If your credit is bad or fair and you can’t spare a deposit, start with a no-fee unsecured card like the Capital One Platinum. Check first whether you prequalify, since prequalifying won’t affect your credit score. Pay an annual fee only when its cash back covers the fee, or after pricing it against a secured card.
A secured card asks for a deposit up front, and you get it back when you close the account paid off. An upgrade to a regular card can return it too, as a statement credit. An annual fee is a charge, not a deposit you get back, so a no-fee secured card often costs less than any card here that charges one.
These cards are for someone who can’t spare a deposit, or whose credit already qualifies for a card with no annual fee.
No annual fee
Best overall: Capital One Platinum Credit Card
At $0 the first year, it beats QuicksilverOne for fair-credit borrowers who’d charge under $2,600 a year, the spending that card’s 1.5% back needs to cover its $39 fee.
- Best for: Borrowers who want a no-fee, no-deposit card to build credit and who pay in full each month
- What Sets It Apart: No annual fee or deposit; automatic credit line increase reviews as soon as 6 months in
- Features: Credit line set at approval, with no published minimum; reported to the credit bureaus; pre-approval check with no credit score impact
- Annual Fee: $0
- APR: 29.24% variable
- Cost: No foreign transaction fee
- Credit Needed: Fair credit, a FICO score of 580 to 669, though you need no score to apply
- Pros: No deposit; no annual fee; credit line increase requests use a soft inquiry
- Cons: No rewards; high APR on carried balances; no published starting credit line
For more information, read our full Capital One Platinum Credit Card Review.
Slate Edge® Credit Card
Fair-credit borrowers who’d like their new purchases covered pay $0 the first year and get protection against damage or theft for 120 days, or 90 in New York.
- Best for: People rebuilding their score who want a no-fee Chase card
- What Sets It Apart: Automatic credit line reviews every 6 months or sooner; free Chase Credit Journey tools
- Features: Credit line increase reviews; Credit Journey score tracking and breach alerts; purchase protection up to $500 per item; 6 months of complimentary DashPass, DoorDash’s delivery membership
- Annual Fee: $0
- APR: 29.24% variable
- Cost: 3% foreign transaction fee
- Credit Needed: Fair, which Chase describes as past challenges or a short history
- Pros: No annual fee; credit line reviews without asking; free credit monitoring
- Cons: No rewards; no intro rate; 29.24% interest; 3% foreign transaction fee
For more information, read our full Slate Edge® Credit Card Review.
Credit One Bank Platinum Rewards Visa® with No Annual Fee
Average-credit borrowers get cash back at gas stations and grocery stores and on phone, internet, and TV bills for $0 the first year, once prequalifying shows this version, not Credit One’s $39 one.
- Best for: Fair-credit cardholders who pay in full and want cash back on gas, groceries, and mobile phone, internet, and TV bills with no annual fee
- What Sets It Apart: Cash back with no annual fee or deposit, on a card meant for fair credit
- Rewards: 1% cash back on gas, groceries, internet, cable, satellite TV, and mobile phone service, with no cap; nothing on other purchases; Walmart, Target, and warehouse club purchases excluded
- Features: $300 minimum credit line with automatic reviews for an increase; free credit score and credit report; prequalification with no effect on your score; zero fraud liability
- Annual Fee: $0
- Security Deposit: $0
- APR: 29.99% variable
- Cost: Balance transfer fee of $10 or 5%, whichever is greater; no foreign transaction fee; cash advance fee of $10 or 5%; late fee up to $39
- Credit Needed: Average to excellent
- Pros: No annual fee; prequalifying shows your card and fee before you apply; cash back that doesn’t expire in good standing; free credit score
- Cons: High interest rate; nothing back outside its categories; no rewards at Walmart, Target, or warehouse clubs; no word on which credit bureaus it reports to
For more information, read our full Credit One Bank Platinum Rewards Visa® with No Annual Fee Review.
Tilt Motion VISA® Credit Card
If you’re rebuilding a low score, Tilt weighs your income and spending too, and this card costs $0 the first year, though Tilt’s one application may offer its $59-a-year Engage instead.
- Best for: People new to credit who pay in full each month
- What Sets It Apart: Can approve you on a linked bank account’s income and spending when you have no credit score; no security deposit
- Rewards: 1% to 10% cash back at select merchants in the Tilt app
- Features: Considered for a higher limit from four months; reports to all three credit bureaus
- Annual Fee: $0
- Security Deposit: $0
- APR: 29.49% to 34.49% variable
- Credit Needed: No credit history required
- Pros: Checking whether you qualify won’t affect your credit score; no foreign transaction fee
- Cons: High interest rate; no cash back outside merchant offers; Tilt may approve you for the $59-a-year Engage instead
For more information, read our full Tilt Motion VISA® Credit Card Review.
With an annual fee
Best flat-rate cash back: QuicksilverOne from Capital One
Pick it over SavorOne Rewards, which costs the same $39 the first year, when less than a quarter of your spending goes to grocery stores, dining, entertainment, and streaming.
- Best for: Borrowers building credit who charge more than $2,600 a year, pay in full, and want no deposit
- What Sets It Apart: Unlimited 1.5% back with no deposit on a card for fair credit
- Rewards: 5% on Capital One Travel bookings; flat 1.5% cash back
- Features: Automatic credit line reviews in as little as 6 months; account reported to the credit bureaus; eligibility check with no credit score impact
- Annual Fee: $39
- APR: 29.24% variable
- Cost: No foreign transaction fee
- Credit Needed: Fair credit, FICO scores of 580 to 669
- Pros: No deposit; no rotating categories or cap; cash back that doesn’t expire while the account is open
- Cons: Fee takes $2,600 a year in spending to earn back; no published starting credit line; high APR on carried balances
For more information, read our full QuicksilverOne from Capital One Review.
SavorOne Rewards
Its 3% on dining, entertainment, streaming, and grocery-store purchases covers the $39 first-year fee once those purchases reach $1,300 a year, which suits fair-credit borrowers who buy groceries and eat out.
- Best for: Fair-credit cardholders who spend heavily at grocery stores and restaurants
- What Sets It Apart: Capital One’s one fair-credit card with 3% categories; its others pay a flat rate or nothing
- Rewards: 8% on Capital One Entertainment tickets; 5% on Capital One Travel hotels and rental cars; 3% at grocery stores, restaurants, entertainment, and popular streaming services; 1% on everything else
- Features: Reported to the credit bureaus; automatic credit line increase reviews from month 6; cash back that doesn’t expire and redeems in any amount
- Annual Fee: $39
- Security Deposit: None
- APR: 29.24% variable
- Cost: No fee on transfers at the standard APR; no foreign transaction fee; cash advances $5 or 5%; late fee up to $40
- Credit Needed: Fair
- Pros: 3% at grocery stores and restaurants; no deposit; cash back that doesn’t expire
- Cons: 1% at superstores and warehouse clubs; 1% base rate; $39 fee; no welcome offer
For more information, read our full SavorOne Rewards Review.
Credit One Bank Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit
Apply only if the no-fee cards turn you down and you can’t spare a deposit, since it costs $75 the first year, billed at opening, then $8.25 a month.
- Best for: People with no deposit to spare whom no-fee cards turned down
- What Sets It Apart: No security deposit; prequalification that doesn’t affect your credit score; reports to all three credit bureaus monthly
- Rewards: 1% cash back on gas, groceries, and phone, internet, cable, and satellite TV bills
- Features: $300 minimum credit line; regular reviews for a higher line
- Annual Fee: $75 the first year, then $99 a year billed at $8.25 a month
- APR: 29.99% variable
- Cost: No foreign transaction fee
- Credit Needed: Damaged credit accepted
- Pros: No deposit; monthly reporting to all three bureaus; free credit score and credit report
- Cons: $75 fee leaves about $225 of a $300 line; $8.25 a month until you close the account; no cash back at Walmart, Target, or warehouse clubs
For more information, read our full Credit One Bank Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit Review.
Credit One Bank® Platinum X5 Visa Signature® Card
With average credit, it pays 5% on the same purchases that earn 1% on Credit One’s no-fee rewards card, so $2,375 a year of them earns enough extra to cover its $95 first-year fee.
- Best for: Cardholders who pay in full and spend $160 or more a month on gas, groceries, and phone, internet, or TV service
- What Sets It Apart: 5% on the bills most cards pay 1% on, phone, internet, and TV, plus gas and groceries
- Rewards: 5% cash back on gas, groceries, and mobile phone, internet, cable, and satellite TV service, on the first $5,000 each calendar year; 1% cash back on other purchases
- Features: $400 minimum credit line; automatic credit line increase reviews; reports to the credit bureaus
- Annual Fee: $95, billed when the account opens ($8 a month on some offers)
- APR: 29.99% variable
- Cost: No foreign transaction fee
- Credit Needed: Average to excellent, Credit One’s recommendation
- Pros: 5% on phone, internet, and TV bills; no foreign transaction fee; cash back doesn’t expire while the account is in good standing
- Cons: Fee billed at opening cuts your starting credit; Walmart, Target, warehouse clubs, and PayPal purchases earn 1%; 29.99% APR
For more information, read our full Credit One Bank® Platinum X5 Visa Signature® Card Review.
Every card here spares you a deposit, and the no-fee ones do it for nothing, so try those first. A fee is worth it only for cash back that covers it, or for an approval you can’t get without paying one.
With a deposit to spare, compare the best secured credit cards instead of paying these fees.
Editorial & Advertiser Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser. Opinions expressed here are ours alone, not those of any advertiser. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. That compensation may influence which products we cover and where and how they appear on a page – including the order in which they appear – but it does not influence our evaluations, ratings, or opinions. We do not include every company or offer available in the marketplace.
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