Getting a Credit Card Made Easy – 5 Tips

You already have a major head start when it comes to finding an easy credit card to get. But we Hubsters are generous folk, so here are a few more pointers to ensure success.

Check Your Credit & Cash – You can’t know what you need without first assessing what you have. So check your credit score, review your free credit report and take stock of how much money you can attribute to monthly credit card payments. This will help narrow your options a lot as well as pay dividends in terms of account management.

Compare, Compare, Compare – Once you know what type of credit card you need, figure out which terms are most important to you – no fee, rewards, 0% APR, etc. Then directly compare offers until you find one that closest fits your ideal.

Start with a Secured Card – Unfortunately, decent unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit don’t really exist. They tend to charge high non-refundable fees and even higher interest rates in return for only a small amount of borrowing power. That’s why we always recommend biting the bullet and placing a deposit on a secured card.
Getting a secured card will enable you to start the credit-building process as soon as possible. It will also give you complete control over your spending limit and help you avoid racking up debt, since your limit usually equals the amount of your security deposit. A secured card obviously won’t give you an emergency loan, though.

Don't Forget Store Cards – Retailer-affiliated credit cards are surprisingly useful credit-improvement tools. They’re usually available to anyone with fair credit or better. And hardly any of them charge annual fees. Plus, the best of the bunch offer some really great rewards.

Get Your Priorities Straight – When credit-improvement is your top priority, a low annual fee (or no annual fee) is the most important thing to look for in a credit card. Most credit-score damage involves missed payments, after all. So you should try to save as much money as possible, if only to build an emergency fund.
Besides, if you have bad credit, you’re unlikely to qualify for good enough rewards or a low enough interest rate to warrant paying an annual fee when fee-free options are available. And they are. For example, the secured credit cards from Capital One, Citi, Discover, First National Bank of Omaha and Harley-Davidson don’t charge annual fees.

Keep these pointers in mind as you contemplate which card to apply for. For your convenience, we put together a quick recap of our top picks, which you can check out below.

Easiest Credit Cards to Get Approved For

Best For	Card Name	Annual Fee	APR	Editor’s Rating
No Min. Credit Score	[cc-name id="940"]	[cc-annual-fee id="940"]	[cc-apr id="940"]	[cc-editors-rating id="940"]
No Credit Check	[cc-name id="503"]	[cc-annual-fee id="503"]	[cc-apr id="503"]	[cc-editors-rating id="503"]
Low Annual Fee	[cc-name id="726"]	[cc-annual-fee id="726"]	[cc-apr id="726"]	[cc-editors-rating id="726"]
No Annual Fee	[cc-name id="2313"]	[cc-annual-fee id="2313"]	[cc-apr id="2313"]	[cc-editors-rating id="2313"]
Unsecured	[cc-name id="676"]	[cc-annual-fee id="676"]	[cc-apr id="676"]	[cc-editors-rating id="676"]
Business	[cc-name id="89"]	[cc-annual-fee id="89"]	[cc-apr id="89"]	[cc-editors-rating id="89"]

If you want to track your credit improvement as you use your new card, sign up for a free WalletHub account. You will get free daily credit score and report updates as well as personalized improvement tips and alerts when you can qualify for better cards.

Ask The Experts: Safely Navigating the Application Process

For tips on how consumers can maximize their credit-card approval odds and avoid getting ripped off as they build or rebuild their credit standing, we posed the following questions to a panel of leading experts in the fields of banking, management and economics. You can check out their bios and responses below.

Are the easiest credit cards to get necessarily the worst credit cards on the market?
Why aren't credit cards easier to get?
What advice do you have for someone who's having trouble getting a credit card?
Do you think credit cards will become easier or harder to get in the next 12 months?

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