Credit Rebuilding Credit Cards to Help Growing Your Credit
Rebuilding credit after a bankruptcy or another negative event is a tough business. A situation where you need to have credit first in order to build credit is a typical Catch 22 situation. However, you still have options. Secured cards and high-risk products are some of them.
Here're our editor’s picks for cards that will help you establish or rebuild credit:
Earn 1% cash back rewards on payments made to your Total Credit Card
Checking Account Required
$300 credit limit (subject to available credit)
No security deposit, simply pay a one-time $95 program fee to open your account.*
User friendly Mobile App.
*See Rates, Fees, Costs & Limitations for complete offer details
See Total Card Visa Rewards Programs Terms & Conditions for details
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.
New feature! Earn up to 10% cash back* on everyday purchases
No credit check to apply. Zero credit risk to apply!
Looking to build or rebuild your credit? 2 out of 3 OpenSky cardholders increase their credit score by an average of 41 points in just 3 months
Get free monthly access to your FICO score in our mobile application
Build your credit history across 3 major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
Add to your mobile wallet and make purchases using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay
Fund your card with a low $200 refundable security deposit to get a $200 credit line
Apply in less than 5 minutes with our mobile first application
Choose the due date that fits your schedule with flexible payment dates
Fund your security deposit over 60 days with the option to make partial payments
Over 1.4 Million Cardholders Have Used OpenSky Secured Credit Card To Improve Their Credit
*See Rewards Terms and Conditions for more information
$125 annual fee
$60 annual maintenance fee
$30 additional annual fee
25 days of grace period
Generally, whatever option you choose, these are the main principles:
- Get a card that reports to major credit bureaus, not unknown ones. Some cards report like secured cards, some like regular – it does not matter that much.
- Get a card with a grace period. It will give you additional 20-25 days to pay off your balance every month.
- Get the highest credit limit you can get. A high limit will help you build a credit score faster.
- Do not overuse your credit limit. You should not exceed 30% of your credit limit every month; it is even better to aim for 10% territory. If needed, pay your balance two times a month.
- Pay on time. Always. That is a simple but effective way to improve your score.
- Do not send out many credit card or loan applications. Lenders make so-called “hard inquiries” on your credit report and this can lower your score in a year’s timeframe.
In most situations of bad credit, the only choice is the secured card. A secured card offers you a credit limit that is secured with a deposit that you put in a bank as collateral.
Some of the good secured cards are:
$25 annual fee
$0 first-year fee
reports to credit agencies
24 days grace period
unsecured card offer after 12 months
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.
If your credit score is not damaged but rather nonexistent, it is much easier because you have more options – typical newcomer products like Capital One Platinum, Credit One Platinum or some of the Discover cards can help you to jump-start your credit score building.
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