The national average credit score hit an all time high in September 2019 of 695, according to FICO. However there is still a large percentage of the US that falls into “bad” credit scores and 14% who are still credit invisible or have no profile at all.

The largest concentration of lower credit scores is concentrated in lower income earners and younger demographics, because like with most things experience takes time and as they get older they realize the importance of it. This is why I really wish credit game education existed in schools alongside business.

The average credit score tends to improve with age with one large exception which is the 30-39 age range which has the largest number of sub 621 credit scores, which its safe to assume that is due to so many large life changes happening in that age range from home purchasing to marriage and having kids.

Credit Scores

Its a weird place you find yourself in when you have a low credit score, you want to get more credit to not only build your profile but also because you need that flexibility yet its much harder to get! This leads most people to applying for cards that are less than ideal! Don’t let the desire for new credit turn into desperation where you take a really crappy deal from a creditor. A lot of these “credit builder” cards are predatory in nature!

I want to share with you my top list of worst credit cards for those with sub 621 credit scores! Now I personally don’t have any of these, I gathered this list by reading hundreds if not thousands of 1 star reviews to create this list, that combined with a look at their terms and fee structures and I am sure you would agree these are the worst of the worst! In no specific order…

Worst Credit Cards

1. Indigo
   • 24.9 APR
   • Annual Fee: Could be $0-$75 first year and $0-$99 after that
   • 1% foreign transaction fee
   • Just 1.8 star rating on Credit Karma
   • Complaints on customer service
   • Complaints on payment posting
2. First Premier Bank Credit Card
   • 36% APR
   • 36% APR on cash advances + $8 or 5% total advance
   • 3% foreign transaction fee
   • Odd annual fees
     • If assigned a credit limit of $300.00; we impose an Annual Fee on your Credit Account of $75.00 for the first year, and $45.00 for each subsequent year.
     • If assigned a credit limit of $400.00; we impose an Annual Fee on your Credit Account of $100.00 for the first year, and $45.00 for each subsequent year.
     • If assigned a credit limit of $500.00; we impose an Annual Fee on your Credit Account of $125.00 for the first year, and $49.00 for each subsequent year.
     • If assigned a credit limit of $600.00; we impose an Annual Fee on your Credit Account of $79.00 for the first year, and $49.00 for each subsequent year.
     • If assigned a credit limit of $700.00; we impose an Annual Fee on your Credit Account of $79.00 for the first year, and $49.00 for each subsequent year.
3. CreditOne
   • 23.99% APR
   • Annual Fee: $75 First year. $99 thereafter, billed monthly at $8.25 depending on which card you get its unclear how much you would pay
   • 1% cash back even though its unclear what you get that on or if you even get the cashback
   • Complaints on customer service
   • Complaints on payments posting/balance changes
   • 2.6 star rating on Credit Karma
4. Milestone Gold Mastercard
   • 24.9% APR
   • 29.9% APR on cash advance
   • Annual Fee: $75 first year, $99 per year after that
   • Complaints of card showing up with late fee already
   • Complaints of holding payments for up to 14 days
   • 1.7 star on Credit Karma
5. Destiny Mastercard
   • Appears to be a spin off from Milestone, same address just in suite 220 vs 200
   • same stats as above, brand new offer in CreditKarma 0 reviews

There are all kinds of other new cards I am seeing in Experian that have similar high interest rates and annual fees which should be a huge indicator for you but to name a few; Reflex Mastercard, NextGen Platinum Mastercard, Surge Mastercard, Avant Credit Card, First Access Visa etc etc.

Most of the time you would be better off getting a secured card or even a Capital One card (even though they do a hard pull on all 3 bureaus), I will do a list of the best secured credit cards soon.

Credit Card Pre-Approvals

I think regularly and routinely checking pre-approvals is one of the best things you can do for yourself in order to eliminate clear denials before you go wasting an inquiry on them.

Here is a list of all the major banks, not a bad idea to check them at least once per fiscal quarter.

• Capital One: https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/prequalify/
• Bank Of America: https://secure.bankofamerica.com/secure-offers/public/customizedOffers 
• Chase Bank: https://www.chase.com/prequalified 
• American Express (hardest cards to get): https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/check-for-offers/ 
• Discover: https://www.discovercard.com/application/website/prequal 
• CitiBank: https://www.citicards.com/cards/credit/application/flow.action?isInvitation=N&OC=CC-CITI-3D5&JFP_TOKEN=DB8LPDXV