One might think getting a credit card for a low CIBIL score is hard. It’s harder, certainly, but it isn’t closed off. Certain issuers will extend credit even when your score is well short of perfect, and the right card can double up as a tool to repair the score itself.
First, though, it helps to know where you actually stand. A CIBIL score runs from 300 to 900. Most issuers treat anything below 650 as low, and below 550 as poor. If your report shows NA or NH instead of a number, that’s a different situation altogether: it means you have no credit history yet, not a damaged one. Both are workable. They just call for different cards.
This guide covers the CIBIL score bands, how much credit score is required for a credit card, the four card types open to you at a low score, the documents you’ll need and how to apply without denting your score further.
QUICK STAT
Your repayment history carries roughly 35% of the weight in your CIBIL score and your credit utilisation another 30%, which together account for about two-thirds of the number. Issuers and lenders report your activity to the bureaus every 30 to 45 days, so changes show up within a month or two rather than overnight. (Source: TransUnion CIBIL, score factor weightings)
Understanding CIBIL Score Ranges: What Is Considered Low?
Cutoffs vary from one issuer to the next, so treat these as indicative bands rather than fixed rules. They’re still the fastest way to work out which cards are worth applying for:
| CIBIL score band | What it signals | Realistic credit card access |
|---|---|---|
| NA or NH (sometimes shown as -1 or 0) | No credit history on record yet | Secured cards and entry-level cards built for new-to-credit applicants |
| 300 to 549 (Poor) | Defaults, write-offs or sustained missed payments | Unsecured approval is very unlikely. A secured card is the practical route |
| 550 to 649 (Fair) | Late payments or heavy credit use in the recent past | Some issuers will consider you, at lower limits and higher charges |
| 650 to 749 (Good) | Broadly sound repayment behaviour | Most mainstream cards become realistic options |
| 750 to 900 (Excellent) | Consistent, on-time repayment across accounts | Best card variants, highest limits and fastest approvals |
DID YOU KNOW?
NA or NH is not a bad score. It’s the absence of one. Issuers often find a clean slate easier to work with than a damaged history, which is why first-time applicants sometimes get approved faster than someone rebuilding from 540.
How Much Credit Score is Required for a Credit Card?
There’s no single minimum. Each issuer sets its own bar and reads it alongside your income, how stable your employment looks and what you already owe. That said, the industry pattern is fairly consistent:
- 750 and above: approval is straightforward and you get the better variants, higher limits and lower charges
- 700 to 749: approval is likely for standard and mid-range cards, though premium products may get extra scrutiny
- 650 to 699: possible but not guaranteed, usually at a modest limit. A secured card is the surest bet in this band
- Below 650: unsecured approval is difficult. Secured and credit-builder cards are the realistic options
So when you see the CIBIL score required for a credit card quoted as 750, that’s the comfortable number, not the compulsory one. What matters more is the cutoff just above your current score, because that’s the band you’re actually trying to reach.
Types of Credit Cards for Low CIBIL Score
To get a mainstream credit card, you generally need a fair to excellent credit score. With a poor score you still have options, and each of them lets you build your score gradually while you use it. Here are the four worth knowing about.
Secured Credit Card
Any regular credit card is an unsecured form of credit, given purely on the strength of your creditworthiness. A secured credit card works differently: you open a fixed deposit with the issuer and that deposit acts as collateral. Because the risk sits with your own money, your score barely matters to the approval decision.
- Backed by a fixed deposit with the issuing bank
- Credit limit is set as a percentage of the deposit, typically 75% to 90%
- Your FD keeps earning interest for the whole period the card is active
- Reported to the bureaus exactly like an unsecured card, so on-time payments build your score
Using your low CIBIL credit card sensibly and clearing bills on time will move your score in the right direction. Miss payments and the bank simply liquidates the FD to recover the dues, which is why approval is easy but the discipline still matters.
PRO TIP
Open the FD slightly larger than you think you need. A Rs. 50,000 deposit at a 90% limit gives you Rs. 45,000 of headroom, which makes it far easier to keep utilisation under 30% than a Rs. 10,000 deposit would.
Credit Cards Issued by Your Primary Bank
If you’re just starting to build a credit history, a free card from the bank you already bank with can be a strong option. Banks can approve you even when you’re young, have never handled credit and have no score at all, because they can see your salary credits and balances directly. Equally, they may extend a card despite a low CIBIL score if you hold sufficient funds or have been with them for years.
Unsecured Credit Cards with High Fees
Some issuers offer cards that don’t require a high CIBIL score and don’t ask for a deposit either. They price that risk in through higher joining fees, higher annual fees and steeper interest on revolving balances. Used carefully, these cards can lift your score enough to let you switch to something cheaper with better features. Used carelessly, the charges compound quickly. Read the Most Important Terms and Conditions document before you accept one.
Credit-Builder and Add-On Cards
Two newer routes are worth putting on your list. Credit-builder cards are entry-level products designed specifically for thin-file and low-score applicants, often with a small limit, no annual fee and score-tracking built into the app. They’re less about rewards and more about generating a clean 12-month repayment record.
An add-on card, sometimes called a supplementary or secondary card, is issued against a family member’s existing account. Your parent or spouse remains the primary cardholder and stays liable for the bill. The catch is that reporting practice varies: some issuers report add-on activity under the primary holder’s name only, in which case it does nothing for your own score. Ask the issuer directly before you rely on it.
How to Apply for a Credit Card with a Low CIBIL Score
The sequence matters here. Applying scattershot is how people turn a fair score into a poor one, because every application leaves a mark. Work through it in this order:
- Pull your CIBIL score and full report first. You’re entitled to one free report a year from the bureau. Know your exact number before you apply, not after you’re rejected
- Fix the errors you find. A closed loan still showing as active, or an account that isn’t yours, can hold your score down by a wide margin. Raise a dispute with the bureau and wait for it to resolve
- Match the card type to your band. Use the table above. Applying for a premium card at 580 is a guaranteed rejection and a wasted enquiry
- Start with a bank you already have a relationship with. An existing salary account or a long-running savings account gives the issuer data your CIBIL report doesn’t show
- Check pre-approved offers rather than applying cold. Pre-approved eligibility checks are soft enquiries and don’t touch your score, unlike a full application
- Apply for one card at a time. If it’s declined, wait 3 to 6 months and fix the underlying reason before trying again
- Declare your income accurately and keep documents consistent. A mismatch between your application and your bank statements is a common, avoidable rejection
- Once approved, treat the card as a score-building instrument. Small spends, paid in full, every single month
WATCH OUT
Every full application creates a hard enquiry on your report, and rejections are recorded too. Several applications inside a few weeks reads as credit hunger to an underwriter and can pull your score down further, which is the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
Documents Required to Apply for a Credit Card
Keeping these ready shortens the process considerably, and incomplete paperwork is one of the most common reasons a low-score application gets rejected outright:
| Category | What issuers usually accept |
|---|---|
| Identity proof | PAN card (mandatory), Aadhaar, passport, voter ID or driving licence |
| Address proof | Aadhaar, passport, recent utility bill, registered rent agreement or bank statement |
| Income proof (salaried) | Latest 3 months’ salary slips, Form 16 and 6 months’ bank statements |
| Income proof (self-employed) | ITR for the last 2 years, audited financials and 6 months’ bank statements |
| Photograph | Recent passport-size photograph |
| For a secured card | Fixed deposit receipt or booking confirmation with the issuing bank |
Two things to note. Your PAN is non-negotiable, since it’s how the issuer pulls your credit report. And if you’re applying for a secured card, income proof requirements are usually lighter or waived altogether, because the deposit is doing the work your salary slip normally would.
How to Improve Your CIBIL Score for Better Credit Card Options
A low CIBIL score credit card is a stepping stone, not a destination. Improving the score underneath it is what unlocks cards with lower charges and better features. These are the levers that actually move the number:
- Pay every credit card bill and EMI on time. Repayment history is the single heaviest factor, so this one habit does more than the rest combined
- Keep your credit utilisation below 30%. Utilisation is the amount you’ve used divided by your total available limit. On a Rs. 50,000 limit, keep the outstanding under Rs. 15,000
- Avoid applying for several cards at once, since too many hard enquiries in a short window drag the score down
- Check your CIBIL report regularly for inaccuracies, because an error you haven’t spotted is still costing you points
- Keep your oldest card open even if you barely use it. Closing it shortens your credit history and shrinks your total limit, which pushes utilisation up
- Build a mix of secured and unsecured credit over time, as credit type and duration together carry meaningful weight
How Long It Actually Takes: Ravi’s Timeline
Ravi, 27, works in sales in Nagpur. Two missed EMIs on a consumer durable loan in 2024 had pulled his CIBIL score down to 612, and three card applications in the same month made it worse rather than better.
He stopped applying. He opened a Rs. 25,000 fixed deposit with his salary account bank and took a secured card against it, which gave him a limit of Rs. 22,500. He kept his monthly spend on the card between Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 6,000, roughly a quarter of the limit, and cleared the full statement balance every month. He also disputed a closed loan that was still showing as active on his report.
By month 11 his score had crossed 700 and his bank pre-approved him for an unsecured card with no annual fee. Nothing clever happened here. He paid on time, kept utilisation low and stopped applying. Individual results vary with what’s on your report, but 6 to 12 months of clean behaviour is a fair expectation.
Once your score is back in the healthy range, pick a card that doesn’t eat into what you’re earning back. The Fibe Axis Bank Credit Card is India’s first numberless credit card, with zero joining and annual fees, up to 3% cashback on online food delivery, entertainment and local commute plus 1% on other spends, RuPay UPI linking and 4 complimentary domestic lounge visits a year. Check your eligibility on the Fibe app or website. Approval depends on your credit profile, so it’s worth building your score first using one of the options above.
FAQs on Credit Cards for a Low CIBIL Score
1.How to get a credit card if my CIBIL score is low?
The most reliable route is a secured credit card, where you pledge a fixed deposit as collateral and the issuer sets your limit as a percentage of it. You can also approach your primary bank, which can lean on your account history rather than your score, or apply for a high-fee unsecured card. Any of these will build your score over time and let you move to a regular card with better benefits at lower cost.
2.What credit card options are available for those with a low CIBIL score?
Four, broadly. Secured cards backed by a fixed deposit, cards from your primary bank based on your relationship, unsecured cards with high fees that price in the risk, and credit-builder or add-on cards designed for thin-file applicants.
3.Do credit cards for low CIBIL scores have higher fees or interest rates?
Usually, yes. High-fee unsecured cards carry steeper joining fees, annual fees and interest on revolving balances, because the issuer is pricing in the risk of lending to a weaker profile. Secured cards are the exception: since your fixed deposit covers the risk, their charges are often closer to a standard card and you keep earning interest on the deposit.
4.Which credit card is the easiest to obtain with bad credit?
A secured credit card against a fixed deposit. Approval barely depends on your score because the deposit covers the issuer’s risk, which makes it the most accessible option and a practical way to rebuild your credit profile.
5.How can I apply for a credit card with a low CIBIL score?
Check your CIBIL score and report first and dispute any errors you find. Then match the card type to your score band, start with a bank you already have a relationship with, look at pre-approved offers rather than applying cold and submit one application at a time. Keep your identity, address and income documents consistent with what your bank statements show.
6.What documents are required to apply for a low CIBIL score credit card?
PAN card, which is mandatory, plus identity and address proof such as Aadhaar or passport, a recent photograph and income proof. Salaried applicants need 3 months’ salary slips and 6 months’ bank statements. Self-employed applicants need 2 years of ITRs. For a secured card you’ll also need the fixed deposit receipt, and income proof requirements are often lighter.
7.What is the minimum CIBIL score required to get a credit card?
There’s no universal minimum. Most issuers prefer 750 and above for standard unsecured cards, treat 700 to 749 as likely approval and consider 650 to 699 case by case at lower limits. Below 650, secured and credit-builder cards are the realistic options. Each issuer reads the score alongside your income, employment stability and existing obligations.
8.My application was rejected. How long should I wait before applying again?
Wait 3 to 6 months and use that time to fix the reason for the rejection rather than reapplying immediately. Each fresh application adds a hard enquiry, and a cluster of them in a short period signals credit hunger to underwriters. If you can, ask the issuer why it was declined so you’re addressing the actual problem.