5 Credit Score Ranges for Credit Card Approval (April 2024)

Everyone likes having options. That’s why hundreds of ice cream flavors exist and there’s always more than one movie playing in theaters. Life would be dull without choices.

And that goes for our financial lives, too. Credit card options for consumers with every credit score abound. Today, the diversity in rewards, fees, and other perks gives you more options than ever before, making shopping for a credit card much like shopping at the grocery store for your next ice cream fix. In this article, we’ll look at credit score ranges for credit card approval, from the lowest of the low scores to the perfect score of 850.

Check out the sections below to see the many card options available for your credit score.

Excellent Credit (740-850) | Good Credit (670-739) | Fair Credit (580-669)
Bad Credit (300-579) | No/Limited Credit (0 Score)

An excellent credit score provides a lot of benefits — including greater negotiating power and better car insurance and mortgage interest rates. But consumers with excellent credit also see the greatest perks when shopping for credit cards. This is where you can qualify for top-tier cards with the highest credit limits, greatest benefits, and richest rewards.

Just remember, though, that excellent credit doesn’t guarantee credit card approval. But you should have a better chance than most consumers when looking to acquire our top cards, which we’ve listed below.

+ See More Cards for Excellent Credit

This range includes the average U.S. consumer credit score — 714 — but there’s nothing average about the benefits that can come from these credit card offerings. A good credit score helps lenders see you as an acceptable risk. This means that card issuers will open a wide array of offerings to you in hopes of earning your business.

And, whenever there are lots of options, there is competition. And you can use that fight for your attention to possibly secure some amazing rewards cards — like those listed below.

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If your credit score falls in “fair” territory, you may find yourself not qualifying for upper-tier credit cards and loans. Your interest rate may be a little higher than the cards offered in the “Good” range and the rewards may not be quite as rich.

But, as mentioned above, recent competition in the credit card space has issuers upping their game — and their rewards — to earn your business. Cards designed for fair-credit consumers, like those below, have many of the same perks that, just a few years ago, were set aside for cardholders with good or better credit.

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Mistakes happen. Payments sometimes get missed or life’s circumstances may force you to default on a loan. You may currently find yourself in a space where you need to rebuild your credit but are struggling to find issuers who will take a chance on you.

One of the easiest ways to rebuild credit is through a secured credit card that requires a refundable cash deposit that determines your credit limit. But, if a large deposit is out of the question, there are still a few credit card options available — just be ready to pay higher interest rates and annual fees.

+ See More Cards for Bad Credit

Everyone has to start somewhere, and, if you’re new to credit building, you’re likely standing on the ground floor and looking up at all of the offers you can’t yet qualify for.

But having no or limited credit doesn’t mean you can’t get a credit card. There’s a whole sector of the credit industry designed for consumers who want to establish a credit history. With responsible card usage, such as a strong payment history, you could be climbing those stairs and reaching for top-tier cards faster than you think.

+ See More Cards for No/Limited Credit

While there’s no general minimum score needed to obtain a credit card, each card has its minimum acceptance requirements. Those requirements can sometimes be vague, though, and meeting those standards doesn’t guarantee acceptance. That’s because your credit score is just one factor used to determine your eligibility for a credit card.

Don’t know your score? Here are a few free ways to find it. FICO and VantageScore are the two most common credit scoring models used, so make sure it’s one of those scores you’re receiving.

A top-shelf card with the richest rewards and greatest benefits will require not only excellent credit (a credit score above 740) but also a solid proof of income and a low debt-to-income ratio.

On the other hand, some secured credit cards — offerings that require a refundable cash deposit that equals your credit limit — don’t require credit checks for acceptance. But keep in mind that some of these cards will reject you if you have a pending bankruptcy the court hasn’t yet discharged.

But if your needs are simple and you aren’t as concerned with all the bells and whistles — or you don’t want to fuss with the annual fee that often comes with many popular rewards cards — you have options with almost any credit score.

Just remember that, as with most things in life, the higher your standing — in this case, your credit score — the better the offers you’ll receive. If you’re in the lower credit score tiers, you’re likely to encounter more annual fees, lower credit limits, fewer rewards, and higher APRs.

The key to finding your next credit card isn’t to only look for the best card you may qualify for, but rather the card that best suits your needs and current economic situation. That may mean a lower credit limit to avoid an annual fee or opting for fewer rewards so you can obtain a better interest rate.

If you’re looking for easy approval, nothing beats a secured credit card. Many of these cards skip the credit check altogether as long as you can provide a refundable cash deposit to fund your credit limit.

These cards are traditionally designed for consumers who are building or rebuilding their credit profiles. If you have an established credit history, there are literally hundreds of better options you may qualify for.

And, thanks to modern technology, almost all of them are easy to apply for. Most credit cards now feature online application processes that take less than five minutes to complete and can provide most credit decisions within minutes.

It’s important to shop for cards that accept applicants within your credit score range. Don’t get too enticed by premium cards that are out of your reach. By choosing a practical card that you qualify for, you’ll find easier acceptance and can begin clearing your financial path toward a premium credit card offer.

Just remember that each time you apply for a credit card or loan, the financial institution issuing the loan or credit card makes a hard inquiry on your credit report. Credit reporting bureaus typically allow for three or fewer inquiries on your credit report over a two-year period. After that, each inquiry may slightly lower your credit score and can make it harder to gain approval for some credit cards.

That’s why you should limit your credit card applications to one every six months. This keeps you from bogging down your credit report with inquiries and lessens the impact of previous inquiries since their effect on your overall credit score lessens over time.

According to an April 2018 FICO report, 21.8% of U.S. consumers have a FICO score between 800 and 850. The number of Americans with excellent credit continues to rise, as only 16.2% of consumers fell in that sterling score range in April 2005.

Depending on where your credit score currently stands, you may need years to get to the 800 level. Consumers who fall in this range have no negatives on their payment history, as well as a diverse mix of credit accounts that show a positive history of managing different types of credit and loans. These can include but aren’t limited to credit cards, personal loans, student loans, auto loans, and mortgages.

The longer you keep your credit lines open and in good standing, the better they look to lenders. That’s because a long history of on-time payments and responsible usage makes you a better credit risk than someone who has only a brief track record of success.

But while you may set a goal to become a member of the 800+ club — which is a great goal to have — remember that most credit issuers place the cutoff for “excellent” credit around the 740 mark. That means you can get a lot of the same offers with a credit score above 740 that you’d get with a score above 800. That doesn’t mean that those extra points won’t make your application a tad more attractive to banks and lenders.

Getting to the 800 mark takes patience, practice, and financial know-how. You don’t need a six-figure income to get there, though. And like every good recipe, the ingredients you add to your credit report will determine the quality of your outcome.

Your credit score doesn’t just work to help you get better credit card offers. Your overall rating also impacts your access to loans, better interest rates for car insurance, and even job opportunities.

That’s why it’s important to keep your score as high as possible. And there are several ways to give yourself a boost before applying for a credit card, loan, or job.

Your first step should be to obtain a free annual credit report from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. While these reports won’t show your actual credit score (there are many free sources for obtaining that information), they will show any items that may be weighing your score down.

Once you better understand the negative information on your reports, you can take the necessary actions to improve your credit.

While you’re working to improve your score, it’s vital that you pay every bill on time. Even one 30-day late payment can knock between 90 and 110 points off your credit score. You also want to refrain from closing credit card accounts (unless it has an annual fee you want to stop paying).

That’s because your credit utilization ratio accounts for 30% of your FICO credit score calculation. You can determine your credit utilization ratio by dividing the amount of credit you’re currently using by the total amount of credit you have available. For example, if you have a card with a $2,000 credit limit and you carry a $500 balance, you have a 25% utilization.

Your credit score will increase when your utilization ratio decreases. But when you cancel a credit card, the amount of credit available to you also drops — which can drastically raise your utilization ratio and create a sudden spike in your credit score.

Even if you don’t plan to use your credit card, it’s better to lock it away somewhere safe than to cancel it with the issuer.

Another way to improve your utilization ratio is to request a credit limit increase on your existing credit cards. If you have a good payment history and don’t carry a high balance, your card issuer may consider you for a credit increase.

You can ask for an increase by calling your card issuer’s customer service number. Some issuers also provide a credit limit increase request form online that provides an instant decision.

By increasing your current credit limits, you immediately lower your utilization ratio, which can improve your credit score.

Just as your local ice cream parlor offers 31 flavors for customers with differing palates, credit card companies often curate several different card options for consumers with varying credit scores. These cards have a wide array of APRs, rewards, and fees, but all can give your wallet an instant boost in spending power.

Before you apply for a card, you should first determine which cards fall within your current credit score range, as we’ve detailed above. When you apply for a card you likely won’t qualify for, you add a potentially harmful hard inquiry to your credit report, which can make it more difficult to be approved for another card down the road.

But, if you apply for a card within your credit score range and work to improve your score — you could find yourself in the 800+ club much faster than you expect — unless you’re already in the coveted “excellent” range.