Best Credit Cards for Bad Credit of January 2024 (2024)

• Our picks
• How to get a credit card with bad credit
• Popular credit cards for bad credit by company
• How we picked the best credit cards for bad credit
• Sources
• About the author
• User questions & answers
• Expert opinions

Our picks for the best credit cards for bad credit in 2024

The best credit cards for bad credit are secured cards with no annual fee. That’s true for everyone with poor credit, except people who need a modest emergency loan, because even the best unsecured credit cards for bad credit still charge an arm and a leg for a very small amount of borrowing power.

To help you find the right card for your needs, WalletHub’s editors compared hundreds of offers – both secured and unsecured – and selected the best credit cards for people with bad credit in the most popular categories. Below, you can see how the top cards compare as well as what each is best for.

Best Credit Cards for Bad Credit

Below, you can learn more about the dos and don’ts of choosing a credit card at this important stage of your credit career.

How to get the best credit card for bad credit

1. Catch up on late payments.

   Many credit cards for bad credit won’t approve applicants with recent delinquencies. And there's no point in adding to your obligations if you don’t have your ducks in a row.

2. Compare credit card fees.

   Low-cost credit improvement should be your top priority. One way to keep costs down is to find a card with low (or no) annual fees, monthly fees and one-time fees. Another is to always pay your bill in full, which will allow you to avoid interest charges.

3. Focus on secured cards for high approval odds and low fees.

   Secured credit cards offer the highest chances of approval because they require you to place a security deposit that acts as your credit line. This deposit also prevents the need to charge fees, making secured cards the cheapest way to rebuild credit.

4. Don’t assume secured means guaranteed approval.

   Secured cards offer the closest thing you can get to guaranteed approval, but most will still perform a credit check. And certain items on your credit report could disqualify you. If you want a secured card that doesn’t do a credit check, the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card is a good option.

In addition, we recommend signing up for a free WalletHub account. You’ll get free credit reports and scores, updated daily, as well as personalized credit-improvement advice and 24/7 credit monitoring.

You won’t have to wonder how long it will take for your credit score to improve, either. You can actually watch it happen – likely in 12-18 months – on WalletHub.

Finally, if you’re still not sure which credit card will best meet your needs and ultimately take your credit to the next level at the lowest cost, we’ll highlight a notable option from each major credit card company below. That way, you won’t have to worry about missing out because you’ll know what all the big players bring to the table.

Best credit card for bad credit by company

How we picked the best credit cards for bad credit

To select the best credit cards for people with bad credit scores, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare more than 1,500 credit card offers based on factors such as their approval requirements, credit-bureau-reporting practices, and fees. Rewards, interest rates, and security-deposit requirements are also key considerations.

People with poor credit scores have varying needs and financial circ*mstances, so WalletHub’s editors select the best cards for different use cases. Although some cards are from WalletHub partners, best-card selections are made purely based on the score each card receives from WalletHub’s Credit Card Rating System.

WalletHub’s Credit Card Rating System

Below, you can see an overview of how cards are scored. For each metric, we provided the criteria for minimum and maximum points. Between the minimum and maximum, points were allocated on a scale determined by our editors for each metric.

Fees

• Annual Membership Fees (2 year average): Cards with $0 in fees receive 10 points, and cards with more than $100 in fees receive 0 points.
• Total One-time Fees: Cards with no one-time fees receive 5 points, and cards with more than $100 in one-time fees receive 0 points.

Rewards

• Ongoing Rewards Value (2-year average): Cards with rewards receive 2 points, and cards with no rewards receive 0 points.
• Two-year Cost (negative amounts indicate savings): Cards projected to save users $150+ receive 50 points, and cards expected to cost users more than $200 receive 0 points.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: Cards with an APR of 15% or less receive 8 points, and cards with an APR above 30% receive 0 points.

Approval Requirements

• Security Deposit: Cards with no security deposit receive 4 points, and cards requiring a security deposit receive 0 points.
• Minimum Credit Line: Cards with a minimum credit limit of $400 or more receive 3 points, and cards with a minimum limit below $200 receive 0 points.
• Credit Bureau Reporting: Cards that report to all three major credit bureaus receive 8 points, and cards that report to one or fewer bureaus receive 0 points.

Reviews

• WalletHub User Rating: Cards with a 4.5+ rating receive 10 points, and cards with a rating below 2/5 receive 0 points.

The scoring framework described above is the main one used to select the best credit cards for people with bad credit, as it’s designed to identify the best credit cards for rebuilding damaged credit. If your top priority is financing emergency purchases, check out WalletHub’s picks for the best unsecured credit cards for bad credit. Where appropriate, cards on this page were also scored for financing capabilities, and scores were then averaged to create an overall rating.

Sources

WalletHub actively maintains a database of 1,500+ credit card offers, from which we select the best credit cards for bad credit for different applicants as well as derive market-wide takeaways and trends. The underlying data is compiled from credit card company websites or provided directly by the credit card issuers. We also leverage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop cardholder profiles, used to estimate cards’ potential savings.