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Credit Cards that do not Require a Credit Check
This is credit cards 101: when you apply for the credit card, a bank pulls out your credit report from major credit bureaus and assesses your credit-worthiness based on that information.
The problem comes when you do not have a credit history at all (no credit situation) or it contains some unwanted adverse events like failed payments or even bankruptcy (bad credit situation).
| regular APR | |
bad credit required
no fees
Up to $5,000 Spending Limit in Less than 60 Seconds! Shop from over 100,000 brand name products such as Apple, Samsung, Sony, Gucci, Prada and much more with low easy payments.
Less than Perfect Credit Accepted. Approval is quick and easy. Must be 18 years or older, have a valid checking account and a verifiable source of income.
In both situations, most credit card offers are not accessible for the customer except for special products with no credit check or loyal to bad credit history. Let’s look deeper at different cases.
Students
Students usually do not have a credit history before getting a first loan or credit card. Under the Credit Card Act of 2009 provisions, young people under 21 cannot get a credit card without a co-signer, so you do not to have a credit history yourself but need to be able to bring a co-signer with a good credit score to be approved. There’s a lot of student offers from major and smaller banks available. Some of our favorites are:
| regular APR | |
- get 1500 bonus points after spending $1000 in the first 3 months
- earn 2x points on dining out and entertainment
no credit required
no annual fee
no credit needed for students
up to 2x points and 15000 bonus
| regular APR | |
- get 1% cash back on al purchases
fair credit / no credit required
no annual fee
student card
up to 1.25% cash back
| regular APR | |
- earn 5% cashback on rotating quarterly categories
- 1% cashback on all purchases
- double cashback for first year
- $20 cashback annual bonus if your GPA is 3.0 or greater
no credit required
no annual fee
no credit needed
5% cashback on changing categories
double first year cashback
Newcomers
It is more difficult for adults with no credit history – this is especially true for newcomers to the country. You cannot apply out-of-the-country credit history in the US even if it is flawless. There is an option to have a co-signer, but it is not that easy to find someone in a new country who will put his credit at risk for you. The best solution is to use credit cards designed specifically for people with no credit – Capital One Platinum is one of the most popular. These cards usually have much higher APR and a low initial credit limit, but will help you in building a credit history in a couple of years of wise credit card use.
Another option to consider is a secured card (read more about secured cards below).
People with bad credit:
With bad credit, you have several options as well. In any case, it helps if you start with a store and a gas card combination.
| regular APR | |
bad credit required
no annual fee
can be used at 76, Conoco or Phillips only
Bankruptcy credit cards
Some banks offer the type of products with small limits and high APRs. Milestone® Mastercard® with Free Choice of Card Image is one of them.
| regular APR | |
good credit / fair credit required
Greater access to credit than before - $700 credit limit
Get a Mastercard accepted online, in store and in app
Account history is reported to the three major credit bureaus in the U.S.
$0 liability for unauthorized use
Access your account online or from your mobile device 24/7
Secured credit cards
Designed to build your credit history from scratch or to rebuild a damaged credit, secured cards require a security deposit on a bank account that serves as collateral against your line of credit. Pure secured cards’ credit limit exactly matches your security deposit, but there are hybrid offers that let you, for example, enjoy a $500 limit for a $250 deposit.
Sometimes banks let you start with a pure secured solution then upgrade your limit without an additional deposit and finally let you graduate to an unsecured card.
Important details to watch when selecting a secured card: the card should report to 3 major credit agencies to build your credit score – some banks report to unknown organizations which doesn’t help your score. Another must-have on a secured card is a grace period – it is much more convenient to have it even if you pay off your balance in full every month (which is highly recommended for credit building).
| regular APR | |
- 2x miles on gas and groceries
- 1x miles on all other purchases
- get 5,000 bonus on first card use
bad credit required
$25 annual fee
$0 first-year fee
reports to credit agencies
24 days grace period
unsecured card offer after 12 months
| regular APR | |
bad credit / no credit required
Best for members rebuilding or establishing credit
It's a real credit card — not a debit or prepaid card.
Determine your own credit limit ($250 to $5,000) with an interest-earning CD.
Prepaid cards
Mostly, prepaid cards do not require any credit checks and are very easy to get. The downside to this is that they are not covered under the CARD Act and usually have high fees and are difficult to understand terms.
Another problem is that prepaid cards do not give you any line of credit and hence do not report to credit bureaus and do not help you in building credit. Some exclusions exist, like Account Now Prepaid card, but they usually work as a secured card despite being marketed as prepaid.
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