Easiest Credit Cards To Get Approved For
This article was last updated Sep 30, 2019. Terms and conditions may have changed. For the most accurate information, please consult the issuer website.
Whether you’re new to credit, recovering from bad credit, or just don’t want to risk a hard inquiry on your credit report only to get a rejection notice, you have options.
CompareCards editors evaluated credit cards that are easiest to get approved for with straightforward terms so you won’t be smacked with expensive and often unexpected fees issuers of subprime credit cards usually charge you.
Typically, subprime cards are marketed to those with bad credit and often come with a variety of fees, including an annual fee, a monthly account servicing fee, and more, making them very expensive tools to rebuild your credit. They also tend to have very high interest rates. If you’re trying to rebuild credit, we recommend avoiding subprime cards and applying for a secured card instead.
In this article:
- Best for no credit check: OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
- Best for no annual fee: Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit Account
- Best secured card: Discover it® Secured
- Best unsecured card: Capital One® Platinum Credit Card
- Best card for students: Discover it® Student Cash Back
- Best retail card: Target RedCard Credit Card
- Best business card: Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business
- The bottom line
Here’s our list of seven cards at a glance:
| Annual fee | Regular purchase APR | Rewards | Sign-up bonus | |
| OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card | $35 | 17.39% (variable) variable | None | None |
| Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit Account | $0 | 29.99% fixed | None | None |
| Discover it® Secured | $0 | 22.99% variable | 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically | Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match. |
| Capital One® Platinum Credit Card | $0 | 26.99% (variable) | non-rewards card | No bonus |
| Discover it® Student Cash Back | $0 | 12.99% - 21.99% variable | Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically | Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match. |
| Target RedCard Credit Card* | $0 | 22.90% variable | 5% discount on Target and Target.com purchases | See terms |
| Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business | $0 | 24.49% (variable) | 1% cash back on every purchase | N/A |
Now, we’ll get into the details of what each card offers and whether it could be what you’re looking for.
Best card for no credit check: OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
If you’re worried about incurring a hard inquiry on your next card application (which can temporarily knock down your credit score), consider the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card. It’s unique in that it doesn’t run a credit check when considering your application, though other financial factors will be considered. It’s a secured card, meaning you’ll have to submit a security deposit that will serve as your credit limit. You can get the deposit back if you pay off and close the card.
The downside to this card is that it charges an annual fee of $35 without offering any rewards, nor does the issuer give you an opportunity to upgrade to an unsecured card, as some competing secured cards do after you show responsible usage. However, if you want to avoid a hard inquiry, this card could allow you to improve your score and eventually get approved for a card without an annual fee or one that offers cash back or travel rewards.
This card’s regular purchase APR is 17.39% (variable) variable.
Best for no annual fee: Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit Account
The Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit Account isn’t exactly a traditional credit card, but rather a credit account that behaves like a credit card.
If you’re looking to build credit with a $0 annual fee, the Fingerhut Advantage Revolving Credit Account could be a great choice. It’s true that you can only use it to shop on Fingerhut.com (which sells products ranging from clothing to electronics), but you might have a chance at getting approved even if your credit history isn’t great.
Plus, this account is unsecured, meaning you don’t need to put down a security deposit. The regular purchase APR is 29.99% fixed.
Be aware, though, that the products you find on Fingerhut might be more expensive than the same products at other retailers. It’s not a bad option to make a small purchase from time to time and pay it off promptly so that you build credit — but you probably don’t want to plan to do all your shopping there.
Best secured card: Discover it® Secured
The Discover it® Secured is unique among secured cards in that it offers a rewards program — 2% cash back at Gas Stations and Restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically Discover also makes it easy to upgrade to an unsecured credit card. After you’ve used your card for eight months, Discover will start conducting monthly reviews of your account to see if you’re eligible to upgrade and get your deposit back. There’s also an excellent signup bonus for new cardmembers: Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
This card’s annual fee is $0 and its regular purchase APR is 22.99% variable.
Best unsecured card: Capital One® Platinum Credit Card
The Capital One® Platinum Credit Card is a pretty no-frills credit card. It doesn’t offer a rewards program, but it is available to those whose credit is average/fair/limited. Plus, it’s an unsecured card, meaning you don’t have to submit a security deposit — and you’re likely to get a higher credit limit than you would on a secured card. After demonstrating responsible usage on this card, you might be able to upgrade to another Capital One card offering cash back or miles.
This card’s annual fee is $0 and its regular purchase APR is 26.99% (Variable).
Best card for students: Discover it® Student Cash Back
If you’re a college student over the age of 18 with a steady source of income, the Discover it® Student Cash Back has a lot to offer. Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, select rideshares and online shopping, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases - automatically Plus, the sign-up bonus is a great value if you put most of your spend on this card the first year you have it — Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
Finally, Discover offers a good grades bonus for up to five years. Each school year that your GPA is 3.0 or higher, you can get a $20 statement credit.
This card’s annual fee is $0 and the regular purchase APR is 12.99% - 21.99% variable.
Best retail card: Target RedCard Credit Card
If you do a lot of shopping at Target, the Target RedCard Credit Card might be a good choice for you. It’s a store card, so you can’t use it anywhere other than Target, but it does offer a pretty good discount (applied when you check out): a 5% discount on Target and Target.com purchases.
The annual fee is $0 and the regular purchase APR is 22.90% variable.
Best business card: Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business
The cashback rate on the Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business is just OK — 1% cash back on every purchase. However, we like that it has an annual fee of $0 and it’s available for small business owners with fair/limited credit.
There’s a foreign transaction fee of none, which is helpful if you travel abroad for business purposes. And you can get free employee cards, which can save you money if you need to issue cards to several employees.
This card’s regular purchase APR is 24.49% (variable)
The bottom line
While no credit card is ever a guaranteed approval, you should have a better shot at getting one of the cards on this list. Some provide opportunities to upgrade to better cards down the road. And while others may not have an option to upgrade, they can still help you increase your credit score with responsible usage, which can help you qualify for a better card down the road.
Once approved, make sure to pay your balance in full each month and keep your utilization ratio low. A good rule of thumb is to never use more than 30% of your credit limit — so if you have a card with a $500 limit, don’t charge more than $150 to it at any time.
You should also keep an eye on your credit score to make sure your credit card usage is having the desired effect. There are resources where you can do this for free, such as My LendingTree, which is offered by CompareCards.com’s parent company. Finally, for tips on smart credit usage, take a look at how one credit card user managed to raise his score by 100 points in 30 days.
