Credit Cards For Bad Credit

Top Rated Credit Cards For Bad Credit

If your credit score is bad (anywhere less than 650), then you could consider the following cards to help rebuild your credit. While there are lots of cards and "credit account" available, the ones we have highlighted have the least fees and generally more reasonable rates.

1. Credit One Bank® Visa® - No Deposit Required
2. Nascar Credit Card from Credit One Bank
3. Fingerhut Credit Account
4. Indigo® Platinum MasterCard® Credit Card
5. Milestone MasterCard® - With Free Choice of Card Images
6. Primor Secured Credit Card

Card	Annual Fee	Rate	Why We Like This Card?
Review	$35 to $99	23.90%	Reasonable Fee and Rates No Application or monthly maintenance fees Reward Program Access to free credit score
Review	$0 to $99	23.90%	Reasonable Fee and Rates No Application or monthly maintenance fees 2X on nascar.com purchases
Review	$0	24.9%	No Annual Fee No Membership Fee Reports to 3 Bureaus
Review	$35 to $99	23.9%	Reasonable Rate and Fees No Application or monthly maintenance fees Bankruptcy OK
Review	$35 to $99	23.9%	Reasonable Rate and Fees No Application or monthly maintenance fees See if you are pre-approved first with no hard pull Bankruptcy OK
Review	$49	9.99% to 13.99	Reasonable Rate and Fees No Credit Checks

Best Unsecured Credit Cards 2016

Below is a list of the best unsecured credit cards. These cards might work for folks with a 525 score and above.

1. Credit One Bank® Visa® - No Deposit Required
2. Nascar Credit Card
3. Fingerhut Credit Account
4. Gettington Account
5. Indigo® Platinum MasterCard® Credit Card
6. Milestone MasterCard® - With Free Choice of Card Images
7. Emporium Preferred Account

 

Our top pick is from Credit One because among all the issuers targeting the rebuilder market, their cards come with very reasonable fees and rates and features that others simply do not have. Here is why we like them

• Their fees and rates are reasonable (no application fees or monthly maintenance fees)
• You can earn reward points for gas and grocery purchases
• You get free credit score tracking
• You can check if you pre-qualify first because apply (soft pull on Experian - no hard pull).
• They are numerous success stories of credit lines increases
• Card now has Chip Technology - more secure
• You can pay your bills by debit card, MoneyGram Express Payment, and Western Union

Find out more here

Nascar has just teamed up with Credit One for their affinity card. What makes this card unique is that aside from being able to earn cash back with nascar.com, those with bad credit can also apply. You might be charged an annual fee depending on your credit. But it allows the Nascar aficionado to rebuild their credit.
 

• Earn 2% cash back with Nascar.com purchases
• No application or monthly processing fees

Find out more here

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 would want to consider opening a Fingerhut Credit Card Account. It is an online shopping portal and catalog and extends you credit so that you can make purchases from them. Here is why we like this card:

• No annual or membership fees - unlike other catalog cards
• Reports to all three major credit bureaus - a must for rebuilders
• Many branded goods available - Apple, Samsung, Legos, Sony Playstation etc
• With Holiday Season, there are lots of discounts 20% to 40% and coupon codes available

Find out more about Fingerhut here.

Gettington is another online shopping card that extends credit for their online store. They have the same parent as Fingerhut. You can find many branded merchandise on their site and their selections are pretty good. This is what we like about this.

• No annual fee or membership fee - very cost effective
• Reports to all three major credit bureaus - great for adding another trade line to your profile
• Prices can sometimes be lower than mainstream online sites
• Yes - you can buy apple stuff and Star Wars Lego on credit

Find out more about Gettington Credit

The Indigo MasterCard® is another card that is targeted towards those with bad to fair credit. You would have to go through a pre-approval process (which results in a soft pull). Once you are pre-approved, you will be given the terms of cards that you can apply for and take it from there. Below are the key highlights:
 

• Fees and rates are reasonable
• No application or monthly processing fees
• Allows you to see if you are pre-qualified first (soft pull)

Find out more 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 ranked #2 because
 

• Fees and rates are reasonable
• No application or monthly processing fees
• Allows you to see if you are pre-qualified first (soft pull)

Find out more here

The Emporium.com is another online shopping site with over 100,000 products and brands. There is no annual fee to join and your credit lines and payments are reported to the three main credit bureaus. The only thing they are looking for is a verifiable income. This is what we like about this.

• No annual fee or membership fee
• Reports to all three major credit bureaus - again, great for adding another trade line to your profile

Find out more about Emporium's credit account

Best Credit Cards For Really Poor Scores - 400+ scores with lots of Inquiries and Baddies

If you have applied for the above unsecured cards and have been denied, that means your scores are really low (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. Please note that you have to put up with at least a $200 deposit as a collateral (though you will get it returned after you close the account).

1. Primor Secured Credit Card
2. OpenSky Secured Credit Card

The family of secured cards from Primor does not do any credit checks. They will approve you if your income exceeds your secured deposit by $100. If you have been repeated denied any secured or unsecured cards, have lots of inquiries and do not want another hard pull on your records, then this is a card to consider. You will need a minimum of $200 deposit to get started. And it is one of few secured cards that pays interest on your deposit. We also like the fact that they have reasonably low rates (which is great for those who want to carry a little balance once in a while). Application is rather straight forward. Just apply online and your identity will be verified via your checking account (so make sure you have this handy) before you apply.

Find out more about Primor here

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. You need to deposit a minimum of $200 to start your account.
 

Find out more about OpenSky

Last Resort - Catalog Credit 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 some of choices.
 

1. Net First Platinum
2. Horizon Gold Card
3. Freedom Gold Card
4. Group One Platinum
5. Unique Platinum
6. Next Millennium
7. Vast Platinum

Card	Fees	Upfront Fee	APR	Credit Checks	Credit reporting	Credit Lines
Net First Platinum	$24.95/m	N.A.	0%	No Credit Checks	1 Major Bureau (TransUnion)	$500
Horizon Gold Card	$24.95/m	N.A.	0%	No Credit Checks	1 Major Bureau (TransUnion)	$500
Freedom Gold Card	$24.95/m	N.A.	0%	No Credit Checks	1 Major Bureau (TransUnion)	$500
	$24.95/m	N.A.	0%	No Credit Checks	1 Major Bureau (TransUnion)	$500
	$19.95/m	$29.95	0%	No Credit Checks	N.A.	$1,000
Next Millennium	$19.95/m	$29.95	0%	No Credit Checks	N.A.	$1,000
Vast Platinum	$19.95/m	$29.95	0%	No Credit Checks	N.A.	$1,000

List of Credit Cards For Poor Credit

Below is a list of all unsecured credit cards that we have highlighted in this post so you can compare features (mainly fees). We have listed the fees and whether they have reward programs.

Cards	Annual Fee	Monthly Maintenance Fees	One-time Processing Fee	APR	Rewards
Review	$0to $99	N.A.	N.A.	15.65% to 24.15%	1% on gas purchases
Review	$35 to $99	N.A.	N.A.	23.9%	N.A.
Review	$0 to $99	N.A.	N.A.	23.9%	N.A.
Review	Y1 = $125 Y2 Onwards = $96	Y1 = $0 Y2 Onwards $10 monthly $120 annually	N.A.	29.9%	N.A.
Review	Y1 = $125 Y2 Onwards = $96	Y1 = $0 Y2 Onwards $10 monthly $120 annually	N.A.	29.9%	N.A.
Review	$75	Y1 = $0 Y2 Onwards $12 monthly $144 annually	N.A.	29.9%	N.A.
Review	Y1 = $75 Y2 Onwards = $48	Y1 = $0 Y2 Onwards $6.25 monthly $75 annually	$89	29.9%	N.A.
Review	Y1 = $75 Y2 Onwards = $48	Y1 = $0 Y2 Onwards $6.25 monthly $75 annually	$89	29.9%	N.A.
Review	Y1 = $75 Y2 Onwards = $45	Y1 = $0 Y2 Onwards $6.25 monthly $75 annually	$95	36%	N.A.
Review	Y1 = $75 Y2 Onwards = $45	Y1 = $0 Y2 Onwards $6.25 monthly $75 annually	$95	36%	N.A.
Review	Y1 = $125 Y2 Onwards = $96	Y1 = $0 Y2 Onwards $10 monthly $120 annually	N.A.	30.24%	N.A.
	$19 to $79	N.A.	N.A.	22.15% to 29.9%	1% Rewards
	$0 to $72	N.A.	$0 to $75	19.45% to 28.45%	N.A.

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".
 

Find out more about First Porgress

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 Credit One

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.
 

Find out more about Fingerhut

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.
 

Find out more about BarclaysCard Rewards MasterCard

Fees To Look Out For

When you are researching credit cards for people with bad credit, you should spend a little time understanding the type of fees that you might be hit with when you research these sub prime 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.

When you are choosing these cards, you can help yourself by looking out for these things.

Reputation of the credit card issuer - Believe it or not, it is relatively easy to be a credit card issuer (most set up their operations in Delaware). You have to choose cards with a decent reputation.

Reports to Credit Bureaus - The purpose of getting cards despite the higher fees is to rebuild your credit so that down the road, you can get a no annual fee credit card. Hence, you have to make sure that the credit card reports to the three major credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian.

Low Fees - Well, we've mentioned all the fees above.