$300 Credit Limit Credit Cards with No Deposit

Top Recommended $300 Credit Limit Credit Cards

Arro Mastercard - No Hard Inquiries and up to $2,500 limits

. Why This is our TOP Recommendation? - We are absolutely all over the Arro Mastercard because it is one of the rare unsecured credit cards targeting people with poor credit that does not do any hard inquiry or rely on your FICO scores. Furthermore, they have such low fees that put other subprime issuers to shame. You simply have to meet their minimum monthly income requirements ($1,800/month) and have a positive bank balance of at least $50. The APR at 16% is also very low for any type of credit card and lower than many prime credit cards.

We also like the fact that credit limit increases are totally within your control and not the whims and fancies of the card issuers. You simply have to complete financial literacy courses on their app and get a credit limit increase. Completing certain courses can also reduce what is already a low APR>

Approval Requirements - Arro does not consider your FICO score when evaluating your credit worthiness. Instead, they require that you have a minimum monthy income of $1,800 and a consistent positive bank balance of at least $50. You would need to link your bank account to Arro via PLAID.

Fees - $1/month for the first year, then $3/month.
APR - 16%.
Credit Limit - $50 - $200, maximum credit is $2,500.
FICO score needed - Arro does not look at FICO scores. You need a minimum monthly income of $1,800 and a minimum positive bank balance of $50. This card is ideal for rebuilders who have FICO scores in the 500-650 range as it has such low fees.

Read our review of the Arro Mastercard.

Upgrade Select Visa - $500 - $2,500 Credit Limit

Why We Like and Recommend This Card? - We like the Upgrade Select Visa because it $39 annual fee is very low for an unsecured credit card that target those with poor credit in the 580 to 640 FICO score range. They also do not charge any monthly fee or any one-time program fee. The maximum credit limit of of $2,500 is also very generous for such a card. Though the minimum starting credit limit is $500 (higher than the $300 threshold for cards on this page), it's low annual fee and potential for credit limit increases is the reason why this card is also on our recommended list. The only reason we this card is in second place is because the issuer will still look at FICO scores and you need a minimum FICO score of 580 to get approved.

Upgrade Select Visa is Different From Regular Credit Cards - I want to also explain that the Upgrade Select Visa is different from a regular credit card. It is actually a line of credit for a loan within a credit card. When you apply for the card, you will be given an APR and a term maturity (up to 3 years). When you use your Ugrade Select Card, Upgrade calls it a draw. You will be paying back this draw in equal installments over the term maturity. For example, if your term maturity is 3 years and you charge $500 to the card, you will be paying back $500 over 3 years.

Approval Requirements - FICO score of at least 580. Ideally it should be closer to 600 and above.

Annual Fee - $39
Credit Limit - $500 to $2,500
FICO Score Needed - 580-660. You would need a FICO score of at least 580 to get approved.

Read our review of the Upgrade Select Visa

$300 Limit Credit Cards That Have Higher Fees

Below is a list of credit cards that also have $300 credit limits but come with much higher fees. Very often, they charge both an annual fee and monthly fee and some even charge a one-time processing fee. Their TFCL ratio (Total Fee to Credit Limit Ratio) is very higher and hovers around 35% on average. That means that you are paying 35% of your credit limit in the form of fees. And on an absolute basis, the fees all come up to over a hundred dollars. So our suggestion is to avoid these cards. Since the Arro Mastercard (which is our top recommendation) does not perform any credit checks, there are alternatives to these high fee low limit credit cards.

The cards below include the ones from Atlanticus (Imagine Visa, Aspire Mastercard and Fortiva Mastercard), Continental Finance (Reflex, Surge and Fit Mastercard) and the First Premier Bank Mastercard.

Card Annual Fee (AF) Monthly Fee (MF) Program Fee (PF) Credit Limit (CL) Fees/Credit Limit Ratio (TFCL)
Reflex Mastercard $300 Annual Fee = Y1 = $75, Y2 = $99 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $10/month = $120/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $300 $600 after 6 months TFCL Ratio = $75/$300 = 25% Y2 = $(99 + 120)/$600 = 36.5%
Fit Mastercard $400 Annual Fee = $99 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $6.25/month = $75/year Program Fee = $89 Credit Limit = $400 $800 after 6 months TFCL Ratio = $(99 + 89)/$400 = 47% Y2 = $(99 + 75)/$800 = 21.75%
Imagine Visa $350 Annual Fee = Y1 = $85, Y2 = $39 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $7.25/month = $87/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $350 TFCL Ratio = $85/$350 = 24.28% Y2 = $(39 + 87)/$350 = 36%
Fortiva Mastercard $350 Annual Fee = Y1 = $85, Y2 = $39 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $7.25/month = $87/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = $350 TFCL Ratio = $85/$350 = 24.28% Y2 = $(39 + 87)/$350 = 36%
Aspire $350 Annual Fee = Y1 = $85, Y2 = $39 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0, then $7.25/month = $87/year Program Fee = $0 Credit Limit = 350 TFCL Ratio = $85/$350 = 24.28% Y2 = $(39 + 87)/$350 = 36%
First Premier $300 Annual Fee = Y1 = $50, Y2 = $45 Monthly Fee = Y1 = $0/month, Y2 = $6.25/month = $75/Year Program Fee = $95 Credit Limit = $300 TFCL Ratio = $(95 + 50)/$300 = 48.33% Y2 = $(45 + 75)/$300 = 40%

How to use your $300 Credit Limit?

A $300 credit limit is close to the lowest limit you get with an unsecured credit card when you have bad credit. In order to keep your credit utilization at 30%, you should only spend at most $90 on the card a month and make sure you pay in full (PIF). $90 is not really a lot and I suggest you put some small recurring bills on the card and set it on autopay. For example, you could put a couple of streaming service on the card and use it to simply build credit and not charge anything else.