No-Credit-Check Credit Cards
Credit Card | Best For | Credit Score | Annual Fee | Welcome Bonus |
---|---|---|---|---|
Guaranteed Approval | 300–669 | $35 | ||
Low APR | 300–669 | $49 | ||
Low Deposit | 300–669 | $0 | ||
Secured | 300–669 | $0 | ||
Building Credit | 300–669 | $25 |
Table of Contents
Trying to get a new credit card is stressful, especially if you have bad credit or an insufficient credit history. You may be worried about qualifying for a credit card if the lender sees any derogatory marks on your credit report, such as late payments or bankruptcies.
Even if you have decent credit, you might still be worried about getting a hard inquiry from the credit check, which will drop your credit score by a few points.
Whatever your reason is, if you want to apply for a credit card that won’t perform a credit check, you have options. We’ve put together a list of the 5 best credit cards that won’t check your credit.
What is a credit check?
A credit check is when a potential lender looks at your credit report to understand your borrowing history. Their search will show items including:
- Your name and address
- Your current outstanding loans
- Your employment status
- Past-due payments
- Late payments
- Bankruptcies
- Foreclosures
These are only some examples of what a credit check may reveal about your financial situation and risk level as a borrower (i.e., whether you’re likely to pay your bills on time). If you have black marks or missed payments in your past, you may not want a new lender to see them, as that could disqualify you from being approved for a loan or line of credit.
How do I get a credit card with no credit check?
To get a credit card that doesn’t check your credit, you need to be willing to put down a credit card security deposit. All no-credit-check credit cards are secured credit cards. Secured cards require a security deposit as collateral in case the cardholder fails to pay their bills.
When you open a secured credit card account, your security deposit will likely match your initial credit limit. If you make purchases on the card and don’t pay off your balance, your lender can keep the security deposit.
Because of this, secured credit cards are less risky for lenders to approve. That’s why some credit card issuers will offer approval for secured credit cards without performing a credit check.
Best credit cards that won’t check your credit
Here are the 5 best credit cards that don’t check your credit when you apply.
Best no-credit-check credit card with guaranteed approval
OpenSky® Secured Visa®
Rating Breakdown
Fees
4.6The OpenSky® Secured Visa® does well in the fees category thanks to the low annual fees.
APR
3.3The OpenSky® Secured Visa® has reasonable interest rates on purchases and cash advances, especially compared to other cards for this credit range.
Rewards
1.0Because this card doesn’t give you any returns for your spending, it gets the lowest possible score in the rewards category.
Credit Reporting
5.0The OpenSky® Secured Visa® reports to all three credit bureaus, so it gets top marks for credit reporting.
Security Deposit
4.0The OpenSky® Secured Visa® allows you to put down as little as $200 or as much as $3,000, so there’s a reasonable amount of flexibility about how much security deposit you pay (and credit limit you get in return).
Other
We bumped up the score a bit for this card because of its good accessibility, since it has high approval odds and is available to borrowers with no credit history.
Annual
Fee
$35 |
Credit
Score
300–669 |
Deposit
$200–$3,000 |
Purchase
APR
21.14% (variable) |
Why It's Great
The OpenSky® Secured Visa® is one of the easiest credit cards to get on the market today. It doesn’t require a credit check and offers nearly 100% approval odds.
You can put down a security deposit between $200–$3,000, and enjoy an equivalent credit limit. Many secured credit cards offer initial credit limits between $200–$500, making this one of the rare guaranteed approval credit cards with a credit limit over $1,000.
Additionally, the OpenSky® Secured Visa® reports your borrowing activities to the three major credit bureaus, which helps you build credit if you use your card responsibly and pay your bills on time.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Low APR
- No checking account required
- High approval odds
- Flexible due dates
Cons
- Requires a security deposit
- $35 annual fee
- Can’t upgrade to an unsecured card
- No rewards
Best no-credit-check credit card with low APR
Annual
Fee
$49 |
Credit
Score
300–669 |
Deposit
$200–$2,000 |
Purchase
APR
13.74% (variable) |
Why It's Great
The First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured credit card is one of three First Progress secured credit cards, all of which don’t require a credit check to qualify. So even if the Prestige isn’t for you, you can still consider the First Progress Platinum Select Mastercard® Secured or the First Progress Platinum Elite Mastercard® Secured.
There’s a lot to recommend the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured credit card, including a potentially high credit limit (up to $2,000 with an equal deposit), credit reporting to the three major credit bureaus, and a comparatively low annual fee.
But the biggest appeal of the First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured is its low APR of 13.74% (variable). Credit card APR represents the card’s yearly interest rate. This rate applies to balances that carry over from one month to the next, meaning unpaid monthly bills will gain interest charges at this rate.
Most credit cards for bad credit have notably high APRs, usually between 22%–30%. The First Progress Platinum Prestige offers an APR lower than half of most comparable cards’ rates, making a great credit card for anyone who’s likely to carry a credit card balance over from month to month.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Low APR
- No credit inquiry required
- The security deposit is refundable
- A discharged bankruptcy in your credit report will not cause you to be declined
Cons
- $49 annual fee
- Requires a security deposit
- Requires a Synovus bank account
- The card can’t be upgraded to an unsecured card
Best credit card with no credit check and a low deposit
GO2bank™ Secured Visa®
Annual
Fee
$0 |
Credit
Score
300–669 |
Deposit
$100 |
Purchase
APR
22.99% (fixed) |
Why It's Great
To get a credit card without a credit check, you need to put down a security deposit. This may be a big deterrent for you if you’re strapped for cash at the moment but need a line of credit.
Luckily, there’s a no-credit-check credit card that offers a low minimum deposit of just $100. While this will also be your credit limit, you can put down $100 now, start building your credit, then add money to your deposit later to increase your credit limit.
Additionally, the card offers a fixed APR, which is rare among credit cards. Usually, credit cards have variable APRs, meaning their interest rates change based on the current market. The GO2bank™ Secured Visa®, however, always boasts an APR of 22.99% (fixed).
Pros & Cons
Pros
- No annual fee
- Foreign transactions and cash advances available
- Credit reporting to all three major credit bureaus
- No credit check required
Cons
- High APR
- Security deposit required
- Foreign transaction fees
- No balance transfers
- GO2bank account required
Best secured credit card with no credit check
Annual
Fee
$0 |
Credit
Score
300–669 |
Deposit
$200 |
Why It's Great
The best all-around secured credit card with no credit check required is the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa®. This card is straight-forward, low-cost, and aimed at anyone trying to rebuild credit.
The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® boasts some notable perks, including:
- No fees: No annual, monthly, maintenance, program, or even foreign transaction fees.
- No interest: That’s right, there’s no interest whatsoever on this credit card.
- Flexible security deposit: Unlike with most security deposits, you can use your Chime deposit to pay off your monthly balance.
Even better, the card doesn’t charge a cash advance fee. You can use a cash advance to get money from your credit card at an ATM. This is usually expensive to do with a credit card, but Chime offers uniquely cheap cash advances. The only fee you may face is a$2.50 fee for using an out-of-network ATM.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- No interest charges
- No annual fee
- No credit check to apply
- No foreign transaction fees
- No cash advance fees within ATM network
Cons
- You must open a Chime checking account
- $200 minimum security deposit
- No rewards
Best no-credit-check credit card for building credit
Self Visa® + Credit Builder Account
Annual
Fee
$25 |
Credit
Score
300–669 |
Deposit
$100 |
Purchase
APR
26.99% (variable) |
Why It's Great
The Self Visa® is a unique card for credit building that requires no credit check to get approved. Unlike other credit cards for building credit, the Self Visa® has you pay a security deposit through a credit-building installment loan that you pay off over 3 months. Here’s how it works:
- You apply for a Self credit builder account (and can qualify without a credit check).
- You pay off the credit-builder loan, which can be as low as $100, 3 months.
- You then qualify for the Self Visa® credit card.
- The money you’ve paid towards the loan acts as your security deposit, so you then have access to that amount of credit.
This is great for credit building, as you’re fortifying your credit history on two fronts: the loan and the line of credit. Your activities will also be reported to all three major credit bureaus, meaning you build credit across the board.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Good for building credit
- Available to people with bad or no credit
- No credit check required
Cons
- Requires a credit builder account
- Low initial credit limit
- $25 annual fee
- No balance transfers or cash advances
How we rate our credit cards
Getting a new credit card can be tough, especially when you have less-than-perfect credit. That's why we heavily weighted the following factors when determining the best credit cards without credit checks:
- Qualification requirements
- Fees
- Interest rates
- Security deposits
- Benefits
- Borrowing terms
These factors, among many others, are part of our 5-star credit card rating methodology for all card categories. Our star ratings are unbiased and independent of our affiliates and advertisers.