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A Guide to the Best Credit Cards for a 600 Credit Score
Are you new to credit or need to rebuild your profile? If your current FICO score sits in the 600 to 650 range, chances are that you are struggling to qualify for the premium rewards cards with huge sign-up bonuses. Still, your credit score is high enough to make cards created for poor-credit consumers seem unattractive.
After extensive research, we were able to pinpoint the needs of the consumer demographic you belong to and compile a list of the leading credit cards for a 600 credit score. Choose any one of these cards, use it wisely and responsibly, and you’ll see a boost in your credit score in no time.
Best Credit Cards for a 600 Credit Score in March 2025
Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: 1.5% cash back
- Other fees: Balance transfer fee of up to 5% and foreign transaction fee of up to 3%
- Card network: Visa
Surge® Platinum Mastercard®
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Surge® Platinum Mastercard®
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: N/A
- Other fees: Monthly maintenance, cash advance, returned payment, and late payment fee
- Card network: Mastercard
First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: Earn 1% cash back rewards
- Other fees: late payment fees, cash advance fees, transaction fees
- Card network: Mastercard
- Credit reporting with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
Reflex® Platinum Mastercard®
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Reflex® Platinum Mastercard®
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: N/A
- Other fees: Cash advance, foreign transaction, late payment, additional card, and returned payment fee
- Card network: Mastercard
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
- Pre-qualification: No
- Rewards rate: 10% cash back on purchases
- Other fees: Cash advance, foreign transaction, late payment, and returned payment fee
- Card network: Visa
Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Preferred® Credit Card
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Preferred® Credit Card
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: None
- Other fees: Cash advance, foreign transaction, late payment, and returned payment fees
- Card network: Visa
Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card
- Pre-approval: Yes
- Rewards rate: 1%-1.5% cash back on eligible purchases; 2%-10% cash back at select merchants
- Other fees: None
- Card network: Visa
Avant Credit Card
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Avant Credit Card
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: N/A
- Other fees: Cash advance and late payment fees
- Card network: Mastercard
Capital One Platinum Credit Card
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Capital One Platinum Credit Card
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: N/A
- Other fees: Cash advance and late payment fees
- Card network: Mastercard
Capital One Secured Mastercard
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Capital One Secured Mastercard
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: N/A
- Other fees: Cash advance, balance transfer, and late payment fees
- Card network: Mastercard
Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: 1% cash back on eligible gas, grocery purchases and mobile phone, internet, cable and satellite TV services. Terms apply
- Other fees: Cash advance, foreign transaction, late payment, and returned payment fees
- Card network: Visa
Discover it Secured
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Discover it Secured
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: 1%-2% cash back
- Other fees: Balance transfer, cash advance, late payment, and returned payment fees
- Card network: Discover
Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Pre-qualification: Yes
- Rewards rate: 1.5% cash back
- Other fees: Cash advance, late payment, and balance transfer fee
- Card network: Mastercard
Top 5 Credit Cards for a 600 Credit Score - Our Picks for 2025:
- Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® - Best for avoiding fees
- Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa® - Best for large purchases
- Surge Mastercard® - Best for free monthly credit score reports
- Applied Bank® Secured Visa® Gold Preferred® - Best if you have red flags on a credit report
- Reflex® Platinum Mastercard® - Best for a simple application process
Our Methodology for Evaluating 600 Score Credit Cards
Before we dive into the advantages and disadvantages of our top picks among the most sought-after fair-credit credit cards, we’d like to introduce you to our methodology.
It contains the most important factors we suggest you take into account when choosing the best option for your credit situation and spending style.
Eligibility Requirements
Given that this article focuses on evaluating credit cards for a specific credit score range, we made sure to focus on options that accept consumers new to credit or those that need to rebuild their profiles.
The issuers of the best credit cards for fair credit don’t just glance at your credit score when evaluating your application - they also take your overall financial situation into account.
APR
These credit cards are notorious for their high annual percentage rates. The APR is always variable and charged both on balance transfers and purchases.
Very few issuers (if any) offer 0% intro APR on both transaction types. We recommend you try and pay off your balance in full each month to avoid these high rates.
Fees
It’s important to keep in mind that different cards charge different types of fees.
The most important costs to keep an eye out for include annual membership, balance transfer fee, cash advance, foreign transaction, late payment, and returned payment charges.
Credit Limit
A credit line (or a credit limit) is the maximum amount of money that an issuer is willing to extend to a client on a particular credit card account.
Banks and similar financial institutions set credit limits based on the information provided by the credit-seeking applicant.
Credit cards with high limits are very rare - starting lines that you can get approved for are usually between $200 and $300.
If you sign up for a secured credit card, the security deposit you’ll need to put up will probably match your credit limit.
Pre-Qualification
The pre-qualification process is the initial evaluation of a consumer’s ability to qualify for a credit card.
Not only is pre-qualification used to determine an applicant’s eligibility, but it’s also a great way for the consumer to overview the likely APR, fees, and other terms they may qualify for without losing any credit score points.
Rewards and Bonus Offers
Credit cards for a credit score in this range usually don’t have generous rewards rates and welcome offers.
Still, not all cards make you give up on rewards while helping you build or rebuild your credit.
While bonus points and miles are mostly reserved for premium cards, there’s a selection of cashback cards for those with a modest credit rating.
How to Improve Your Score by Using a Credit Card
You probably know that your credit score is one of the most important indicators of your financial health. Checking your score is the first step lenders take when evaluating how responsibly you use money. The higher your score, the smoother your approval process for good rates on insurance plans, mortgages, business loans, and credit cards.
If you’re a credit newcomer or rebuilding your profile, there’s a number of ways to improve your credit score - just keep in mind that the process takes a bit of time and effort. First, however, you might want to see why has your credit score decreased in the first place.
Getting a new credit card is one of the steps we suggest you take on your credit-building journey. Say your score is around 600 and you’re unsure whether you can apply for a credit card.
The good news is that not only are there options for low- and average-credit applicants, but these financial products also help you move up to good or even excellent credit, as long as you use them responsibly.
So, how do these cards work towards building your credit profile? The mechanism is pretty simple: The card issuer reports details about your account to the three major credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - which they then use to form the basis of your credit score.
However, credit cards won’t do you any good if you don’t understand the key elements of your score and how your financial decisions affect them. Here’s an overview:
- Payment history. Considering that payment history is one of the most important factors in your credit score, paying your bills on time every month is essential. The benefits of doing so are quite obvious - you get to avoid costly late fees, as well as the APR on any outstanding amounts. So, if possible, we suggest you pay off your balance in full every month. That way you won’t be charged interest on what you owe as these cards usually come with high APRs.
- Credit utilization. After payment history, the credit utilization ratio is the second-largest factor in your scores. It’s defined as the amount you owe, expressed as a percentage of your available credit. For example, if you have a credit limit of $500 and $200 on your balance, your credit utilization is 40%. We suggest you try and stay under the 30% benchmark. This might be hard to achieve, as the utilization rate is directly dependent on the credit limit, and even the most affordable cards keep that pretty low. Still, paying your bill in full each month also helps keep this factor in check.
- Credit mix. Credit scoring formulas are quite complex and take many factors into account. You should keep in mind that they tend to reward consumers who prove that they can handle different types of credit. What this means in practice is that, ideally, you should have both installment loans and revolving accounts in your credit mix.
- Credit history length. If you’re searching for this type of credit card, it probably means that you are at the beginning of your credit-building journey. However, given that the length of your credit history is one of the factors credit score calculations take into account, the sooner you can find the right card, the better.