Q: If you don’t have the best credit history, what credit cards are the easiest to be approved for?

A: That’s an excellent question and I’ll be happy to answer it.

Ever since what is now called “The Great Recession” getting approved for credit cards isn’t quite as easy as it used to be. These days credit card companies have stricter approval requirements, making approval more challenging for those that have bad credit or a limited credit history.

Let’s take a look at the easiest credit cards to get approved for, divided by category…

For no credit history (or little credit history)

Lucky for you, banks view those with a blank slate (little to no credit history) more favorably than someone that has screwed up their credit. So in other words, banks are usually more willing to give newcomers a chance.

However it’s highly unlikely you will be approved for the mid to high level cards right away. Instead you will have to start off with some of the entry level cards, then after a year or so of good management, you should be able to apply for something even better.

If you are a college student then I would definitely recommend you go with cards for college students. These are specifically geared towards younger people that have little to no history, so they are some of the easiest credit cards to get approved for. We have a sponsored section for with the best student credit cards you should check out.

If you are not a college student then you won’t be able to get a student credit card. Fortunately, there are still cards out there for those with limited credit history, whether you are 20 or 80. The easiest ones to get will be those that are geared towards those with fair credit (which is what most people newer to credit usually have). Check out our sponsored ranking of cards for people with fair credit.

For bad credit

Don’t worry, if you have bad credit all hope is NOT lost! There are still plenty of options on the market for people just like you!

As expected, you won’t qualify for most of the cards out there. The easiest ones to get approved for with bad credit will be those which are secured. However you need to watch out, because a lot of secured credit cards are nothing but scams and charge outrageous fees. Just because you have bad credit, it doesn’t mean you should be ripped off!

• application fees - some secured cards charge application fees. Generally this is something we frown upon
• processing fees - you may be charged a “processing fee” simply for processing your application. Ideally, it’s probably best to choose a card that doesn’t charge this fee.
• annual or monthly fees – you can expect to pay an annual fee for most secured cards, but if you do just make sure it’s a reasonable fee and not something outrageous
• easy account management – online account management, text message notifications, etc. should be included free of charge
• reports to major credit bureaus - card issuers actually have to pay in order to report their cardholders to the credit bureaus. For this reason, some sketchy companies won’t report because they are being cheap. Make sure the secured card you choose reports to the major credit bureaus, otherwise it won’t help your credit.

Because secured cards require a refundable security deposit (you choose the amount) the vast majority of them have 100% guaranteed approval as long as you meet the simple residency requirements (US citizen), are 18+ and can verify your identity if needed. There is no credit history or credit score requirement, so they are definitely the easiest to get, even if you have really bad credit. Check out our section below where we rank the top cards:

Rebuilding credit using secured cards