Improve your credit score with these smart choices
Get approved for a credit card quickly
Add your details to our eligibility checker
Explore your options from top credit card providers
Choose the right card for your needs
October 2024's savings
Get approved for a credit card quickly
Add your details to our eligibility checker
Explore your options from top credit card providers
Choose the right card for your needs
986,823 customers have visited Uswitch to explore credit cards this year
22,176 people used our eligibility checker in October 2024
*£763.84 is a representative example of the interest a customer would save in the first 12 months. Example based on a £3,500 balance transferred from a card with 29.8% APR to a 0% card for 30 months, then 24.9% (variable), with a fixed monthly payment of £175. Representative APR 24.9%. See more here: Uswitch savings
Our experts browse hundreds of products to find the best deals
Uswitch Limited is a credit broker, not a lender, for consumer credit.
Our services are provided at no cost to you. We may receive a commission from the companies we refer you to, but this does not affect what you will pay for the product you choose.
These are credit cards that are specifically designed for people who have a poor credit rating. These could be for various reasons such as:
Late or missed repayments
Defaults
County Court Judgements (CCJs)
Bankruptcy
No credit history
They main difference is that bad credit cards typically charge high interest rates and offer low credit limits.You may also limited in the number of providers to offer credit cards for bad credit.But if used responsibly, bad credit cards can help you build your credit to a level that allows you to be eligible for standard credit cards that are cheaper and may offer more features and benefits.You can read more about building your credit rating and paying off your credit card debt.
If you have bad credit, an eligibility checker is vital for your search for a credit card. That's because they help you find out which cards you're most likely to be accepted. This saves you from applying for a credit card that you wouldn't be accept for. While rejected applications don't automatically appear on your credit file, every application is recorded. This means that if you have multiple applications on your credit file, future lenders will infer that you've been rejected by other providers and be less willing to offer you credit. An eligibility checker can save you from that, and because it uses a soft credit check, it will have no impact on your credit score. So you can run as many soft credit checks as you like.
See which credit cards you're eligible for in just a few clicks
Setting up direct debits to pay for things like household bills or mobile phone contracts shows lenders that you're capable of making regular repayments. Make sure you never miss a payment or this will negatively affect your credit rating
Credit card providers will use information on the electoral roll to confirm that you are who you say you are, so getting registered at your current address boosts your credit score instantly
You've got a statutory right to read your credit report - use it. If you spot a mistake and let them know it could help boost your score almost immediately
The more missed repayments you have, the worse your credit rating. And the less likely you are to be offered credit.
If you've missed a repayment in the past, your credit provider will record this and report it to the credit reference agencies.
Next time you want to borrow money from another provider they'll run a credit check. The provider will see that you’ve missed a repayment. And it will use that information to decide how likely you are to make your future repayments.
When you're registered on the electoral roll, it tells your credit provider that you live where you say you do. It helps prove to them that you're not a fraudster.
If you're not on the electoral roll, in the eyes of the lender it increases the chance that your application is fraudulent.
If you've ever taken out a joint credit product with someone else, like a joint bank account this could influence your own credit rating.
The more missed repayments you have, the worse your credit rating. And the less likely you are to be offered credit.
If you've missed a repayment in the past, your credit provider will record this and report it to the credit reference agencies.
Next time you want to borrow money from another provider they'll run a credit check. The provider will see that you’ve missed a repayment. And it will use that information to decide how likely you are to make your future repayments.
When you're registered on the electoral roll, it tells your credit provider that you live where you say you do. It helps prove to them that you're not a fraudster.
If you're not on the electoral roll, in the eyes of the lender it increases the chance that your application is fraudulent.
If you've ever taken out a joint credit product with someone else, like a joint bank account this could influence your own credit rating.
If you've been told "no" by a lender, the first thing to do is to stop applying for cards.
Every time you apply for a credit card, the provider will run a credit check. Frequent checks over a short period of time will look bad to providers - and potentially make you look desperate for money.
But there are some things you can do now to help improve your chances of getting a credit card in the future.
Your next step is to check your credit report for errors.
Look for any information you think is wrong or out of date, including basic errors relating to your address or bank details. Or for anything that looks suspicious. If you find an error on your credit report, make any corrections as soon as possible.
Knowing what's on your credit report will also help you see what credit card providers look at when you apply for a credit card.
It will show you:
Address details
Credit history
Repayments, missed and late payments
Bankruptcy and CCJs
People who have a financial connection with you
Find out more in our credit report guide.
| Credit agency | Very poor/poor | Fair | Good/very good | Excellent |
| Experian | 0-720 | 721-880 | 881-960 | 961-999 |
| TransUnion | 0-565 | 566-603 | 604-627 | 628-710 |
| Equifax | 0-438 | 439-530 | 531-810 | 811-1000 |
Credit card providers check with one or more of the main credit reference agencies in the UK - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - before deciding to offer you a deal. The table shows what each agency considers a low or high credit score.
No credit check is needed with a prepaid card. They work by loading money onto the card, similar to topping up a pay-as-you-go mobile phone.
A prepaid card can help with budgeting and limiting your chances of getting into debt as you’re unable to spend more than you have loaded on the card.
Find out more about prepaid cards
APR stands for "annual percentage rate" - it's the interest rate charged on money borrowed on your credit card.
It reflects the costs you'll pay over the course of a year and includes any standard fees associated with the card.
In most cases, you can avoid paying interest by paying off your credit card balance in full by the due date of every billing cycle.
Providers typically decide credit limits on a per application basis. For bad credit credit cards, limit tend to be lower. Typically they can range from £500 and go up to £1200, but this can vary.
This may vary, but if you've been using your credit builder card and regularly paying it off in full every month, you could see an improvement in your credit in three to six months.
When we use the term ‘most popular or ‘popularity’ on Uswitch in reference to credit cards, these cards are ranked by the number of clicks they have received on the site in the past 30 days.
The most clicked on cards are at the top, with the least at the bottom. This reflects how popular they are with visitors to Uswitch.com. Consequently, this is a good table to look at if you’re interested in seeing which cards most people think are worth getting.
We compare over 100 credit cards from all of the major banks and credit card providers.
However, we do not compare all the credit cards that are available in the UK.
This is because some credit card providers have offers that are only available exclusively through their own website or branch, or through other comparison websites - in the same way some credit cards are exclusively available through Uswitch.
There are also many credit cards that are only available to people in member organisations and clubs.
Our best deals on a range of credit card categories by use:
Our top credit cards by type, most popular deals and business cards
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