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What are Instant Approval Credit Cards? Is an Instant Decision a Reality?
When applying for a credit card, you often expect to get an approval decision in a couple of minutes. Instant approval credit cards can be a great help in an emergency or to cover unexpected purchases.
They are becoming a rare find today - even applicants with an excellent credit score often have their application delayed. This can be especially true for customers with many opened credit card accounts – it takes time for a bank to make the final decision.
If you need a credit card today, jump on our recommendations below.
Unsecured Instant Credit Cards
Here is our favorite instant approval credit card for bad credit with no deposit:
| regular APR | |
fair credit / bad credit required
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
When You Need a Card Fast
Sometimes, you might need an instant credit decision for a purchase or an important payment.
In that situation, you will be better off with one of the 'instant approval and use' credit cards:
When you Need a Guaranteed Credit Card
If you are looking for a card with 'guaranteed approval' or an 'easy approval' card offer, your options are limited to:
Prepaid cards
The only type of credit cards with no credit check are prepaid cards. Almost anybody can apply and get a guaranteed credit card. Well, it is not a credit card technically but a prepaid card. The problem with prepaid is that you do not get credit – you are still using your own money on the card.
You can check our prepaid cards section with the selection of cards that are at least better than the average.
Some of the best prepaid options are:
Secured cards
Secured cards have much lower application requirements than unsecured credit cards but require a security deposit. Your deposit is held in the event you don't make your payments, but in the meantime you get a credit card with a limit that matches your security deposit.
Secured cards often report to credit bureaus which can help you build your credit. See the best secured car options below:
bad credit / no credit required
$5.95 monthly fee
1% cash back on all purchases
no credit check
free ATM withdrawals
| 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.
| regular APR | |
bad credit required
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
| regular APR | |
bad credit / no credit required
no annual fee
bad credit or no credit
25 days grace period
$49-$200 security deposit
Instant Approval Store or Gas Credit Cards
If you need the card for a particular purchase, the fastest way to get instant credit is to get a store credit card. Most department stores will happily offer you one, run the application immediately, and print a slip that you can use for in-store purchases instantly.
For example, if you apply for a Walmart credit card in-store and get approved, you will receive a Temporary Shopping Pass to use within 24 hours at the same store.
If you apply for the same card online, you can shop at Walmart.com right after approval.
| regular APR | |
- 3% back on Walmart purchases
- 2% on Murphy USA and Walmart gas
- 1% on all other purchases
bad credit required
no annual fee
$25 bonus
| regular APR | |
bad credit required
no annual fee
up to 15% discount and rewards at J.C. Penney
| regular APR | |
fair credit required
no annual fee
20% off for two first days at Macy's
up to 10% off at Macy's if you participate for $25 per year
store card - not accepted anywhere except Macy's
Some of the instant store card examples are:
- Walmart card
- Target red card
- Costco card
- Sam’s Club Discover
- PayPal Buyer Credit
- Gap Card,
- Old Navy Card
- American Eagle Card
- Sears card
- Macy's credit card
For online shopping, nothing compares to an Amazon Rewards card.
| regular APR | |
- earn 3% back on Amazon purchases
- 2% on gas, dining out and drugstores
- 1% on everything else
- get $50 on your Amazon account upon cards approval
fair credit required
no annual fee
3% back on Amazon
2% back on gas, dining and drugstores
Gas station cards work the same way – you can apply for a gas card at one of the gas stations and use it for gas at that particular chain of gas stations.
| regular APR | |
bad credit required
no annual fee
can be used at 76, Conoco or Phillips only
| regular APR | |
bad credit required
no annual fee
not a major card - you can use it at Marathon stations only
good for rebuilding credit
| regular APR | |
fair credit required
no annual fee
not a major card
Chevron and Texaco gas stations use only
How Long it Takes to Get a Card?
First initial ‘conditional approval’ can be almost instant if you have at least a good FICO score and not many credit accounts opened.
It helps if the bank has an online tool to check if you are pre-approved for a card. This option can help to check if you are be pre-qualified for an offer by checking basic information such as your age, income level, and address.
Otherwise, regardless of what banks say about their approval process, you usually will not get your card delivered before 1-2 weeks after your application.
How to Speed up Your Application
Of course, if you have excellent credit and a flawless credit history, some banks will process your application fast and will be ready to hand you the card as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the card still needs at least 5-7 days to arrive in your mail. There are several tips for speeding up the process.
Keep it simple
Apply for the plain vanilla card, like Citi Simplicity, instead of the high-end rewards offers.
Call the bank
You can always call the bank line right after your application if you get an instant approval decision or not. Ask the clerk about your application. It always helps to be polite, cool, and easy; avoid appearing desperate.
If the bank asks you why you want a card, it is wise not to mention sign up bonus or incentives. Find a reason that’s less costly for the bank – say you‘re going to travel soon and would like to have a card with no foreign transaction fee (if that’s the case indeed).
Check expedited shipping option
Ask for expedited overnight shipping. If such an option is available, take advantage of it and get your card quickly. However, this can cost anywhere from $0-$30 extra.
Use card benefits before the card arrives
Some card benefits are accessible before you get the physical plastic in your hands. For example, you may be able to transfer a balance or take advantage of the card's additional benefits, like hotel or airline perks.
No Credit Check Cards
If you were turned down by unsecured and secured cards, there are cards that do not perform credit checks, both of them secured.
| regular APR | |
bad credit required
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
Review Summary
Many great credit cards offer a quick credit decision and there are several delivery options to get your card fast (including using a virtual card for online shopping in the meantime). Often, you can find a more balanced offer if you take your time and do a better research. See some truly instant approval credit card options in our summary below.
Here are 2021's best instant approval credit cards picked by our editors
| Best for | Card | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| building credit | Total Visa® Card | unsecured credit card to rebuild bad credit | program fees |
| shopping, online payments | PayPal Prepaid Card |
no credit check, connected to your PayPal account, free PIN and signature transactions |
$4.95 monthly fee |
|
earning cashback |
American Express Serve® | no credit check, 1% cashback, free ATM withdrawals | $5.95 monthly fee |
| store credit | Walmart credit card |
3% off at Walmart.com, 2% at participating gas stations, 1%. Up to $50 bonus. Instant approval |
accepted only at Walmart |
| store credit | J.C. Penney credit card | instant approval, no annual fee, up to 15% off | accepted only at J.C. Penney, Sephora, CVS, and Rite Aid |
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