Mr Credit Card
On this page, you will find a very comprehensive list of credit cards for those of you with bad or poor credit. We list both unsecured cards (which require no security deposits) and secured ones as well. We also list cards with no credit checks that offer guaranteed approval. If your credit has been damaged and your scores are low due to bankruptcy, medical bills, charge offs, collections and liens, then these cards would be appropriate for rebuilding. But before we list them, please look out for the following when you are researching these cards:
One Application Fee - Many charge a one time application fee that can be as high as over one hundred dollars.
One time processing Fee - On top of that, most will add another layer of so called "processing fee".
Annual Fee - A fee you pay everything year for the "privilege" of using the card.
Monthly Processing Fee - Many cards will also charge you a monthly processing fee, which can range from $5 to $15.
Hence, we you add up everything, you may end up paying over a hundred dollars just to get a card and have to pay annual fees as well. But when your credit is not good, then I guess you have to take what is available. The key to rebuilding your credit is to pay your bills on time, slowly improve your credit score over time and then get a regular no annual fee credit card.
Best Credit Cards For Bad Credit Score (500 to 550) - Unsecured
This is one of the few unsecured subprime cards that has reasonable fees and a reward program. It also has the second best approval rate for applicants from our site. Unlike many of their peers, all they charge is an annual fee (no one-time application fees or monthly maintenance fees). They also allow you to earn points for gas rewards. They also have a record or credit line increases.
To improve your odds for this card, you should
- Have a checking account
- Have a credit score of at least 550
- Been discharged from bankruptcy for at least 1 year
Find out more about this card - it is the most popular card amongst our readers
If you have been already turned down by high fee unsecured cards, or already have one and are looking to get another line of credit, you might want to consider opening a Fingerhut Credit Account. This card has the highest approval rate for applicants from our site. It is an online shopping portal and catalog and extends you credit so that you can make purchases from them. They sell many well known branded goods. Even though they may not have the lowest prices (although they do have great sales once in a while), they have been known to report your lines and payments to the credit bureaus. Many folks have used this to rebuild their credit. Fingerhut also has a record of increasing credit lines
Find out more about Fingerhut here. Their application page is mobile friendly.
The Indigo card is very similar to Credit One above in that you first have to go through a pre-approval process (which only results i a soft pull). The thing that we like about this card is that there is no monthly maintenance fee, just a simple annual fee. This card is BK Friendly
Find out more about Indigo MasterCard®. Application page is Mobile Friendly.
Read Consumer Reviews here.
Another card to consider is the Milestone Gold MasterCard®. Like the Credit One card above, you would have to go through a pre-approval process (which results in a soft pull - feedback is that TransUnion is used). Once you are pre-approved, you will be given the terms of cards that you can apply for and take it from there. This card is BK Friendly
Find out more about Milestone Gold MasterCard®. Application page is Mobile Friendly.
Gettington is very much like Fingerhut in that it is a shopping site which extends you a credit line. Unlike normal sub prime unsecured, there is no annual fee. This credit account also has good approval rate for applicants from our site.
Find out more about Gettington here. Their application page is mobile friendly.
Credit One has another offering that allows you to monitor your credit scores. This feature is very helpful for those who want to monitor their progress. As with the above card, it comes with gas rewards too.
Find out more
Credit One has recently partnered Nascar to be their issuer of their affinity card. The unique feature about this card is that whether you have excellent, average or bad credit, you can apply because they have different fees structure and rewards depending on your credit.
Find out more
Best Secured Credit Cards For Really Poor Scores - 400+ and Denials with Lots of Baddies and Inquiries
If you have applied for the above unsecured cards and have been denied, that means your scores are really poor (i.e. borderline 500 or in the 400 range) and/or you have lots of baddies (charge offs, delinquents and collections) on your reports. You might also have too many inquiries. To get on the rebuilding process, you should consider getting the following secured cards that do not have any credit checks. You do need to put up a deposit of at least $200 (though you will get that back when you cancel the card). This deposit is a collateral for issuers to give you a credit line.
Primor does no credit checks and will approve you as long as your income exceeds your credit line (which is equal to your deposit amount) by $100. You need to deposit a minimum of $200. You will earn interest on your deposit. Application is rather straight forward. Just apply online and your identity will be verified via your checking account (so make sure you have that handy before you apply). There are 4 different versions of the cards with slightly different annual fees and rates and you can pick the one that would suit you best.
The OpenSky Secured Visa Card is ideal for those of you with very bad scores, have been denied repeated for both secured and unsecured cards and have too many inquires. They perform no credit checks fso there is no hard pull. Fees and rates are reasonable and they reported to all three major bureaus as unsecured. Like most secured cards, you need to deposit at least $200 as a collateral. (Note: you will get back that deposit when you close your account)
Last Resort - Guaranteed Approval/No Credit Checks Merchandise Cards
Though the conventional route to rebuilding credit involves getting a couple of secured credit cards and then moving to unsecured lines, things do not always work out that way. Some folks have been declined for numerous secured credit cards and just do not want another hard pull on their reports. If this describes you, you just might want to get a shopping catalog card (at least for the near term). Below are a couple of choices.
Net First Platinum is a shopping credit card that extends you credit when you shop at their online store. There is no credit checks and you get 0% APR financing. They also report to TransUnion and Equinox.
Horizon Gold allows you to shop at their online store and extends you credit. You do require a membership fee. But you get 0% financing, a $500 unsecured line and no credit checks. They report to "one major credit bureau" which consumer have figured out is TransUnion.
Next Millennium is a catalog card by Unique Card Services. There is no credit checks and you will receive a $1,000 unsecured credit lines. You do require a membership fee, but you get 0% financing.
Unsecured Cards To Avoid - Even if Your Credit Is Really Poor
Here is a list of cards which you will all have come across if you do enough research. All we would say is "stay clear" because of high fees. And if you already have one of these, get one of the lower fee cards above and cancel the high fee one because the annual fee is due. So here goes.
This is one of the latest cards on the market now is a fancy name (SURGE). Well, maybe your credit might "surge a little" with this card, but not before you shell out some hard earned dollars. The folks behind this is Continental Finance. Here is what we do not like about it
- Comes with annual fee, rates, one time application fees and monthly maintenance fees
- You'll end up paying $125 in fees in the first year and $216 from the second year onwards!
Before the Surge was introduced, Continental Finance launched this card called Verve (which is actually quite swanky). However, like all their other cards, this one comes with high fees and rates. And you might actually get declined for an unsecured card and get approved for a secured card instead (yet you end up paying those fees associated with the unsecured version!)
- Comes with annual fee, rates, one time application fees and monthly maintenance fees
- You'll end up paying $125 in fees in the first year and $156 from the second year onwards!
- You might get approved for a secured instead but still pay those high fees!
The Cerulean Card is very similar to the Verge. In fact, they are from the same folks (Continental Finance). Like the Verve, this is a "hybrid" secured/unsecured card in that if you are not approved for the unsecured version, you "might" get approved for the secured one (but chances are you have to pay the same fees as the unsecured version). Below are some of the unflattering highlights.
- Comes with annual fee, rates, one time application fees and monthly maintenance fees
- You'll end up paying $75 in fees in the first year and $219 from the second year onwards!
- You might get approved for a secured instead but still pay those high fees! (and cough out an additional $300 for the deposit!t)
This card was revamped not too long ago from earlier versions. The fees (though slightly lower than the earlier version) remains high. Like most of their peers, you have to cough up an annual fee, one-time application fee and monthly maintenance fee. (See below)
- Comes with annual fee, rates, one time application fees and monthly maintenance fees
- You'll end up paying $75 in annual fee during first year and a $89 application fee. That works out to $164 in fees in year 1
- From year 2 onwards, the annual fee is $45, but you get charged a monthly maintenance fee of $6.25. Total cost from year 2 onwards is $120.
This issuer and card have been around a long time. In fact, if you look around long enough, you will find that there are a few versions of First Premier's cards. Each comes with a different design. But they all have the same fees. And they are high.
- In Year 1, application fee is $95. Annual fee is $75. Total fees in Year 1 is $170
- In Year 2, annual fee is $45. But you have to pay a $6.25 monthly maintenance fee (which is $75 a year). Total fees from Year 2 onwards is $120
- APR is 36% (the highest in the market - They used to charge 79% APR!!)
This card is also issued by First Premier Bank and it used to have the exact same features as the FP (rates and fees). But when I checked this card recently, I noticed that the fees have changed and it has become a little more complicated. Once again, I would avoid this card
- In Year 1, you need to put a "security deposit of $150 to access a $300 credit line (though it is refundable). Annual fee is $75.
- In Year 2, annual fee is $45. But you have to pay a $6.50 monthly maintenance fee (which is $78 a year). Total fees from Year 2 onwards is $123
- APR is 36% (like the FP, the highest in the market)
Below are the rest of the list. Many have been discontinued or have very high fees and rates
How To Use Credit Cards To Rebuild Credit
If your credit has been damaged due to unpaid debts, collections, and charge offs and been through bankruptcy, you would have to start the rebuilding process. Here are the steps to take.
1. Get a secured credit card
Your first step should be to get a secured credit card. The reason is that you are more likely to be approved for one than an unsecured card (though there are some exceptions). Secured cards require that you put up a deposit (as little as $200). Your deposit will be your credit line. There are many secured card available from banks and credit unions. But not all of them are the same. Many main stream banks and local credit unions have great offerings with low fees and rates. But they will not approve you if your credit is bad (which is ironic since you have to put a deposit to "secure" your lines)! We recommend you get the First Progress Secured Card because feedback has been that their customer service is friendly (after getting harassed by collection agencies, the last thing you need is rude reps) and they are one of the more "bad credit friendly cards".
Your First Unsecured Credit Card - Score Of Around 550
After about six months to a year of using your secured card properly (ie using only 10% of your credit lines and paying off in full), your scores should rise gradually. Once you are at the 550 area, and assuming you have no late payments, it is time to get an unsecured credit card. This is where it gets tricky. There are many offers around and you might have gotten some mails. But they key thing to look out for is costs and fees. And the reason (which you will see later) is that if you want to improve your score faster, you need to have more than just one credit line. And if you do not watch out for fees, you will end up paying a ridiculous amount on an annual basis.
There are two cards that you should consider. They are the Credit One and Milestone. The reason is because they have the lowest fees among their peers. In fact, they do not charge any one-time application fee or monthly processing fee that is so common. Just a simple annual fee. And Credit One has a reward program too. Best of all, you can go through a pre-qualification process first (with no hard pull). If you qualify, then you could proceed to apply and your chances of approval would have increased a lot. I would actually fill in both pre-qualication forms online and see which one sticks. If you pre-qualify for both, then I would go for the the Credit One because it has a reward program.
Find out more about Milestone
Add a couple of more Credit Lines
Once you have had a Credit One or Genesis for six months, you could consider adding a couple of other credit lines. Here are some alternatives.
Merchandise Catalog Cards - I would suggest adding one or two of such card. Our best recommendations would be Fingerhut and Gettington because they have no membership fees and they report to all three major credit bureaus. Once again, do not use more than 10% to 15% of your credit lines.
Get an Auto Loan - If you do need a car and have the income to support getting an auto loan, then this will help in rebuilding your score as well as unlike credit cards, auto loans are installment loans. You might not get the best rates, but the key here is to rebuild your credit.
Get A Personal Loan - Another mix that you can add to your credit profile is a personal loan.
Quick Recap Of The Rebuilding Process
So is a quick recap of the types of cards that you should have in your wallet when you are rebuilding from a bad credit position (400 to 500 score).
- 1 or 2 secured credit cards (suggestion: First Progress)
- 1 unsecured credit card (suggestion: Credit One)
- 1 or 2 shopping account (suggestion: Fingerhut and Gettington)
- Auto Loan - if practical
- Personal Loan
Once you have had this mix for 18 to 24 months, it would not be unrealistic for your score to reach the 650 to 700 area. This is where things get a little interesting.
When Your Score is 650-700
Once score reaches the 650 area, you are out of the "bad and poor credit" category and are now considered average credit. It is time to venture into no annual fee unsecured cards. We would suggest the BarclayCards Rewards MasterCard because it is specifically targeted to those with average credit. Once you get approved, you could start to cancel your secured card and Credit One and get rid of the fees once and for all. After that, work towards getting the card that suits your needs.