These are reviews of credit cards that people with damaged or thin credit can realistically get. Fees, APRs, deposits, and which credit bureaus a card reports to come from the issuer’s own disclosures and cardholder agreements, not from other review sites. Each review lists its sources and the date its terms were verified.
Want them all in one table? See credit cards for bad credit.
Secured cards (refundable deposit)
- Capital One Platinum Secured: $0 annual fee, deposits from $49 for a $200 line, and its path to graduation
- OpenSky Plus: no annual fee, $300 refundable deposit, 28.24% APR, no credit check, and how it compares with its $35 sibling
- OpenSky Secured Visa: $35 fee, $200 deposit, 23.89% APR, no credit check, and reporting to all three bureaus
Unsecured cards (no deposit)
- Milestone Mastercard: $175 the first year, about $199/year after, $700 limit, 35.9% APR, and when a secured card beats it
- Indigo Mastercard: the same pricing as Milestone, now issued by Celtic Bank
- Tilt: Motion at a $0 annual fee and Engage at $59, both 29.24%–34.24% variable
- AvantCard: $0–$75 annual fee on website offers, up to $125 by mail, and why the application channel matters
- Arro Card: up to a $60 fee, 24.99% starting APR, no hard credit check, and reporting to Experian and Equifax only
- Prosper Card: $59 fee (waived the first year with AutoPay), 22.49%–33.99% APR, $500–$3,000 starting lines
- Seen Mastercard: $0–$123 account-specific annual fee, 35.99% APR, $300–$3,000 limits, and no invitation needed to apply
- Perpay Credit Card: $9 opening fee plus $5.50–$9 a month, no credit check, and the direct-deposit requirement behind it
Offer or invitation required
- OneMain BrightWay: $0–$89 fee, 33.99%–35.99% APR, and how the six-payment Milestone Rewards work; you need an offer code to apply
- Mercury Mastercard: why you can’t just apply, how the reservation-code offers work, and how to read the terms before you accept
Other credit-building cards
- Grow Credit Mastercard: a virtual card that pays only subscriptions at 0% APR, and what it can and can’t do for your credit
Not sure whether to put down a deposit or pay fees instead? Secured vs. unsecured lays out the trade. If a term in any review has changed since we checked it, tell us.