What credit score do I need for a credit card?
No-credit / thin-file: secured or credit-builder unsecured cards (Capital One Quicksilver Secured, Petal 2). Good-credit (670+): mainstream cashback. Very-good (740+): travel + premium cards.
Issuers don't publish strict FICO floors but the buckets are consistent across the industry (670+ is FICO's own "Good" threshold; 740+ is "Very Good" — see myFICO's published score ranges). Secured cards approve almost anyone with a deposit. Petal 2 uses bank-cash-flow underwriting in addition to credit. Nonprime issuers like Mission Lane approve well below the mainstream 670+ floor, but don't publish an exact minimum — check their pre-qualification tool, which doesn't hit your credit report. Mainstream unsecured cashback wants 670+. Premium cards (Sapphire Reserve, Amex Platinum) want 740+ with established history. Note: Discover it Secured is temporarily not accepting new applications as of 2026-06-02 pending a relaunch under new owner Capital One — check discover.com before counting on it.
Last updated