Guaranteed Credit Card Approval No Deposit (12 Best Cards)

Top 12 Credit Cards for “Guaranteed Approval”

It’s tempting to look for a guaranteed approval card to lower the chances of being given the cold shoulder. You won’t like hearing this, but the “guaranteed approval” is a myth. You need to meet a set of requirements for every card you apply for, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get it.

However, the cards below are the closest thing to guaranteed approval that you’ll ever get.

Best “Guaranteed Approval” Credit Cards With $1000 Limits

Unsecured credit cards for bad and fair credit have a downside—low credit limits. A ceiling of $200 is more likely to make you want to cry than the latest rom-com. But what if we told you there are outliers with limits over $1,000?

Top Pick–Petal 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa

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Why we love it

Petal 2 truly stands out from the rest of “guaranteed approval” unsecured credit cards for bad credit. It scores high in every category. “No fees forever” is a mouth-watering offer, and the card offers a minimum of 1% cash back (up to 10% for selected merchants).

Petal 2’s best feature is its high credit limit. You can potentially qualify for a ceiling of $10,000. That’s fifty times the smallest limit.

What to look out for

This card is for people with limited and poor credit, with one exception. If you filed for bankruptcy in the past 48 months, you’ll be rejected. Your APR and credit limit will depend on your “creditworthiness”, so the first-rate options are not a given. Still, a credit limit of up to $1,000 is within your reach.

Avant Credit Card

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Why we like it

This one is for people with a fair score. If you’re a couple of months into your credit journey, or making a comeback after a stumble, Avant Credit Card would be a great stepping stone to excellent credit.

Avant is relatively inexpensive for its category—there are no foreign transaction fees and likely no annual fee, either. Its high credit limit helps you keep your credit utilization ratio under 30%.

What to look out for

Pay your balance on time and keep your credit utilization to a minimum—your APR is steep and Avant may lower your credit limit if you drop the ball.

Merrick Bank Credit Card

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Why we like it (and why we’re weary of it)

Merrick Bank Double Your Line® Secured Credit Card is a double-edged sword. It offers a sizable credit limit for its category (it’ll double after seven months, if you put down at least the minimum payment).

But it’s also costly. The APR is crazy, and the fees are hefty. Choose this card if the credit limit is what you’re after. On the plus side, this card will help you keep your credit utilization low. The annual fee is still much smaller than the deposit for secured credit cards.

You also get the standard Mastercard perks and monthly reports to the three credit bureaus, so (re)building your credit should be a walk in the park.

Best Credit Cards for Building Credit: No Deposit

Building credit is smoother and faster than fixing it. Lenders can be more lenient towards newcomers than those who are returning after a rough patch. If you’re new, use this to your advantage.

Top Pick–Tomo Credit Card

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Why we love it

Tomo is almost a hybrid between a credit and debit card. You can’t carry a balance (read, won’t end up in debt), as it automatically pays your charges every week. This also means you don’t have to fret over your APR or any interest charges.

Tomo Credit Card offers a ton of other benefits through its partnership with Lyft, DoorDash, and HelloFresh (covering all areas of your daily expenses).

What to look out for

There’s no credit check when you apply (yay!), but you need to link your bank account—checking, savings, or even investment—so they can evaluate your financial profile.

This card is ideal if you have a steady income or substantial savings, but no credit history. You’re almost guaranteed an approval with any (or no) credit score, but your initial credit limit will be determined by your financial history and paying power. And when it comes to the credit limit, the more, the merrier!

But watch out, your account will be frozen if you can’t pay off your weekly charges. Use this card to learn healthy financial habits, build credit, and move on to top-tier credit cards in the future.

Mission Lane Cash Back Visa Credit Card

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Why we like it

Frequently raised credit limits are the highlight of this credit card. You can qualify for a $1,000 credit limit from the beginning, and it’ll be raised automatically if you make the first six payments on time. And that’s just for starters.

The cash back is always sweet when you deal with guaranteed approval credit cards for bad/no credit. With this card, you can earn solid rewards, while enjoying no annual fee. When you apply online, Mission Lane boasts an instant decision on your application. It’s a great choice when you need a card ASAP.

What to look out for

Pay attention to the high APR and other fees, and be careful not to overspend or skip payments. This credit card is a good option for people with no credit history or below-average credit. However, if your credit score is approaching 300, you won’t qualify for Mission Lane Cash Back.

Chime Credit Builder

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Why we like it

We know, we know, this is cheating. Chime Credit Builder is technically a secured credit card— but it’s not your traditional one.

For one, the money you transfer to your credit card is not a security deposit that is out of your reach until you close your account—with Chime, you can use this money to pay off your monthly charges.

There’s also no minimum requirement. You set your own credit limit, however big or small. You can also move this money back to your checking account any time. The coolest part is that Chime doesn’t report your credit utilization. Even if you deposit $100, and use all of it this month, it’s not going to ruin your credit.

There are no fees, no interest charges, and the card encourages you to spend the money you already have. Perfect for building your credit fast.

What to look out for

You’ll need a Chime checking account to qualify for this credit card, but you can apply for one in a matter of minutes. They won’t run a credit check when you apply, which practically guarantees an instant approval.

This might seem odd if you’re looking for credit cards with no deposit, but this credit card is a bit like a reloadable prepaid debit (with the extra perk of reporting to the three major credit bureaus). You can always start slow, if you don’t have a lot of money to deposit right away.

Read more: Chime Credit Card Review

Best Credit Cards for Bad Credit (With No Deposit)

We have a larger selection of reliable unsecured credit cards for bad credit if you want to dig deeper. Here are our top picks.

Our Pick—Destiny Mastercard

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Why we like it

Destiny Mastercard is a solid candidate to help you fix your credit. You can apply for it with a bad credit score and even derogatory marks on your report. To be sure you’ll get approved, you can pre-qualify with no impact on your credit score.

Even though Destiny doesn’t offer any rewards, the fees—bar the annual fee—are relatively low for this type of card. No cash advance fee for the first year is a rare and attractive benefit. The card also offers $0 Fraud Liability and other identity theft protections as part of Mastercard benefits.

What to look out for

Unfortunately, you’ll get a fixed credit limit with no increase even after repairing your credit. Check out our full Destiny Mastercard Review for an in-depth look at this card.

Surge Platinum Mastercard

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Why we like it

It ain’t stellar when it comes to fees, but you’ll get a high credit limit. Be responsible, make your payments on time, and after six months it’ll double to $2,000—which is rare for this kind of cards.

Surge embraces customers with really low credit scores. You’ll qualify easily even after bankruptcy. It’s a traditional, even slightly boring, option. But it’s reliable, and has all the typical protections Mastercard offers.

Ultimately, Surge is not the card you want to stick to for long, but it’ll help you boost your credit score and upgrade to superior options in no time.

What to look out for

The fees and APR are pretty brutal. It’s our advice for all credit cards, but be careful and pay off your balance in full and on time every month. Note that a checking account in Celtic Bank is required to get Surge Mastercard.

Reflex Mastercard®

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The Reflex Mastercard® isn’t the cheapest option for an unsecured card. The higher annual fees and APR are off-putting, but it does offer credit limits of up to $1,000 for people with bad credit (you can double it after six months of timely minimum payments).

Like a few other bad credit credit cards, you can get near-instant approval by applying online. 

But first you should consider if you want to be tied to such high rates without the perks offered even by some of the secured cards on our list.

Pros

Cons

Read our full Reflex credit card review to learn more.

Credit One Bank Platinum Visa for Rebuilding Credit

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Why we like it

Two things that make this credit card stand out from its competitors are: cash back rewards—though rather modest—and periodic reviews of your credit limit.

Many cards for people with the lowest credit scores have a fixed limit. No credit-line increase makes it harder to dig your way out of bad credit (remember credit utilization rate?). You won’t have this problem with Credit One Bank Platinum Visa.

What to look out for

Don’t take out cash advances because of the sky-high fee. There’s an additional $19 annual fee if you add an authorized user to your account.

Best Credit Cards for Students With No Credit

We’ve saved the best for last. Here’s a selection of student credit cards. Why student credit cards are the sweetest:

• Nobody expects you to have exceptional credit as a student. These cards are easy to get.
• They offer competitive rewards and unique perks.
• You can keep using your credit card even after graduation. It automatically becomes a regular credit card, while you get to keep the rewards and low fees you’ve been enjoying.

Top Pick–Discover It Student Cash Back

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Why we love it

Not many starter credit cards offer amazing rewards. This one does. You can earn 5% cash back on purchases in rotating categories (from Amazon.com and digital wallets until the end of 2022, for example) and an extra 1% (everywhere else).

Unlimited Cashback Match means that Discover will automatically double your rewards at the end of your first year. If you earn $250, you’ll get $500. We wish we could go back to being students just to qualify for this credit card!

What to look out for

The 5% cash back rewards are capped. Rewards are limited to $75 per quarter (that’s $1,500 spent in every category). Discover cards have limited acceptance abroad, unlike Visa or Mastercard. If you’re planning to hit the road, consider another option. We have a suggestion below.

Don’t forget to log into your account and activate your quarterly spending categories. They must be activated manually every time.

Discover It Student Chrome

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Why we like it

Your eyes are not betraying you—this card is eerily similar to the cash back version. The rewards are a bit less fancy, but the flat rate has its own benefits.

This card would work best for those who are less organized or have a lot on their plate. You don’t need to activate the rotating categories, so you never risk forgetting about them. It’s also great for students who own a car!

What to look out for

You can earn 2% cash back on up to $1,000 per quarter. Like its sibling, Discover It Student Chrome has limited acceptance abroad.

Best Guaranteed Approval Credit Cards—The More You Know

Oliver Wyman and Experian’s 2022 report on access to credit says that 11% of adult Americans are credit invisible, 8%—unscorable, and 22% have subprime credit scores.

That’s 106 million Americans who can’t access prime credit cards and loans. Immigrants and people under 25 are especially likely to be affected. But, get this—you absolutely can apply for a credit card with bad credit, average credit, or no credit at all.

This article will help you choose from:

Read on to find out how you can qualify, even if you don’t have a perfect credit score (yet).

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Is Guaranteed Credit Card Approval a Myth?

We all hate to be rejected, whether it’s a job application or a date. When it comes to applying for a credit card there’s also the risk of lowering your credit score. If you’re denied, it’ll leave a record—a bit like getting an “Undatable” status on your Tinder profile for everyone to see.

No wonder it’s tempting to look for a “guaranteed approval” card to lower the chances of being given the cold shoulder. You won’t like hearing this, but the “guaranteed approval” is a myth. You need to meet a set of requirements for every card you apply for, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get it.

But hey, only death and taxes are certain, as the saying goes. When people talk about credit cards with guaranteed approval, they mean credit cards created for subpar credit (for the 57 million Americans with subprime credit scores). They have less strict requirements when it comes to your score.

Still, the lender might check your credit history, income, age, or Social Security number. Getting denied a “guaranteed approval” credit card is like being turned down if you’re a charming millionaire—hard, but not impossible.

Soft inquiries vs. hard pull: what affects your credit score?

With many credit card companies, you can check if you pre-qualify for their card—they call it pre-approval, and it can take seconds. Your credit score shouldn’t be affected, as it’s a type of soft inquiry. It’s like when you check your own score.

A hard inquiry (“hard pull”), on the other hand, can harm your credit score (at least temporarily). That’s what lenders do when they review your credit report and history. Hard inquiries will stay on your credit report for two years. (That’s one of the reasons you shouldn’t apply for twenty credit cards at once.)

Checking your credit report periodically is a healthy financial habit. You can request your report from Credit Karma for free.

Bad credit: how to read credit scores

Your credit score shows your credit behavior as a number, based on data in your credit report. Of all the scales and methods to calculate your credit score, 90% of American financial institutions will use the FICO score to see if you qualify for their cards and loans:

• Exceptional: 800+
• Very Good: 740–799
• Good: 670–739
• Fair: 580–669
• Poor: 300–579

We’ll be focusing on the bottom two here (if you were in the top ones, you wouldn’t be reading this.) Yes, you’ve got some catching up to do since the average credit score in the US is at a historic high of 716 points (according to FICO’s annual report), but you’re in the right hands.

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Unsecured Credit Cards = No Deposit

Secured credit cards, for which you need to put down a cash security deposit when you open an account, are more common.

Your credit limit usually equals the amount you’ve deposited. They’re less risky for the lender. If you miss a payment, they’ll cover it with your security deposit. Maybe you don’t want to pay at least $200 upfront, so you’ll go for the “guaranteed credit card approval no deposit” option.

We’ve compiled a list of the best unsecured credit cards that won’t require a deposit.

A Quick Note on How to Compare Credit Cards

Credit card agreements hold plenty of information about your card. Here’s what you need to pay special attention to. We’ve tried to highlight these four categories in our ranking so that you could make an informed decision about your next credit card.

APR

Your APR is arguably the most important information you need to know about your card. It tells you how much interest you’ll pay for carrying your balance. As for the APR—the lower, the better. Zero is the dream.

Ideally, you’d want to get a special offer of a 0% introductory APR that will make that dream come true. Just don’t forget to set a wake-up call for when the introductory offer expires (usually after 6–18 months).

Fees

Credit cards are notorious for a range of fees they can charge. Annual fee, late payment fee, foreign transaction fee, balance transfer, cash advance, over-the-limit fee—we can go on and on.

Aim for the lowest fees possible, especially when it comes to the annual fee. You can avoid the rest, if you’re financially responsible and pay off your balance in full every month. As for your annual fee, it’s practically set in stone (and in your credit card agreement).

Rewards

On the bright side, credit cards may offer perks to soften the blow of infinite fees. Among the common rewards are cash back, airline miles, and redeemable points. Sign-up bonuses are also included in this category, and can be worth your while. Credit cards for poor and limited credit are more stingy with their rewards, but there are a few hidden gems.

Credit Limit

Your credit limit is the maximum amount you can borrow from your credit card provider. It’ll be assigned to you during the application process based on your “creditworthiness”.

Bear in mind, your credit limit is directly linked to your credit utilization ratio, one of the key factors that affect your credit. It’s part of the amounts owed category, making up 30% of the total FICO score.

 To calculate it, divide your current balance (the sum of all balances, if you have several cards) by your total credit limit. If your balance is $100 and your credit limit—$1,000, your credit utilization ratio is 10% (good job!). A hack to remember: 30 is your number! Keep your credit utilization ratio below 30% to keep a good score.

Guaranteed credit card approval with no deposit is commonly associated with:

• High APRs
• High fees
• Minimal rewards
• Low credit limits

I hope we’ve managed to prove that this doesn’t have to be the case!

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