Credit cards for bad and poor credit fall into three categories: secured cards backed by your own refundable deposit, unsecured subprime cards that charge fees instead, and invitation-only rebuild cards you can’t apply for directly. We’ve verified the current terms of all fourteen cards below against the issuers’ own disclosures, and the table reflects the current state of the market.
Every card we’ve verified, one table
| Card | Type | Yearly cost | Deposit | APR | Credit check | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One Platinum Secured | Secured | $0 | $49–$200 (refundable) | 28.99% | Underwritten, no score minimum | Best overall deal if approved |
| OpenSky Plus | Secured | $0 | $300+ (refundable) | 28.24% | None | No-credit-check, no fee |
| OpenSky Secured Visa | Secured | $35 | $200+ (refundable) | 23.89% | None | No-credit-check, smallest deposit |
| Milestone Mastercard | Unsecured | $175 yr 1, ~$199 after | None | 35.9% | Decline leaves no hard inquiry | Truly no deposit possible |
| Indigo Mastercard | Unsecured | $175 yr 1, ~$199 after | None | 35.9% | Decline leaves no hard inquiry | Same as Milestone (twin program) |
| Tilt Motion | Unsecured | $0 | None | 29.24%–34.24% | Soft prequalification, hard pull on application | $0-fee open application |
| AvantCard | Unsecured | $0–$75 (website offers) | None | 29.99%–35.99% | Soft prequalification | Mainstream fair-credit option |
| Arro Card | Unsecured | Up to $60 | None | 24.99% starting | None — bank-link underwriting | Lowest APR, no credit check |
| Prosper Card | Unsecured | $59 (waivable year one) | None | 22.49%–33.99% | Soft prequalification | Highest starting-limit floor |
| Seen Mastercard | Unsecured | $0–$123 (account-specific) | None | 35.99% | Soft prequalification | Early credit line increases |
| Perpay Card | Unsecured | ~$66–$108/yr in monthly fees | None | 27.74%–29.99% | None — paycheck-linked | No credit check, three bureaus |
| OneMain BrightWay | Unsecured | $0–$89 | None | 33.99% or 35.99% | Not published | Offer-code holders |
| Mercury Mastercard | Unsecured | Offer-specific | None | 25.99%–35.99% (sample) | Pre-screened by mail | Invitation holders only |
Terms verified August 25, 2026 from issuer documents; each review carries its sources and verification date.
Which category fits your situation
- You can fund a deposit ($49–$300): a secured card costs less in every case we’ve verified: the deposit is returned, fees are not (full comparison: secured vs. unsecured). Start with the flagship playbook: how to use a secured card to build credit.
- You can’t fund any deposit: the verified options are in unsecured cards for bad credit, fee math included, and the deposit-vs-fee break-even is in no-deposit credit cards.
- You’ve been burned by “guaranteed approval” ads: what those ads actually offer, and what’s real: the guaranteed approval card myth.
Run your own numbers before you apply
Free, no email required: the card payoff calculator if existing balances are the problem, the card interest calculator for what carrying a balance really costs, the minimum payment calculator for the long-term cost of paying only the minimum, the current average card APR for where rates stand today, and the snowball vs. avalanche calculator to order a multi-card payoff.
The one-paragraph strategy
Pick the cheapest card that will approve you. Put one small recurring charge on it, autopay in full, keep the reported balance under 10% of the limit, and don’t apply for anything else for six months. That is the entire strategy. The detailed version, with month-by-month expectations, is the secured card playbook.