Credit Cards for Bad Credit: $500, $1,000 and High-Limit Options (No Deposit & Instant Approval)
Getting approved for a credit card with bad credit can be challenging. Many sources caution that no credit card offers truly guaranteed approval, even secured ones. Cards advertising a $500 limit and no deposit typically require good or excellent credit for approval. Still, secured and unsecured second-chance cards can help rebuild credit. Below we curated advice from our top finance advisors, covering low-limit cards (around $500), $1,000-limit guaranteed-approval cards, and even higher limits up to $5K–$10K, including “no credit check” or instant-approval options.
Read more: Credit Card with $1000 Limit for Bad Credit: Real Options in 2025
Recommended Cards for Bad Credit (Secured & Unsecured)
- Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit – A popular unsecured card that requires no security deposit. It doesn’t require a security deposit and accepts applicants with bad credit. It offers a credit line (at least $300) and even 1% cash back on gas and groceries. You can check pre-qualification online before applying.
- Indigo® Platinum Mastercard® – An unsecured card designed for fair to bad credit. It accepts applicants with scores as low as 500 and has a starting credit limit of around $700. Indigo charges an annual fee but is often recommended as a “nearly guaranteed” option for limited credit.
- OpenSky® Secured Visa® – A secured card that requires no credit check to apply. Approval is easier because issuers don’t pull your score, but you must fund a deposit. For example, the OpenSky Launch Secured Visa® has a $100 minimum deposit, no credit check, and offers up to 10% cash back. The standard OpenSky Secured Visa® requires a $200 minimum deposit and no credit check.
- First Progress Platinum Secured Mastercard® – A secured card often cited as having high approval odds. It requires a refundable security deposit (as low as $200) and carries a modest annual fee. It’s listed among top “guaranteed approval” picks due to its easy approval and low deposit.
- Chime® Credit Builder Visa® – A secured credit-builder card that allows very high deposits. Unlike typical secured cards, Chime has no minimum deposit and no annual fee. You fund the account via a Chime checking account, and your credit limit equals your balance (up to $10,000). Chime allows you to put down as much as $10,000 and offers nearly guaranteed approval. If you want to have a $10,000 credit limit, you’ll have to provide that amount as a security deposit.
Each of the above can be applied for online. For example, the Credit One card comes with a credit line of at least $300, and you can apply online after checking to see if you’re pre-qualified. But remember: instant approval is never guaranteed. Instant approval tends to happen when your credit and income are better than the card’s requirements.
$500 Credit Cards (Bad Credit, No Deposit, Instant Approval)
Finding a no-deposit card with a $500 limit for bad credit is difficult. Most $500+ cards without a deposit require good credit. If you have only bad credit, your most realistic path is a secured card. With secured cards, the deposit you provide typically determines your credit limit. For instance, if you deposit $500, your starting credit limit will typically be $500.
Unsecured options at the $500 level exist but often come with fees. You can get a bad-credit card with “no money down,” but offers can be expensive. For example, the Credit One Platinum Visa requires no deposit but charges a $75–$99 annual fee.
Key Point: If you have bad credit and no deposit, your choices are usually costly unsecured cards. Unsecured bad-credit cards tend to be more costly and less rewarding than their secured counterparts. In practice, depositing funds (i.e. using a secured card) is often a better strategy to rebuild credit and potentially raise your limit over time.
Guaranteed Approval: $1,000-Limit Cards (Bad Credit)
No card truly guarantees approval, but “nearly guaranteed” comes from secured cards. Guaranteed approval credit cards are secured credit cards. If you have $1,000 to put down, many secured cards can approve you. If you have $1,000 to put down as a security deposit, there are a bunch of cards you can apply for: Discover it, Capital One, and others.
Secured cards with $1,000 deposits often waive annual fees, so the deposit is the “price” you pay. Secured deposits are fully refundable and allow these cards to offer nearly guaranteed approval. Some cards like First Progress, OpenSky, and Chime have low entry requirements and accept a wide range of applicants. If you can fund a $1,000 deposit, issuers like Discover or Capital One will likely approve you.
No Credit Check Cards (Instant Approval, No Deposit)
Cards that advertise “no credit check” may sound great, but read the fine print. Applying for any card typically involves a credit check, and issuers who claim no check still perform assessments of income and identity. Credit cards that promise no credit check could come with hefty fees and interest charges.
The main exception is certain secured cards like OpenSky. OpenSky’s secured Visa cards literally require no credit check to apply. You can get approved even with poor/no credit because you post a deposit. Their deposits are low – for example, a $100 minimum for the OpenSky Launch card. These cards often let you use the account immediately as a virtual card, so you get instant-use with online approval.
Bottom line: If you see “no credit check, instant approval,” it’s usually a secured card with a deposit. Only secured cards like OpenSky truly skip a credit pull, while unsecured cards with no deposit still require a credit check and often cost more.
High Limit Cards: $5,000 and $10,000 with Bad Credit
Getting very high limits with bad credit is extremely difficult. Getting a $5K limit with bad credit is tough, but not impossible, and the best strategy is again a secured card with a large deposit. If you can fund a $5,000 deposit, some issuers will set your limit at $5,000. One workaround: becoming an authorized user on someone else’s good-credit account lets you “share a credit line,” effectively giving you higher usable credit without requiring your own approval.
As for the $10,000 mark, a “guaranteed approval” $10,000 card doesn’t exist for bad credit. The closest approach is a secured builder card. For instance, the Chime Credit Builder allows deposits up to $10,000, so you could in theory get a $10K limit. But remember: your spending limit simply matches your deposit. If you want to have a $10,000 credit limit, you’ll have to provide that amount as a security deposit.
Key Takeaways
- Secured cards are your friend. Nearly all high-limit or guaranteed approval cards for bad credit are secured cards where your credit line equals your deposit. A larger deposit means a higher limit.
- No-deposit (unsecured) cards exist, but are costly. Cards like Credit One or Indigo require no deposit, but come with fees. Unsecured rebuilders are more costly and harder to get.
- No credit check ≠ free card. Cards claiming “no credit check” typically require a refundable deposit or other heavy fees. Only secured cards like OpenSky truly skip a credit pull.
- Instant approval is rare. Applying online can give quick decisions, but approval still depends on meeting requirements. Even “instant-use” cards simply allow you to spend via a virtual number as soon as approved. Always check pre-qualification first.
- Build credit first. If your goal is a high limit, focus on opening a card and paying on time. Rebuilding credit is the best approach in the long run – secure a card quickly and pay it off monthly to improve your score, then you can qualify for higher limits later.
