I have covered the best tradelines for bad credit before, now its time to cover the best credit cards for bad credit. It’s so unfortunate that once you are deemed as “not credit worthy” by the banks that you really don’t have that many options and it becomes a race to either improve your score as fast as possible or simply give up and forget about credit. You see both mindsets all around you, those that often say things like “I don’t want credit”, “debt is bad”, “cash is king” have horror stories about their credit and probably have average or bad credit scores right now and then those who tend to have a positive look at credit tend to have good/great credit scores.

Credit scores, like many other things in life boil down to education and this isn’t something that is taught in school, just like other important topics like managing a check book and business basics. When it comes to credit card options for those with bad credit, up until this point you have very few ok -good options and a whole lot of predatory banks that offer really bad credit cards with high APRs, yearly fees, low credit limits and impossible credit terms.

Well, Fintech has helped completely disrupt this area over the last year or so with a ton of fresh new solutions that don’t just look at credit score but your income and set terms that help you succeed. Things like direct deposit and banking history (beyond your Chex system) is becoming insanely important for those with bad/fair credit because many of these new Fintech solutions are using a service called Plaid which allows them to look at your banking history.

If your bank account has regular over draft fees then you may want to setup a new account (establishing at a credit union and starting to build that relationship would be a great idea if this is you) and getting your direct deposit moved over to the new account. Let that build up over a month or two and then you would be in position. If you want to look at more data points like what credit score each bank is looking for then check out the Master Credit Card Lender List.

What is a Credit Builder Account?

There is a lot of cards to cover here and a lot of them you will notice are called “credit builder” accounts where you essentially get zero access to the money you pay in, it merely acts as a savings account/cd that reports to credit bureaus as a line of credit and you don’t get any credit card or virtual credit card. We highlighted Self inc before which is a savings account/cd, Upgrade has a loan builder/credit card as well that we will only softly cover here, expect a full breakdown soon and the rest have various other banking products they offer.

I created the table below so you could quickly look through all the options and compare for yourself based on variables I figured would be the most important. Scroll down below the table to get additional notes I added on each Institution in the table.

Also keep an eye on this page, just all pages on this site we will continue to refine the content and display for best view results for you.

What is Considered a Bad Credit Score?

There are two major credit scoring models that currently exist, one being the VantageScore model (mostly used for store credit cards and CLIs) and then the FICO scoring model which is by far the most popular being used by most major banks to score worthiness on credit cards, personal loans, mortgages and car loans.

According to the FICO scoring model a bad credit score is the following credit score ranges…

Fair credit: 580-669
Poor credit: 300-579

What Makes up Your Credit Score?

Here are the five parts that make up your FICO credit score and how they calculate them…

• Payment history: 35%
• Amounts owed: 30%
• Length of credit history: 15%
• New credit: 10%
• Credit diversity: 10%

Estimated APR by FICO Score Range

Class	Credit Score	% of people here	Estimated APR
Excellent	800-850	21%	10.3%-12.5%
Very Good	740-799	25%	10.3%-12.5%
Good	670-739	21%	13.5%-15.5%
Fair	580-669	17%	17.8%–19.9%
Very poor	300-579	16%	28.5%–32%

Credit Cards For Bad Credit/No Credit (non-store cards)

I just want to note that I have removed all the best secured credit cards (based on graduation) and broke those out into their own list further down the page, didn’t think this was the best list for that when there are so many great hybrids to cover. Also I have kept off the store credit cards, store credit cards have their own post.

So what we have left is just credit cards, no gimmicks, no checking accounts required in order to get them, just credit card offers. Below this table you will see more breakouts.

Institution	APR & Fees	Cashback	Hard Pull?	Reports As/What is it	Deposit/Credit Limit	Report To All 3?	Notes
Open Sky	17.39% $35 AF	No	No	Credit Card	$200-$3000 Secured cc	Yes
Capital One	17.24%-24.49% 0-$95 AF	1%-1.5%	Yes (All 3)	Credit Card	$200-$600	Yes
Petal 1&2	12.99%-29.49%	1%-10%	Yes	Credit Card	$300-$5k Petal 1 $300-$10k Petal 2	Yes	Backed by Web bank Pull on Fico 9 SP till accept the offer
Deserve EDU & Pro	15.99-22.99%	1%-3%	Yes	Credit Card		Tu, Ex
Avant Bank	24.99-29.99% $0-$59 AF	No	Yes (EX)	Credit Card	$300-$1,000 Limits	Yes	Prequal for this cardPrequal for this card $0 Fraud Liability Backed by Webbank
SoFi	12.99%-24.99% APR 12.99%-24.99% BT + $10 or 5% 26.99% CA + $10 or 5% $0 AF up to $39 LF	2% unlimited	Yes	Credit Card	$1,000+	Yes	Full termsFull terms Redeem CB in crypto Softpull till you accept the offer Full Suite of products
Tomo	0% APR $0 AF	1%	No	Credit Card	$100-$10,000 Limits	Yes	Weekly autopay No credit score/history required Cannot carry a balance, PIF each Monday Cannot reapply if denied
Upgrade	8.99% - 29.99% $0 AF $0 FTF	1.5%-3%	Yes	Credit Card	$500-$50,000 Limits	Yes	They offer 4 cards with different CBs only 3% CB unlimited on categories 1.5% CB unlimited on payments 1.5% CB bitcoin on payments They make it hard to find additional fee info Pulls Fico 9
Chime	0% APR $0 AF $0 LF	No	No	Credit Card	DD/$200min		At least $200 secured credit card, through their checking account

*If the Institution doesn’t pull Hard Inquiry assume they cater to those with low to no credit, some of them will even allow out of US residents that are working on becoming US citizens.

OpenSky: This is a very well known secured credit card, nothing fancy no earnings but also no credit check and APR is 17.39%. There is an annual fee of $35, foreign transaction fee of 3% and credit limit is based on how much you deposit which in this case you don’t even need a checking account to open up an Open Sky secured credit card, they accept a check, money order or Western Union. This card will never graduate into unsecured.

*CapitalOne: This is by far the most widely known credit card company for those with bad credit, so much so that they now offer 3 different credit cards for bad credit besides their secured card. I have seen scores down in the 560s getting accepted to the Platinum card. You can pre-qual for the Quicksilver Rewards, SavorOne Rewards, Venture Rewards, Platinum Mastercard®, QuicksilverOne Rewards, and Secured Mastercard®. Keep in mind that if you accept offer on the pre-qual page they will do a hard inquiry which will hit all 3 bureaus. This is the only card I know of that literally pulls all 3 reports, which is pretty awful.

APRs are usually quite high 22.99% with lower scores and limits can be as low as $200. All the credit builder cards have a program built in where after you make 5 on time payments you get a CLI, which will take most cards up to $500-$600. The other thing to keep in mind is it seems CapOne cards are easy to get sandboxed- that has been my personal experience anyway, after the initial bump ups on the new account, CLIs have been non-existent now across 4 cards. They also have yearly fees ranging from $39 for QS1 to $95 for Venture Rewards.

Upside is that many of these cards do have a 1%-1.5% cashback

*Petal: Petal currently offers 2 different credit cards the Petal 1 and Petal 2, both with different APRs, cashback and credit limits. They are backed by Webbank so keep that in mind if you have already been turned down by Webbank (they do Paypal loan builder programs and many others) you probably will not be pre-approved for this one. They offer a free pre-qualification and then if you like the offer you can accept it. They look at both your credit history (if you have it) and what they call your Cash Score, so you will need to link up one of your bank accounts to show. Keep in mind if you have previously applied or already have a petal card you can’t apply again, and if you have a BK on your credit file in the last 48 months you cannot either.

Petal 1: 2%-10% cash back at select merchants, $500-$5,000 limits, 19.99-29.49% APRs, no annual fees and path to a credit limit increase

Petal 2: 1%-1.5% cash back and more offers, $500-$10,000 limits, 12.99%-26.99% APRs, no annual fees.

Deserve: This is backed by Celtic bank, and they offer both an EDU card and a Pro card, you can pre-qualify for the EDU card only. There is a hard inquiry on your credit, I am not sure who they pull through. They currently only report to Transunion and Experian, not to Equifax. They also may ask you to link up your bank account or provide bank statements in their secure portal before approving but after hard inquiry. They do accept international students who don’t have SSN or green card yet and just require Passport and I-20 or similar.

Lastly they offer a Digital First Card which is a digital card you can apply for in the app and its meant to be used with your Apple Pay. I am not sure of the terms with this card.

Avant Bank: This is backed by Webbank, 0 hidden fee, yearly fee could be up to $59 and APR is pretty high at 23.99%-25.99% and limits are $300-$1000, this card is geared at those looking to build credit.

*Tomo: This is a credit builder with a spin as its actually a credit card that is usable, just not that much. Its based on your current checking account management so they will require you to link up one of your bank accounts (use one with low-no NSF fees is my suggestion) for them to look at and they base your credit limit on that. They do this with a 3rd party service called Plaid. Keep in mind they can CLI you up to $10,000 (on time payments and linking multiple bank accounts). You cannot carry a balance so if you carry a balance beyond the weekly auto-pay they will freeze the card till its paid off. Tomo makes money off taking a % of the fee from merchants on every purchase you make.

You may qualify without a SSN and without being a US citizen.

*Upgrade Credit Cards: Upgrade offers 4 credit cards now all with different rewards schemes. Keep in mind that after Upgrade gives you your rate and you provide all documentation (similar to personal loan or paypal loan builder) they will then run a hard inquiry on your credit. You cannot use this card at an ATM but the full balance is available to use immediately.

Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases when you pay them back. Your cash back will typically be applied to your balance after your next scheduled monthly payment. Cash back rewards applied to your balance will not satisfy or reduce your regular monthly payments. Payments on non-purchase transactions, such as sending funds electronically to your bank account, are not eligible to earn rewards. Certain limitations apply. Please refer to your Cardholder Agreement for more information. Rewards associated with the Upgrade Card, when applicable, are provided by Upgrade, Inc.

Cash back rewards are earned when you pay eligible purchases back. Your cash back will typically be applied to your balance after your next scheduled monthly payment. Purchases in Home, Auto, and Health categories earn 3% cash back when you pay them back; all other purchases earn 1% with no maximum. Merchants are assigned a merchant category code (MCC) based on the kinds of products and services they primarily sell. We group similar MCCs into categories for purposes of making rewards available to you, but we do not assign MCCs. Merchants set their own MCC, therefore purchases may not fall into the category where you might expect them to appear. For more information on merchant categories, please click here. Cash back rewards applied to your balance will not satisfy or reduce your regular monthly payments. Payments on non-purchase transactions, such as sending funds electronically to your bank account, are not eligible to earn rewards. Some limitations apply. Please refer to your Cardholder Agreement for more information. Rewards associated with the Upgrade Card, when applicable, are provided by Upgrade, Inc.

Earn unlimited 1.5% back in bitcoin rewards when you make payments on your purchases. Payments on non-purchase transactions, such as sending funds electronically to your bank account, are not eligible to earn rewards. Your bitcoin will be purchased within 1-2 statement periods from the date your payment is received. The value of the bitcoin purchase will be based on the reference rate at the time of the bitcoin purchase. Your bitcoin cannot be transferred to a separate wallet. Sales of bitcoin are subject to a 1.5% transaction fee which will be deducted from your sale proceeds. Sale proceeds are redeemable only in the form of statement credit. Additional limitations apply. Please refer to the Program Terms and Conditions and your Cardholder Agreement for more information.

*Chime: This is an actual secured credit card, so the credit limit is based on how much you deposit onto the card from your Chime Spending Account. The benefit here is obviously no fees of any kind and no credit checks you can get started right away as long as you have at least $200 in qualifying direct deposits over the last 365 days and they don’t report a credit limit so you don’t have to worry about it showing a high utilization rate on the card if you are using the full amount.

SoFi: This is the latest offering from a whole suite of banking and investing offers from SoFi, this new credit card allows unlimited 2% cash back (so no cap) on all eligible purchases and you can redeem it straight into crypto with your SoFi active invest account. If you make 12 on time minimum payments they will drop your APR by 1%. This credit card is issued by The Bank of Missouri or TBOM. No foreign transaction fees. They use FICO for credit card applications. I would say to get into their ecosystem first and then see what kind of offers you are given vs straight up applying for the credit card.

Checking Account/Direct Deposit Based Card Offers

A lot of the new fintechs require you to first get a checking account with them before they offer you any credit products, others base your line of credit or credit availability on your past direct deposits, that is what we will cover in this next list.

VaroMoney

This is an online bank account that now offers a credit builder credit card. The credit limit is based on your past history of direct deposits in your Varo Money account (they are looking for min of 2 direct deposits of at least $1k or more in last 90 days) and no negatives on your bank account for last 90 days. Your credit limit can’t exceed your Varo Bank account balance, up to $2,500 for purchases and $1,000 cash advances per day, totaling no more than $10,000 total per billing cycle. You can earn up to 6% using the Varo cards.

Go2Bank

This is another online bank account that offers a credit builder secured credit card which is based on eligible direct deposits, limits can start as low as $100. You must have ASAP Direct Deposit setup on your GO2bank account, which means you need a Go2bank account setup first as well. Must make an initial refundable security deposit of $100 to set your credit limit.

The GO2bank Secured Credit Card is available only to existing GO2bank accountholders with direct deposits totaling at least $100 in the past 30 days, who are at least 18 years of age. Eligibility criteria applies. No fee to apply. This is a Greendot company, those prepaid cards they sell at gas stations and CVS.

One Finance

They offer an online bank account with overdraft protection like several others above with a unique spin. First, they offer a way to organize goals and expenses through a feature called Pockets which you can also share with other OneFinance users if you like. Next, they have an auto-save program where you earn 3% APR on round ups, you can setup auto-save on your paycheck up to $1,000/month and earn 3% on that. Direct deposit customers can finance a purchase over time or cover bills between paychecks with a credit line at 1% per month. Lastly they have the credit builder pocket which makes automatic on-time payments every month. No new card or new account required to start using.

Adding money to your Credit Builder Pocket does not impact your used balance but does impact your available balance. As an example, if you have $100 available and $50 used, adding an additional $200 will update your available balance to $300 and keep your used balance at $50 until it is automatically repaid on the 25th or a manual payment is made.

Transfer only what you want to use, as the funds cannot be transferred back out and can only be spent by assigning your One debit card to the Credit Builder Pocket or using a created Pocket Virtual card, nor can Credit Builder Pockets be shared.

Also, utilization is not reported so you can use up to your limit (aka the amount you deposited) with no impact to your credit, and since this product is in beta, it may not report to all 3 bureaus for right now.

Grain

This one is pretty interesting as they have you link up your primary bank account and then based on your regular spending and cash flow they offer you revolving lines of credit. This product is almost completely app based unlike others above that do in fact offer an app and a web login/site as well, Grain is 99% app. This app is currently only available on iOS as well, there is a waiting list for Android currently. When Grain gives you one of these credit lines, they do so by depositing into your bank account and each time they do this there is a 1% finance charge, so you are only charged on the credit you use.

After a grace period of 21 days, interest accrues daily at 12% APR (Annual Percentage Rate) with Auto-Pay on, and 15.99% APR with Auto-Pay off. Late payments incur late fees (5% of minimum payment due or $5, whichever is less). 

They do require a security deposit of some amount based on the total they extend you in the credit line, their docs don’t seem to mention how much.

All customers are automatically enrolled in Auto-Pay. Our Auto-Pay works a little different than most! We analyze your cash flow and trigger your Minimum Payment at the best time for you any time during your billing cycle, before your due date. It is designed to kick in only if the available balance in your account is more than the amount to be deducted.

In regards to a CLI
Around 6 months from when you sign up for Grain, the system can re-evaluate your credit offer. Several factors can qualify you for an increase including on-time consecutive payments with Grain, low credit utilization with Grain, as well as ensuring your linked checking account is in good health by avoiding overdrafts and displaying income.

Empower ME

Empower me offers a cash advance called “Empower Cash Advance” that you can get by just linking up your primary checking account, up to $250 and then they also have the Empower Debit card and soon will be launching the Empower Thrive which is a $200-$1,000 line of credit. Like many others no credit check, its all based on your checking account data they use.

Best Secured Credit Cards That Graduate!

Secured Credit Card	Min-Max	APR & Annual Fee	CashBack	Late Fee	Graduation	Hard pull	Datapoints	Benefits/Notes
DiscoverIT Secured Credit Card	$200-$2500	22.99% 10.99% BT for 6 months 24.99% CA $0 AF	2% at gas stations, restaurants up to $1,000 each quarter. 1% on all other purchases 2x CB match, unlimited dollar-4-dollar match on 1st year	None the first time you pay late. After that, up to $40	7 months	Yes (EX)	600/$1500/EX/TX 580/NO/EQ/GA 559/YES/EX/GA	Prequal for this card FICO credit score free Rewards never expire Discover Identity Alerts $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee Full terms & Rewards breakdown
Bank Of America Customized Cash Rewards Secured	$300-$4900	23.99% variable 23.99% BT +3% or $10 26.99% CA $0 AF	3% on category (your choice) 2% grocery, wolesale clubs 1% unlimited on all other purchases	Up to $40 +29.99% penalty APR	No official timeline, may graduate at 12 months	Yes (EQ/TU)		Prequal for this card FICO credit score access $0 Fraud Liability Digital wallet Online & Mobile banking
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured	$300-$4900	23.99% variable 23.99% BT +3% or $10 26.99% CA $0 AF	1.5% unlimited no expiration	Up to $40 +29.99% penalty APR	No official timeline, may graduate at 12 months	Yes (EQ/TU)		Prequal for this card FICO credit score access $0 Fraud Liability Digital wallet Online & Mobile banking
BankAmericard Secured	$300-$4900	22.99% variable 22.99% BT +3% or $10 25.99% CA $0 AF		Up to $40 +29.99% penalty APR	No official timeline, may graduate at 12 months	Yes (EQ/TU)		Prequal for this card FICO credit score access $0 Fraud Liability Digital wallet Online & Mobile banking
Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card	$49, $99, or $200 gets you $200 initial credit line Max $1,000	26.99% variable 26.99% CA + $10 or 3% $0 AF $0 FTF		Up to $40	6 months	Yes All 3 Bureaus	574/$200/EQ/GA	Prequal for this card Credit Wise Account $0 Fraud Liability Capital One Mobile App Can add AU
Citi Secured Mastercard	$200-$2500	22.49% variable 22.49% BT + $5 or 5% 25.24% CA + $10 + 5% $0 AF 3% FTF		Up to $40 +29.99% penalty APR	12-18 months	Yes (EQ/TU)		Prequal for this card Citi Identity Theft Solutions $0 Fraud Liability Digital Wallet Full terms
Navy Federal Credit Union nRewards	$200 Min	18% $0 AF $0 CA $0 BT $0 FTF	1x points per dollar- no cap	Up to $20	3-6 months	Yes		Prequal for this card $0 Fraud Liability & Fraud Notifications FICO credit score access Cell phone protection Rental car coverage Full Terms & Rewards
Sable Secured Credit Card	$10-$10,000	Prime+6.99% $0 AF	2% Amazon, Spotify, Netflix, Uber, Hulu, Wholefoods 1% unlimited on all other purchases 2x CB match, dollar-4-dollar match on 1st year	$0	4 months with milestones	No	No credit history required	Framed for those new to the US with 0 credit Cell phone damage protection Rental Car Insurance $0 Fraud Liability Price protection on eligible items Purchase Assurance on damaged/stolen goods (90 days) Cardholder Agreement

*DiscoverIT Secured: Terms explained more
You earn a full 2% Cashback Bonus^® on your first $1000 in combined purchases at Gas Stations (stand-alone), and Restaurants each calendar quarter. Calendar quarters begin January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. Purchases at Gas Stations and Restaurants over the quarterly cap, and all other purchases, earn 1% cash back. Gas Station purchases include those made at merchants classified as places that sell automotive gasoline that can be bought at the pump or inside the station. Gas Stations affiliated with supermarkets, supercenters, and wholesale clubs may not be eligible. Restaurant purchases include those made at merchants classified as full-service restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, fast-food locations, and restaurant delivery services. Purchases must be made with merchants in the U.S. To qualify for 2%, the purchase transaction date must be before or on the last day of the offer or promotion. For online purchases, the transaction date from the merchant may be the date when the item ships. Rewards are added to your account within two billing periods. Even if a purchase appears to fit in a 2% category, the merchant may not have a merchant category code (MCC) in that category. Merchants and payment processors are assigned an MCC based on their typical products and services. Discover Card does not assign MCCs to merchants. Certain third-party payment accounts and digital wallet transactions may not earn 2% if the technology does not provide sufficient transaction details or a qualifying MCC

*DiscoverIT Secured Graduation Explained: Monthly reviews start your seventh month as a customer. We will refund your security deposit if you have made all payments on time for the last six consecutive billing cycles on your discover accounts including any loans, and you’ve remained in “good status” on all credit accounts you are responsible for whether they are Discover accounts or not. “Good status” means: (1) your credit report shows no delinquencies, charge-offs, repossessions, or bankruptcies for the six months prior to our review, and (2) your Discover secured card is not in a prohibited status at the time of our review, including, but not limited to: closed, revoked, suspended, subject to tax levy, garnishment, deceased, lost/stolen, or fraud. Monthly reviews may be delayed if you change your payment due date. We typically process your refund in 2-3 business days based on your delivery preference. If you close your account and pay in full, we’ll return your deposit within two billing cycles plus ten days.

*Bank Of America Customized Cash Rewards Secured:
3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings Learn more
2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs
Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
You’ll earn 3% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter, then earn 1%

Datapoints: From $400 secured to $1400 unsecured in 9 months

*Capital One Graduation Explained: With a minimum of 6 on time payments you may be qualified to upgrade into an unsecured Platinum card, which then you could use the Capital One secret upgrade link to attempt to get into a better card.

*Citibank Secured Credit Card:

• A review of your income and debt, any available credit information, as well as any other information Citi may have about your creditworthiness.
• You must not have any pending bankruptcy, or bankruptcy history in the last two years.
• As with any credit card, you may be declined based on the information you provide in your application or your available credit history.
• You could also be declined if you fail to provide a security deposit when you apply.

*Navy Federal Credit Union nRewards Credit Card Graduation Explained: Deposit at least $200 into your membership savings account (before submitting your application) to back your spending. If approved, we’ll hold your deposit in your account as your card’s credit limit. As you use your card, you’ll earn rewards just like any other credit card, while also earning dividends on your deposit—just like any other savings account.

After 3 months of having your card and using it responsibly, you could be eligible for an upgrade. If you qualify, we’ll provide you with additional credit to allow for spending beyond your deposit. Then, at 6 months, we’ll automatically review your account to see if you’re eligible to have your hold removed, and to be upgraded to a cashRewards credit card.

We’ll remove the hold on your deposit automatically once your account is upgraded to an unsecured card.

The review will be based on your general credit history, including your Navy Federal account. If you decide to close your account, your deposit will be returned, provided the remaining balance is paid.

*Sable Card: They offer an online bank account with debit card like a few others above and they offer a credit building secured credit card with rewards. I am also hearing that even though this doesn’t graduate that they are working on that product offering and intend to offer it so getting a secured card now would improve your chances (due to building a relationship with them) of getting the unsecured when they offer it.

This card is also kind of rare as you get rewards! Get 2% Cashback on all eligible credit card purchases at Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Uber, Uber Eats, Spotify, and Whole Foods + Get 1% Cashback on every other eligible credit card purchase. You select the amount to deposit into your secured credit card and Sable will take it out of your account and add it into a Sable Secured Deposit Account to act as a security deposit. Sable will begin reporting your credit history the month after you start using your card.

Worst Credit Cards For Bad Credit

Now that we covered the huge list of great credit cards for those with no credit or looking to rebuild their credit, lets now cover the worst cards that are stuffed with fees, hidden terms and for the most part are just bad deals.

Many of you will probably know these cards very well if you’re rebuilding credit because you will see them everytime you login to Experian or CreditKarma under the “my recommendations” sections.

I bet you didn’t know that Indigo, Milestone Gold and the Destiny Mastercard are all backed by Genesis FS Card Services inc and are just about all the same offer (all start you off at $300 credit limit, similar APRs and terms). Imagine someone not knowing that and wasting 3 inquiries to find out the hard way.

Issuer	Hard Inquiry	APR	Annual Fee	Cash Back	Other Fees	Credit Bureaus	CLI
Credit One Platinum Visa	Yes	17.99%-23.99%	$75 year 1 $99 after	1%	3% FTF 8% CA $10 DCF LFs	All 3	Yes
Mission Lane	Yes	29.99%	$59	No	3% FTF 3% CAF LFs	All 3	Yes
Indigo	Yes	24.90%	$75 year 1 $99 after	No		All 3
Milestone Gold	Yes	24.99%	$75 year 1 $99 after	No	1%FTF 29.9% CA LF OLF	All 3
First Progress Platinum Secured cc	No	13.99%	$39	No	$200 Deposit	All 3
Destiny Mastercard	Yes	24.9%	$75 year 1 $99 after	No	1% FTF 5% CAF 29.9% CA LF OLF	All 3
Oppfi	No	35.99%	$99	No	2% FTF 5% CAF	All 3

*CreditOne: Earn 1% cash back rewards on eligible gas, grocery purchases and mobile phone, internet, cable and satellite TV services, terms apply. They have all kinds of fees and terms baked into all of their cards to please be sure you understand it before you get the card. I have heard they take the annual fee out as a monthly $8.75 per month after year one, make sure you know that otherwise you can get hit with a late fee and derog on your credit. They also have a $10 fee just to pay your bill with a debit card. Backed by Credit One Bank.

I am basing this off the Platinum Visa which is geared at those rebuilding credit, they do have quite a few credit cards and co-branded cards, the yearly fees and APRs would all be similar if you are in fair-average credit score range.

Mission Lane: This is actually the cleanest offer on the list in terms of fees etc, the issue here is their website doesn’t give you very much info nor does Credit Karma or Wallethub etc so there is a lot you don’t know until you apply which on the site the only way they allow you to apply is by responding to a mail offer, so you will need to go through one of the credit tracking sites I mentioned above to get to the application page. Make 6 on time payments and get a higher credit limit. You can’t have BKs on your credit file otherwise you will not be approved.

Indigo: 24.9% APR, $0 CAF during your first year, then $5 or 5% of the amount of each transaction not exeeding $100. $75 annual fee during first year then $99 per year after that billed monthly, up to $40 late payment fee, up to $40 over the limit fee, up to $40 returned payment fee. This card starts off at $300 limit. Backed by Genesis FS Card Services inc. So literally same card as Milestone Gold.

Milestone Gold: Issues by The Bank of Missouri, they offer a pre-qualification process or you can straight apply through the site. They will pull a hard inquiry on your report after pre-qual if you decide to move forward and accept the offer. It appears they are related or have some sort of cross-promotions with First Progress as that can sometimes be suggested on the pre-qual page if you don’t qualify for their card. They have 29.9% cash advance fee, up to $40 Late fee, up to $40 over the limit fee and up to $40 returned payment fee. These cards start off at $300 limit. Backed by Genesis FS Card Services inc.

First Progress: They offer several secured credit card options and the names should be a dead giveaway as to their actual quality. There is the First Progress Platinum Elite Mastercard, the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard and the First Progress Platinum Select Mastercard, each one has got around a 2 star rating on Creditkarma. There is a $200 refundable deposit as they are all secured credit cards, the APR seems to be around 9.99% for each card, no hard inquiry to apply and 9.99%- 19.99% APR and $29-$49 annual fee.

Destiny Mastercard: 24.9% APR, $0 CAF during your first year, then $5 or 5% of the amount of each transaction not exeeding $100. $75 annual fee during first year then $99 per year after that billed monthly, up to $40 late payment fee, up to $40 over the limit fee, up to $40 returned payment fee. This card starts off at $300 limit. Backed by Genesis FS Card Services inc. So literally same card as Milestone Gold.

OppFi: 35.99% APR, max $1k credit limit, just softpull on Clarity and Experian. CAF 35.99% + 5% fee. Read full terms here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Bad Credit

Bad credit refers to individuals who have a “fair” ranking or worse on their FICO/Vantage credit scores, they have derogatory marks like a bankruptcy, late payments, write offs, repositions etc. The credit rating systems see these individuals as high risk and are less likely to extend fresh credit to them.

How do I improve my credit?

Pay on time, keep utilization below 30% (ideally 10% or less), clean up any derogatory marks on your profile. Follow the guides on Its Dumb Money.

What is a credit builder?

This is an account that typically is built and designed to help improve your credit. Sometimes this is a secured credit card, other times its a hybrid of a savings account where you make monthly payments towards the overall loan and its reported as an installment loan.

What is a secured credit card?

This is a credit card where the credit limit is based on how much you deposit on the card. Usually these cards don’t have rewards and still have an APR you have to pay. If you are rebuilding your credit this is a great place to start, focus on either no hard inquiry cards or cards that graduate into unsecured.