Easiest Credit Cards to Get Approved For

Secured credit cards are the easiest type of credit card to get approved for, as they're intended for people with bad credit or no credit and some won't even run a credit check when you apply. Secured cards require you to put down a refundable deposit, which becomes your credit line. Other than that, they work the same as any other credit card and can be a great way to build credit.

Common Requirements for Secured Cards

• 18+ years old
• $200+ for a refundable security deposit
• Enough income for monthly bill payments
• U.S. mailing address
• Social Security number (ITIN or passport accepted in some cases)

Secured cards do not offer guaranteed approval, and some are more difficult to get approved for than others. There are also several unsecured cards with relatively low requirements, designed for college students, non-students with no credit history, and people with bad credit.

Easiest Credit Cards to Get in 2023

There are a number of good credit cards with relatively easy approval requirements, so be sure you compare your options and also find a card that will meet your needs and save you the most money. You can find more cards with low requirements on WalletHub's list of the easiest credit cards to get.

One of the easiest credit cards to get with bad credit is the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card because there's no credit check required for approval. As long as you have a U.S. mailing address, proof of your identity and some income, you can get an OpenSky. This card has an annual fee of $35 and requires a refundable deposit of at least $200 to “secure” the credit line. The deposit amount becomes your credit limit.

If you're looking for an unsecured credit card for bad credit, one of the easiest to get is the Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit. This card gives you 1% cash back on gas and grocery purchases, as well as 1% back on mobile phone, internet, cable and satellite TV services. The card has an annual fee of $75 intro 1st yr, $99 after.

Easiest Credit Cards to Get with Bad Credit

• No Credit Check: OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
• No Deposit: Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit
• Rewards Categories: U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa® Secured Card
• Unlimited Cash Back: Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Store Card: Amazon.com Secured Credit Card

You should be wary of credit card companies that offer unsecured credit cards to people with bad credit, though. They can give you an unsecured line of credit, but most come with big fees and high interest rates. Unless you need an emergency loan, it's better to get a secured credit card and build up your score enough to qualify for a good unsecured card. 

One of the easiest credit cards to get with fair credit is the Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card. This credit card accepts people even with limited credit and reports monthly to the three major credit bureaus. Cardholders typically get 1 - 1.5% cash back on purchases. The Petal 2 Card also has a $0 annual fee.

In general, the easiest type of credit card to get is a secured card or an unsecured card for bad credit or no credit. There are plenty of credit cards that require fair credit at a minimum, but if easy approval is what you're after, you'll want to exceed the card's requirements rather than just meet them. Checking for pre-approval will give you a good idea of which credit cards will be easiest to get with your fair credit score.

Easy Credit Cards to Get with Fair Credit

It's not hard to find easy credit cards to get with fair credit – even ones with rewards. But it is hard to find worthwhile 0% intro APRs on cards for fair credit. So, it's probably best to pay off your balance in full each month. Plus, if you consistently pay on time, you should see your credit score start moving up toward the good credit range.

One of the easiest unsecured cards to get approved for is the Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit. You can get approved for it even with bad credit. This card offers a $300 starting spending limit. And you can use it wherever Visa is accepted.

Easiest Unsecured Credit Cards to Get Approved For

The easiest unsecured credit cards to get generally work best for minor emergencies. You will only receive a small amount of spending power, after all.

Unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit also tend to be very expensive, charging lots of fees and high interest rates. So, 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 approval.

To learn more, check out WalletHub's complete list of the year's easiest credit cards to get approved for​.

The easiest credit cards to get with good credit are credit cards for fair, limited or bad credit. The Capital One Platinum Credit Card, the Petal Visa Credit Card, and the Target Credit Card should all be very easy to get with good credit, for example.

On the other hand, people with good credit can also have an easy time getting certain credit cards that require good credit or better. Capital One Quicksilver is on the easy end of credit cards with good credit, because Capital One credit cards are rumored to be easier to get than other credit cards - even when the cards have the same approval requirements on paper. This card requires good credit or better for approval, and it offers great rewards for spending.

People with good credit have a lot of credit card options to choose from. Every major credit card company offers credit cards for people with good credit. And many of them are great cards for rewards and travel. While no credit card company is really known as the “easiest” to get a credit card from, reports online suggest it's more difficult to get approved for a Chase credit card than cards from some other major issuers.

The banks with the easiest credit cards to get include Bank of America and Capital One. Both of these major banks are common choices for first credit cards. That's because both have credit cards for every level of credit standing.

If you have bad credit or no credit, the best banks are the ones that offer secured credit cards. Capital One, Bank of America, Citibank, and U.S. Bank are some of the major banks that offer this type of cards. Secured credit cards require a deposit, which serves as your credit limit. And in general, you can get a secured credit card with bad credit.

Here are some of the easiest credit cards to get:

Other things to consider before getting a credit card: 

It's worth noting that any previously-existing relationships you have with banks may come in handy, too. If the bank you have a checking account with offers a credit card, that will likely be an easy bank to get a credit card from. 

Your established relationship with your bank gives them access to your day-to-day deposit account history, which doesn't show up on your credit report. So, that's extra potentially good information that's available to your bank and not to other card issuers you might apply for a credit card with.

The easiest credit card to get with no credit is the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card because there's no credit check required for approval. As long as you're 18+, can afford at least a $200 deposit, and can make monthly bill payments, you'll probably get approved. With secured credit cards, your limit is usually the amount of your initial deposit. The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card has a $35 annual fee.

The easiest unsecured credit card to get with limited credit history is the Capital One Platinum Credit Card. The major upsides to this credit card are its $0 annual fee and its possibility of a credit line increase after only 6 months. However, the regular APR is a steep one, at 29.74% (V). So, it's best not to carry a balance on this card.

Easiest Credit Cards to Get with No Credit

There are a number of good starter credit cards and credit cards for people with no credit, with lenient approval requirements, that can easily help you start building a great credit score. You just have to use the one you pick responsibly.

Ultimately, you can check out or editors' latest picks for the easiest credit cards to get approved for on the market and weigh your options.

The easiest business credit card to get is the Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured credit card because it accepts applicants with bad credit. This card also rewards cardholders with 1.5% cash back on all purchases and has a $0 annual fee. A minimum security deposit of $1000 is required, though.

In general, the easiest credit cards for a business to get require bad-to-fair credit for approval. It's also worth noting that while you must have a business to get most of these cards, your personal credit history matters a lot more than your company's credit standing.

Easy Approval Credit Cards for Business

As you can see, there are a few easy approval business credit cards available, so you shouldn't let limited or damaged credit prevent you from getting the card your business needs. Also, remember that if you pay your bills on time and keep your credit utilization ratio low, your credit should steadily improve over time.

The easiest Capital One credit cards to get are the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card and the Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card. Both cards are available to applicants with bad credit and require a refundable security deposit, making them easier to get approved for than Capital One's unsecured credit card offers.

Easiest Capital One Credit Cards to Get

Your credit score isn't the only thing that will affect your ability to get approved for a Capital One credit card. Your income and relationship with Capital One will play a big role, too. According to Capital One's terms and conditions, you will need to meet at least the following requirements for their secured cards:

• $425+ more in monthly income than monthly rent/mortgage payment
• No more than 2 Capital One credit card applications in the past 45 days
• No past-due Capital One credit card account
• No over-limit Capital One credit card balance
• No Capital One credit card charged-off in the past 12 months
• No unresolved bankruptcy

The easiest credit cards for students to get are student credit cards for applicants with limited or no credit history and secured credit cards, which are available to people with no credit or even bad credit. Since college students tend to have higher incomes in the long term, issuers are willing to extend them better offers than most people without established credit could get. Think of it as an investment in a student's future financial needs, which could prove quite profitable for a bank that gets in on the ground floor.

The best student credit cards, including Journey Student Rewards from Capital One and the Capital One SavorOne Student Card, will be easy to get as long as you're enrolled in school and have at least a small income as well as a credit score that's anything but bad. In fact, you can get them even if you don't have a credit score yet (you've never had a loan or line of credit before). And if you do have bad credit, a secured card will still be pretty easy to get.

Easiest Student Credit Cards to Get

In general, student credit cards allow young people to begin building credit before entering the real world. If you use your card responsibly and pay your bills on time, you should be able to get a better deal once you graduate. And that's true whether you're starting with a student credit card or a secured card.