer may automatically raise your credit limit after reviewing your account, usually in 6 to 12 month intervals. How much depends on how responsibly you are using the card. Not all issuers will give automatic increases.
  An automatic increase is typically a soft inquiry which will not show up on your credit report. An issuer must get your permission to generate a hard inquiry for a credit limit increase.
• Request a credit limit increase. You can also request a credit limit increase, either online or by calling the issuer’s customer service department. You will either get the requested increase, receive a lower counteroffer from the issuer or be denied the increase.
  Requesting a credit limit increase usually results in a hard inquiry, which could hurt your credit score. However, some issuers – including Discover and Wells Fargo – now use soft inquiries in most cases.

A high limit credit card will help raise the total available credit listed on your credit report, which can help to lower your overall credit utilization ratio. You should aim for credit utilization below 30%. If you’re unable to get a high limit card, you can pay off purchases right away to free up spending power.

The best credit card for a 700 credit score could be the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card if you’re eager to earn travel rewards, Blue Cash Preferred if you’d prefer cash back or Wells Fargo Platinum card if you want 0% APRs. It all depends on your individual needs, as no card does everything best. But you do want to focus on cards that require “good” credit or below, since 700 is a good credit score. Of course, there are other things that affect the application process too, like income and the number of recent inquiries on your report.

A good way to figure out whether you’re eligible for a particular credit card with your 700 credit score is to check for pre-approval on the issuer’s website. If you’re pre-approved for a card, you’re not guaranteed approval, but your odds are high – usually around 90%. You can do a pre-approval check for most of the best credit cards for a 700 credit score.

Here are the best credit cards for 700 credit scores

As you may have noticed, a lot of the best credit cards for 700 credit scores don’t have annual fees. So, you can pick up some great perks without having to shell out money for the privilege of having a card.

The best credit card rate for good credit is 0%. Most 0% APR credit cards require good credit or better for approval. But 0% rates are only temporary. Once they expire, you’ll pay the regular APR. In that sense, a good credit card rate for good credit is below 20%.

That’s generally the starting point for people with credit scores from 700 to 749. Interest rates are usually listed as a range. So the higher your credit score, the better your chances of securing an interest rate at the low end of the range. Other factors such as your income and debt level also play a part in determining your interest rate.

Here are some good credit card rates for good credit:

• 0% APR for 14 months on purchases and balance transfers: Discover it Cash Back. Regular APR: 13.99% - 24.99% (V). 3% transfer fee. 5% cash back on purchases in categories that change quarterly and 1% on everything else. No annual fee.
• 0% APR for 18 months on balance transfers: Citi Double Cash. Regular APR: 15.49% - 25.49% (V). 3% transfer fee ($5 minimum). 2% cash back on all purchases; 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay. No annual fee.
• 0% APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers: EveryDay Credit Card from American Express. Regular APR: 14.99% - 25.99% (V). $0 transfer fee for the first 60 days. 10,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in the first three months. 2 points per $1 on the first $6,000 per year at supermarkets and 1 on everything else. No annual fee.
• 0% for 20 months on purchases and balance transfers: US Bank Visa Platinum Card. Regular APR: 11.99% - 23.99% (V). 3% transfer fee ($5 minimum). No rewards. No annual fee.
• 0% for 12 months on purchases and 21 on balance transfers: Citi Simplicity. Regular APR: 15.99% - 25.99% (V). 5% transfer fee ($5 minimum). No rewards. No annual fee.
• Regular APR: 14.74% - 24.74% (V): Capital One Venture Rewards. No introductory 0% APR. 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 in the first three months, worth $500 in travel. 2 miles per $1 on all purchases. No annual fee for first year, $95 after.

A good credit card rate for good credit can save you money if you’re paying down debt. But if you pay your credit card balance in full every month, a credit card’s interest rate will never be an issue. Maintaining a good payment history and reducing your debt-to-credit ratio will help raise your credit profile. In turn, it will improve your chances of qualifying for credit cards for excellent credit.

The tables turn when you reach good credit. Instead of you having to prove yourself to credit card companies, they must now compete for your business. For one thing, more issuers have credit cards for people with good credit than offers for folks with fair, limited or bad credit. And they’re all looking to woo trustworthy new customers who pose relatively little risk and thus have a lot of profit potential.

That’s why people with good credit can expect to earn roughly twice as much rewards value as someone with fair credit or enjoy 0% financing for about twice as long. Credit cards for people with good credit also tend to have lower regular APRs (21% on average) than those for folks with fair credit (23%).

After all, you’ll have access to many of the market’s best overall credit cards, which usually require good or excellent credit for approval.

You should have at least one credit card for good credit because simply having an open credit card account is the most efficient way to build and maintain a good (or even excellent) credit score. But the actual number of credit cards you have doesn’t make up a huge part of your credit score – roughly 5%-10%. The more important factors are your payment history, the total amount of your debts, and the total of your credit limits.

As a result, having fewer credit cards that you use responsibly is better than having more cards yet worse performance. But if you have multiple credit cards and use them all responsibly, by paying your bills in full by the due date every month and not maxing out your credit limits, then having multiple credit cards will absolutely help promote good credit.

Here’s how that works: Multiple credit cards means more total credit. More total credit gives you a bit more leeway with your credit utilization (the amount of credit you’re using vs. the amount extended to you). Utilization – overall and of each credit account separately – makes up about 20% of your credit score, so it’s best to keep that number low. And simply paying your bill on-time makes up about 35%-40% of a good credit score. The more on-time payments you have on your credit report, the better it is for your credit score.

If you’re planning on getting multiple credit cards to boost your credit score, it’s worth considering that the age of your credit accounts makes up roughly 15% of your score. Credit age matters because a longer credit history means you have more experience with credit in general, and lenders have more information to assess when determining your creditworthiness. If you add a few new cards to your history, your score may take a hit because your average credit age will get younger.

A few credit cards for good credit with instant approval are the Blue Cash Everyday card from American Express, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards credit card, and the Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card. They’re some of the most rewarding credit cards for good credit and have the potential to instantly approve an online application. That said, all credit cards offer instant approval to the right applicants, as long as you apply online.

To be the “right applicant” and get instant approval for a credit card, you’ll want to make sure you’re well within the approval criteria for the card you’re applying for. For the best results, have a clean credit report with no late payments, a “good” credit score and enough annual income to satisfy the credit card company that you’ll be able to pay your bill.

To further improve your instant approval odds, try applying for a credit card for fair credit rather than one that requires good credit at a minimum. As a person with good credit, you’ll be much more qualified. Store credit cards are a good example. They all require at least fair credit, have great rewards and are known for offering instant approval online or in person.

If it takes longer to get a decision on your credit application, it could be because they need to deliberate further on your information. It could also be because the credit card company is having trouble verifying your identity. In the case of the latter, they’ll likely ask you a few more questions and it could take a few days to get a decision.

The best credit card for a 660 credit score is the Capital One Platinum Credit Card, which has a $0 annual fee and $0 foreign transaction fees. After you make your first 5 payments on time, you could also get upgraded to a higher credit line. The Capital One Platinum Credit Card does not offer rewards, but it can help you build credit for free.

If you’re set on rewards, the best credit card for a 660 credit score is the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card. It offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases, which is an above average earning rate. However, it does charge an annual fee of $39 .

Best credit cards for a 660 credit score:

• Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card: $39 annual fee. Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. After the first 5 on-time payments, you may be eligible for a higher credit line. No foreign transaction fee.
• Amazon.com Store Card: $0 annual fee. Amazon Prime members get 5% on all Amazon.com purchases. Once approved, $10 Amazon gift card uploaded to your Amazon account.
• Capital One Platinum Credit Card: $0 annual fee. No rewards but possible access to a higher credit line after making first 5 payments on time. Possible upgrade to the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card once your credit improves.
• Journey Student Rewards from Capital One: $0 annual fee. Unlimited 1 - 1.25% cash back on all purchases; earnings bumped to 1.25% every month you pay your bill on time.
• Target Credit Card: $0 annual fee. Save 5% at Target in-store and online, plus an extra 30 days on returns. Most Target.com orders qualify for free 2-day shipping.

The best credit card for a 660 credit score is one that charges no or low fees. Credit cards for fair credit don’t have the best interest rates. So, try to pay your bill in full and on time every month. Doing so, along with keeping your credit utilization low, should eventually get your score in the good range. Before you apply for a card, you may be able to check for pre approval to test the waters. If you’re pre approved, you’re not guaranteed approval but your odds are about as high as they can be.