Credit Card | Worst For: | Year on Worst List |
First PREMIER® Bank Gold Credit Card | Rebuilding Credit | 10th |
Mastercard® Gold Card | Rewards | 5th |
Hope Federal Credit Union Platinum Visa | Financing New Purchases | 2nd |
TrustCo Bank Hometown Visa Signature® Real Rewards Card | Balance Transfers | 1st |
Goodyear Credit Card | Store Card | 4th |
Educational Employees Credit Union Student Credit Card | Student Spending | 4th |
CorTrust Bank Visa Business Credit Card | Small Business | 7th |
6 Tips for Avoiding a Scary Credit Card
Halloween comes but once per year, yet scary credit cards are always lurking. So, here are some tips that will help you determine whether a given offer is a trick or a treat.
- Evaluate Your Needs: There is no one-size-fits-all credit card. From the credit standing needed for approval to the fee structure and associated perks, there are myriad ways in which one credit card offer may differ from another. And since cards that excel in one particular area – rewards, for example – are likely to be deficient in others, it’s very important that you determine exactly what you need before looking into specific offers.
If you don’t know how good (or bad) your credit is, you can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub. You can also check out WalletHub’s guide on choosing a credit card for tips on which type to get. - Try CardAdvisor: WalletHub has a new tool that helps you pick the right credit card for your needs. All you have to do is answer a few anonymous questions based on your credit standing and financial obligations, and CardAdvisor will automatically compare more than 1,500 offers to make a personalized recommendation.
- Use the Island Approach: The Island Approach is a credit card strategy that involves isolating different types of transactions on different accounts in order to garner the best possible collection of terms. For example, this might entail getting a rewards card for everyday expenses that you pay off completely by the end of the month and a 0% balance transfer credit card to lower the cost of existing debt.
- Compare Terms, Not Branding: Consumers too often get hung up on which bank issues their credit card or what cards they’ve seen advertised on TV. Those things don’t matter. Dollars and cents are what counts, so make sure to compare relevant offers across issuers in order to identify the card that will save you the most money.
- Read the Fine Print: While credit card disclosures have improved in recent years, they still aren’t perfect. And even though fine print can lead to headaches, it can also contain crucial information that impacts how much you pay for card use as well as the overall benefit you derive from your card.
- Track Your Progress: Keep tabs on your spending and payment habits by reviewing your monthly account statements. Sign up for free 24/7 credit monitoring so you’ll find out about important credit report changes right away. And check your personalized credit analysis on WalletHub for advice on improving your credit score. Using a credit card calculator to plan a debt payoff strategy before transferring a balance or making a big-ticket purchase will also help you minimize interest payments.
Methodology
To make their selections for the worst credit cards, WalletHub’s editors compare more than 1,500 credit card offers based on their fees, interest rates, rewards, credit score requirements, other approval requirements, and any unique features that could have a big impact on a cardholder. This enables us to identify the worst credit cards to use for various purposes and situations, including the worst credit cards for rewards, financing new purchases, balance transfers, business, building credit and more.
Given that any credit card could prove to be a poor choice when misused or employed for the wrong type of transaction, we only consider credit card offers with relevant terms to be candidates for the worst credit card in a particular category. For example, if a card does not offer a reduced introductory balance transfer APR, or does not even allow balance transfers to begin with, we do not consider it for the worst balance transfer credit card category. Similarly, we do not consider credit cards that require good or excellent credit for approval as possibilities for the distinction of worst credit card for rebuilding credit. And we do not consider co-branded credit cards for any categories except for the worst store credit cards.
To help consumers make the right choices for their wallets, WalletHub’s editors also include the best credit cards to consider as alternatives in each category. The best cards are selected in a similar fashion, just focusing on terms that stand out in a good way.
Credit card offers change regularly, so WalletHub’s editors monitor the market and update their worst credit card selections whenever it’s warranted.
Good Alternative to Consider
This page includes information about the Discover it® Secured product that is not currently available on WalletHub and may be out of date.
With no annual fee, the Discover it® Secured can be free to use as long as you pay your bill in full every month. It also gives you 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations (for the first $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter) as well as 1% on everything else. Plus, Discover will double your first-year rewards earnings.