Yes, you can get a credit card with a 500 credit score, but the realistic options are secured cards and a small group of unsecured subprime cards built for credit rebuilding. A 500 sits in the “poor” or “deep subprime” tier on the FICO scale, so mainstream rewards and low-rate cards will decline you. The cards that will approve you charge more, cap your limit low, and in most cases ask for a refundable cash deposit upfront. Picking the right one comes down to understanding those costs before you apply.
The Two Types of Cards Available at 500
Two categories of card are designed for scores in your range. Secured cards require a refundable deposit that usually equals your credit limit. Unsecured subprime cards skip the deposit but load the account with fees and set a low starting limit, often between $300 and $1,000. Both types report your payments to the major credit bureaus every billing cycle, which is the mechanism that lets either one rebuild your score.
How Secured Cards Work
A secured credit card operates like any other credit card, except you put down a refundable cash deposit before the account opens. That deposit is collateral. If you stop paying, the issuer keeps it. Because of that safety net, secured cards are the easiest approval path at 500.
Deposit requirements commonly fall between $200 and $500, and your credit limit typically matches what you put down. The deposit sits in a non-interest-bearing account for the life of the card and comes back to you when the account is closed in good standing or upgraded to an unsecured card. Six to twelve months of on-time payments can meaningfully improve your score from that starting point.
Unsecured Subprime Cards
A smaller number of unsecured cards accept applicants around 500 without a deposit. The obvious advantage is that you don’t need several hundred dollars in cash upfront. The trade-off: these cards tend to pile on fees, and those fees eat into an already-small credit limit before you’ve made a single purchase. That pushes your utilization ratio higher from day one, which works against the score gains you’re trying to build.
The 25% First-Year Fee Cap
Federal law puts a ceiling on how far issuers can go. Under Regulation Z, the total required fees during your first year cannot exceed 25% of the credit limit the issuer sets when your account opens.1Federal Register. Credit Card Penalty Fees (Regulation Z) On a card with a $300 limit, that caps required first-year fees at $75.
Annual fees, monthly maintenance fees, and account-opening fees count toward the cap. Late fees, returned-payment fees, and over-limit fees don’t, because those are triggered by your actions rather than charged just for having the account. When you’re comparing unsecured subprime cards, add up every required fee listed for the first year and measure it against the starting credit limit. A card that lands close to 25% is extracting every dollar the law allows.
What the Card Will Actually Cost
Every application comes with a disclosure table, often called a Schumer Box, that lays out rates and fees in a standardized format required by the Truth in Lending Act.2Federal Trade Commission. Truth in Lending Act Here is what to expect at the 500 level.
Interest rates. APRs on subprime cards commonly land between 24% and 36%. The CFPB’s consumer credit card market report shows that the effective interest rate for deep subprime borrowers averages around 23%, though the stated APR on your agreement is usually higher. Pay the statement balance in full each month and the APR becomes irrelevant, because no interest accrues.
Annual fees. Most subprime cards charge an annual fee in the $35–$95 range. Some secured cards charge nothing, which makes them meaningfully cheaper over time.
Monthly maintenance fees. Some unsecured subprime cards charge a recurring monthly fee on top of the annual fee. These add up and count toward the 25% first-year cap.
Late fees. Federal safe harbor amounts allow issuers to charge roughly $32 for a first late payment and $43 for another late payment within six billing cycles. These figures are adjusted for inflation periodically, and most large issuers charge at or near the ceiling.1Federal Register. Credit Card Penalty Fees (Regulation Z)
Penalty APR. A payment more than 60 days late can trigger a penalty interest rate that applies to your entire balance going forward. Under the CARD Act, the issuer must review and lower that rate back to normal after you make six consecutive on-time minimum payments.
A $32 late fee on a $300 limit is an 11% hit in a single billing cycle. One missed payment on a small subprime card can wipe out months of credit-building progress. Autopay set to at least the minimum payment is the simplest insurance against that.
Check Pre-Qualification Before You Apply
Before submitting a formal application, use the issuer’s pre-qualification tool if one exists. You enter basic information (name, address, income, last four of your SSN) and get an indication of your approval odds. Pre-qualification uses a soft inquiry, which does not affect your credit score.
Pre-qualification is not a guarantee. Moving to a formal application triggers a hard inquiry that will show on your report. But screening this way keeps you from stacking hard inquiries from cards you had no realistic chance of getting. At 500, where every small score change matters, this step is worth five minutes.
What the Application Asks For
Federal banking rules require the issuer to verify your identity, so you’ll provide your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and a residential street address.3FFIEC BSA/AML Manual. Assessing Compliance with BSA Regulatory Requirements – Customer Identification Program Most issuers require a physical street address rather than a P.O. Box.
You’ll also report income and major monthly obligations like rent or mortgage payments. Issuers are legally required to evaluate whether you can afford the minimum payments before approving a new account.4eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.51 – Ability to Pay Income from employment, government benefits, retirement, and investments all count.
Submitting the application triggers a hard inquiry that stays visible on your credit report for two years, though its effect on your score fades well before that. Most issuers deliver an instant decision. Manual review, when it happens, usually produces a final answer within seven to ten business days. For a secured card, the account fully opens only after you fund the deposit.
If Your Application Is Denied
A denial is not the end. Federal law requires the issuer to send you an adverse action notice explaining why. That notice must include the name and contact information of the credit bureau whose report was used, the credit score that factored into the decision, and a statement that you have the right to request a free copy of your credit report within 60 days.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports You also have the right to dispute inaccurate information with the credit bureau.
Read the reasons carefully. Common ones at the 500 level are too many recent delinquencies, a recent bankruptcy, or insufficient income. If the denial rested on a mistake, such as a frozen credit file or an error on your report, you can call the issuer’s reconsideration line and ask for a second review. That call does not trigger another hard inquiry. Reconsideration requests do produce approvals, especially when the original denial was close to the cutoff.
If reconsideration doesn’t work, pull the free report you’re entitled to and look for errors. Disputing inaccurate late payments or accounts that don’t belong to you can produce a meaningful score increase within 30 to 45 days, which may be enough to qualify on a second try.
Using the Card to Move Your Score Up
Approval is the starting line. Two factors dominate the score trajectory from here: payment history (about 35% of your FICO score) and credit utilization (about 30%).
Pay On Time, Every Time
Pay at least the minimum by the due date every month. One payment that goes 30 or more days past due gets reported and can erase months of gains. Set autopay for the minimum as a safety net, then manually pay more when you can. Paying the full statement balance each month avoids interest entirely.
Keep Utilization Low
Keep your balance well below your limit at all times, not just on the due date. Your issuer reports your balance to the bureaus once per billing cycle, and whatever balance shows up at that moment is what gets used to calculate utilization. Staying below 30% avoids a significant negative effect, but the best scores are associated with utilization in the single digits. On a secured card with a $300 limit, that means keeping the reported balance under $30 for maximum benefit.
Getting Your Deposit Back
Most secured card issuers review your account after roughly 6 to 18 months of on-time payments and responsible usage. If your score has improved enough, the issuer may upgrade you to an unsecured card and refund the deposit. Issuers generally want to see a score around 650 or higher before offering an upgrade. When the deposit is returned, it typically comes as a statement credit or a check within 30 to 90 days.
If your issuer doesn’t offer an automatic upgrade path, you can apply for an unsecured card elsewhere once your score has improved and then close the secured card to recover the deposit. Closing your oldest account can temporarily reduce the average age of your credit history, so keeping the secured card open is worth it if the issuer will convert without closing the account.
Alternatives Worth Considering
A card is not the only path from 500. Two alternatives work alongside a card or in place of one.
Authorized User Status
If someone you trust, such as a parent or partner, has a credit card with a long history of on-time payments and a low balance, they can add you as an authorized user. That account’s payment history and credit limit then appear on your credit report, which can lower your utilization ratio and add years of positive history to your file. You don’t need to use the card or even hold the physical card to get the reporting benefit.
The risk runs both ways. If the primary cardholder misses payments or runs up the balance, that negative activity can show up on your report too. Only pursue this with someone whose credit habits you trust completely.
Credit Builder Loans
A credit builder loan flips the normal borrowing process. Instead of receiving money upfront, you make fixed monthly payments into a savings account or certificate of deposit. The lender reports those payments to the credit bureaus. Once you’ve paid off the loan, you receive the accumulated funds minus any interest and fees. There’s no deposit required at the start, which makes this workable if you don’t have cash for a secured card deposit.
Credit builder loans and secured cards complement each other. Using both adds a second type of account to your file (installment loan alongside revolving credit), which improves your credit mix, a smaller but real factor in your score.