Doing This Could Help Add 30 Points on Average to Your Credit Score — Even if You Don’t Qualify for Other Credit Cards (2024)

A low credit score can haunt you. Mundane tasks like renting a car or signing up for a new cell plan can put you on edge, knowing that your low credit score is always lurking right behind you.

Getting a new credit card and making on-time payments is one of the best paths to a better score. But how do you get a credit card when your score keeps scaring off lenders?

With the secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card, you could help raise your credit score by 30 points¹on average — even if you don’t qualify for a typical credit card.

How to Start Building Your Credit

If your credit history is littered with late payments, delinquent accounts, or you simply don’t have much of a history at all, credit card companies aren’t willing to bet you’ll repay everything you borrow from them.

However, secured credit cards like Chime’s Credit Builder give you the opportunity to bet on yourself and prove that you’re financially responsible enough to manage much more credit — you can get this card with no minimum security deposit.²To apply, all you have to do is set up a Chime Checking Account and make a qualifying direct deposit of at least $200.³

Then just move money into your Credit Builder secured account — this becomes your credit limit and the money you’ll use to pay your balance. This card doesn’t require a hard credit check for approval — your deposit is your assurance that you’ll repay whatever you borrow.

How it Works

Chime will report your payment history to the major credit bureaus. As you start chaining together on-time payments every month, your credit history will start to improve, and you’ll likely see an increase in your credit score as a result.⁴

Unlike conventional credit cards, Chime won’t ding you for maxing out your credit card. Just make sure you keep paying at least the minimum payment every month.

You can also keep score in the Chime app, where you can review your credit score and the factors impacting it. So if your score doesn’t improve much with on-time payments, you can figure out what else could be keeping your score down.

See How Much You Can Improve Your Credit Score

Chime’s Credit Builder card is different because there are no annual fees, no maintenance charges, no interest and no hard credit check.

Apply for a free Chime Credit Builder card today. There’s nothing to lose, not even your deposit, but so many credit score points to be gained.

Get started here to see how many points you could add to your credit score.

Banking services for the Chime Checking Account are provided by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC. The Chime Visa® Debit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Please see back of your Card for its issuing bank. The Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card is issued by Stride Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted.

Opinions, advice, services, or other information or content expressed or contributed here by customers, users, or others, are those of the respective author(s) or contributor(s) and do not necessarily state or reflect those of The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank N.A. (“Banks”). Banks are not responsible for the accuracy of any content provided by author(s) or contributor(s).

¹Based on a representative study conducted by TransUnion®, members who started using Chime Credit Builder in September 2019 observed a median credit score (VantageScore 3.0) increase of 30 points by January 2020. On-time payment history can have a positive impact on your credit score. Late payment may negatively impact your credit score.

²Money added to Credit Builder will be held in a secured account as collateral for your Credit Builder card, which means you can spend up to this amount on your card. This is money you can use to pay off your charges at the end of every month.

³To be eligible to apply for Credit Builder, you need to have received a qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more to your Checking Account within 365 days of your Credit Builder application. The qualifying direct deposit must have been made by your employer, payroll provider, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit. Bank ACH transfers, Pay Friends transfers, verification or trial deposits from financial institutions, peer to peer transfers from services such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo, mobile check deposits, and cash loads or deposits are not qualifying direct deposits.

⁴On-time payment history can have a positive impact on your credit score. Late payment may negatively impact your credit score. Chime will report your activities to Transunion®, Experian®, and Equifax®. Impact on your credit may vary, as credit scores are independently determined by credit bureaus based on a number of factors including the financial decisions you make with other financial services organizations.

Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by The Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC