Instant Approval Credit Cards

If you’re looking for a card that can be used for anything, the Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® is your best bet. You can get approved for it with bad credit. It offers a $300 starting spending limit. And you can use it wherever Visa is accepted.

If you don’t need a small emergency loan, the best course of action is to improve your credit inexpensively with a secured card. Secured cards are cheaper than unsecured cards, build credit just as effectively, and offer the closest thing you’ll find to guaranteed instant-approval.

Just about any credit card you can apply for online may offer instant approval, but it’s never guaranteed. Instant approval usually happens when an applicant more than meets a card’s requirements. But some applications will need closer scrutiny, causing the process to take a bit longer.

To increase your chances of instant approval when applying for a credit card, check your credit score to make sure it exceeds the card’s minimum required score. In addition, it’s a good idea to check for pre-approval if the card issuer allows it. If you’re pre-approved for a card, your chances of instant approval are very high. Having a high income will also improve your odds.

Finally, it’s worth noting that you won’t be instantly approved for a credit card if the credit report(s) that the issuer tries to check are locked or frozen.

Instant credit is short for instant credit card, which is a credit card that gives instant approval to qualified applicants who apply online and can be used to make purchases immediately, before the card arrives in the mail. But instant credit can mean other things, too, as it’s a pretty general term. For example, people often use it in reference to instant approval credit cards that don’t necessarily allow instant use.

You could also make the case that you’re getting instant credit anytime you’re approved for a new credit card or a credit limit increase. Along those lines, you’re getting instant credit whenever a credit card payment goes through since it frees up some of your credit limit for spending.

But people in search of instant credit typically need it to face some sort of financial emergency. Many also have bad credit. Unfortunately, there are only two instant credit cards for bad credit, and neither is good for financing emergency expenses. 

Hopefully, you can afford to wait the 14-24 business days it usually takes to get a credit card in your hands. If not, you can check out some of your best choices below.

Here are some of the best instant credit cards:

• Instant Approval and Use: Capital One Secured Mastercard – $0 annual fee
• Instant Approval and Use: Fingerhut Credit Account – $0 annual fee 
• Instant Approval: Credit One Unsecured Visa – $0 to $99 annual fee
• Instant Approval: Discover it Secured Card – $0 annual fee
• Instant Credit Card for Good Credit: Capital One Venture – $95 annual fee (waived the first year)

Finally, it’s worth noting that some people might use instant credit in more of a credit-score sense, meaning either instant credit improvement or instantly establishing credit from scratch. Both are possible, to a certain extent, but you can’t expect overnight miracles. 

For example, you can get your first credit score within weeks of opening a starter credit card. And you can improve your score just as fast by paying down your credit card balances and any collections accounts you may have.

Just about all gas station credit cards can be gas credit cards with instant approval. When you can apply online, it’s almost always possible to receive instant approval (or denial). But issuers never guarantee an instant decision. You’re likely to receive one if you apply for one of the easiest gas cards to get. And in general, your chances for instant approval are high if you apply for a card where your credit score exceeds the minimum required.

But issuers consider many factors on an application, such as income, number of recent credit inquiries, past bankruptcies and more. So it’s always possible an issuer will need more time to come to a decision. And the approval process may take longer if the issuer cannot immediately verify the personal information on the application.

Best Gas Credit Cards for Instant Approval:

• Discover it® Secured
• Walmart® Store Card
• Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
• Marathon Credit Card
• BP Credit Card
• Shell Credit Card

Again, just about any gas credit card offers instant approval. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get it. Factors that will increase your likelihood of getting instant approval for any credit card include: a high credit score, a high income, and completely correct and up-to-date information on your credit card application.

Just about all business credit cards allow instant approval, at least if you apply online. But even though an instant decision is likely, it’s not guaranteed. The credit card company may take more time to decide whether an applicant meets their requirements. Or they may have trouble verifying the information on the application right away if there’s something incorrect or outdated.

In order to get the best chances of instant approval for a business credit card, your personal credit score should exceed the minimum requirements of the card you apply for. The higher your income, the better your chances are, too. Secured business credit cards for bad credit will provide the highest odds of instant approval.

Here are the best instant approval business credit cards:

• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
• Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card
• Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business
• Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business
• Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card

Getting instant approval on business credit cards is not unusual if you apply online. But you shouldn’t expect to receive it, as in some cases approval might take a few weeks. After approval, delivery of a card usually takes 7-10 business days, but many issuers allow you to expedite either for free or for a fee.

The best instant approval store cards are the following:

• Amazon Credit Card
• Walmart Credit Card
• Target Credit Card
• Costco Anywhere Visa
• Sam’s Club Credit Card
• GAP Card
• American Eagle Outfiters Card
• Sears Card
• Macy's Credit Card
  

It really depends what store you like most, as rewards are mainly tailored for purchases made in those stores.

It's also important to mention that while these offer instant approval, they do not offer guaranteed approval.

The best department store credit card for bad credit with instant approval is the Fingerhut Credit Account because it’s available to people with any credit score. Fingerhut’s website even says “When you apply for a Fingerhut Credit Account issued by WebBank, you will get an answer instantly.” The Fingerhut card doesn’t offer rewards or special financing. But it does have a $0 annual fee. It can only be used at Fingerhut. Fingerhut is an online retailer that sells a wide variety of products from clothes to kitchenware to electronics.

And even if the instant decision on your Fingerhut credit application is “No,” you still have a chance. Fingerhut will offer to put you into their FreshStart program. With FreshStart, you purchase something from the website as an installment loan. If you demonstrate responsibility by making all your payments on time, Fingerhut will then graduate you to a credit account instead.

Aside from Fingerhut, there aren’t really any other department store credit cards for bad credit with instant approval, unfortunately. But you can look into general secured cards, which will probably offer you better terms and which will have a good chance of instant approval if you apply online. And you can use a secured card anywhere, while you can only use store cards at one merchant.