What Credit Score Do I Need for a Discover® Credit Card? | The Motley Fool (2024)

FAQs

How good of a credit score do you need to get a Discover card? ›

You can get a Discover credit card with any credit score or even no credit history at all. Discover has credit card options to fit every consumer. If you have bad credit or no credit history, you could get a secured card with Discover.

If you want to get a Discover® credit card, you may be wondering how hard it is to get approved. Your credit score plays an important role here. The best Discover credit cards are aimed at consumers with FICO® Scores of 670 or above. If you have good or excellent credit, that helps quite a bit.

You may also have a slightly lower barrier of entry with the Ink Business Unlimited, since you can have good to excellent credit (670 to 850 on the FICO scale) to feasibly be approved whereas you needed excellent credit for approval with the Discover it® Business Card (740 to 850 on the FICO scale).

The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards card provides the best of both worlds for someone with a 650 credit score. Cardholders earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Plus—because it reports to all three major credit bureaus—you'll have the opportunity to improve your credit score with good payment history.

The minimum credit score needed to get most Discover credit cards is 700 or above. There are a few Discover cards for which there's no minimum credit score requirement, such as the Discover it® Secured Credit Card which you can get with a bad credit score (below 640).

Lower credit score requirements

No credit score is required to apply for Discover it^® Student Cash Back, Discover it^® Student Chrome, and Discover it^® Secured Credit Card. Discover will consider information you include on your application and provided by others to determine your eligibility.

At this point, there are three possible outcomes: You can be instantly approved for an account, instantly denied, or receive a message that your application needs further review. With an instant approval, the issuer will typically deliver the card in 7-10 business days.

No, there is no minimum income required to get approved for Discover it® Cash Back. When it comes to income, what you need to demonstrate is your ability to make at least the minimum monthly payments and to repay any balance you may incur. Moreover, a good credit score or better is required to get this card.

The Discover it® Cash Back credit limit is at least $500 for all cardholders. It has the potential to be higher, too. Discover does not disclose a maximum credit limit, but there are reports of some cardholders receiving credit limits between $2,000 and $11,000.

Who does Discover pull from? ›

Discover may pull from any of three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, but it appears based on consumer-reported data the bank leans heavily on Equifax to source many credit reports, followed by Experian and TransUnion.

1. U.S. Bank Cash+® Secured Visa® Card. The U.S. Bank Cash+ Secured Visa Card stands out for offering a flexible credit limit of up to $5,000, based on the deposit provided. This card is especially appealing for those aiming to rebuild credit while enjoying cash-back rewards on purchases.

According to Equifax, one of the three main credit reporting bureaus, that means you'll need a credit score of 670 or higher.

FICO scores range from 300 to 850. While anything below 650 is considered problematic, a score of 700 or above is prime. Once you hit 700 “you may not get the best rates, but you'll typically qualify,” says Rod Griffin, director of consumer awareness at Experian.

70% of U.S. consumers' FICO^® Scores are higher than 650. What's more, your score of 650 is very close to the Good credit score range of 670-739.

One of the best credit cards for a 550 credit score is the OpenSky® Plus Secured Visa® Credit Card because it has a $0 annual fee and there's no credit check when you apply, so approval is almost guaranteed.

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is one of the best secured cards that offers rewards, and it's available to people with limited or no credit. You'll have to put down a security deposit, but then you may be able to upgrade to the Discover it® Cash Back and get your deposit back once your credit improves.

The minimum credit score for a Discover personal loan is a 660. Borrowers must also have a household income of $25,000 or higher, be at least 18 and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Co-signers are not accepted.