Credit building cards

A credit card for bad credit, also called a credit building credit card, is designed to help people improve their credit score.

These cards typically have low starting credit limits. For example, our Foundation Credit Card has a starting limit of between £250 - £1,500. Credit building credit cards may offer credit limit increases if payments are made on time.

Responsible use, such as making all monthly payments promptly, can help build a positive credit history over several months.

If you’ve got a low credit score or you don’t have much in the way of a credit history, you may find it hard to be approved for a credit card, loan or other kind of borrowing. A credit building credit card is a way to borrow a small amount of money and show that you’re capable of paying it back, which can help improve your credit rating. The goal is to show that you can be responsible with money.

If you’ve never borrowed any money in the past, the problem might be that there’s no credit history for lenders to check. This tends to affect students or young people who’ve never needed to take out credit before.

You may also have a low credit score if you’ve defaulted on a loan in the past or you’ve struggled to pay your bills. You might also find it difficult to take out a credit card if you’ve had a county court judgment (CCJ) taken out against you or if you’ve ever been declared bankrupt.

Credit building credit cards lend a small amount of money and require monthly repayments, helping you establish a track record of responsible borrowing. They typically have low credit limits and features designed to help you manage spending and stay in control.

You may be eligible for a credit building credit card if you have a low or poor credit score or are new to credit, as these cards are generally easier to get than standard credit cards. However, approval is not guaranteed.

You can check your eligibility for our Foundation Credit Card without affecting your credit score by using our eligibility checker.

Your credit score is a number that gives you an idea of how positively or negatively lenders may view your credit history. A bad credit score is a low number that indicates to lenders that you may have a history of poor or limited credit management. If your score is low, it can be harder to qualify for the best deals on credit cards, loans, and mortgages.

You can check your eligibility for our Foundation Credit Card without affecting your credit score by using our eligibility checker.

Tesco Bank CreditView is a free, exclusive service to help our Foundation Credit Card customers to stay fully up to speed with changes in their credit rating and financial history, provided by TransUnion.

For three years from account opening Foundation Credit Card customers who register with Tesco Bank CreditView will have:

If you apply and are accepted for a Foundation Credit Card then we'll send you a welcome email which will include a personal link to sign up to Tesco Bank CreditView.

As part of the sign-up process you will be required to pass TransUnion's identity validation checks before accessing your Tesco Bank CreditView account.

It's worth knowing that only the primary credit card holder will have access to Tesco Bank CreditView.

There are two ways to build your credit score using a credit card.

Firstly, your score will improve if you pay your bills on time and always pay at least the minimum required amount.

Secondly, if you lower your credit utilisation, this will also help your score. You can do this by making sure you don’t get too close to your credit limit (e.g. a low credit utilisation might mean you only use £300 out of a possible £1,000).

For more information, read our guide on improving your credit score with a credit card.

Yes, responsibly managing a credit card can improve your credit score over time.

Opening a new credit card account may initially lower your score due to a hard credit check and account age.

Once your account is open, you can strengthen your credit history and increase your credit score by consistently paying on time, maintaining low balances, and demonstrating good credit management.

Using a credit card could also lower your credit score over time if you miss payments or frequently use most or all of your credit limit.

APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the total cost of borrowing expressed as a yearly percentage. It shows how much you'll pay for credit - such as a credit card, loan, or mortgage - combining the interest rate with any mandatory fees. This makes it easier to compare the true cost of different credit options.

Variable APR is an Annual Percentage Rate that can change over time, usually based on movements in a benchmark rate like the Bank of England base rate. Most credit cards use a variable APR, and your provider must notify you in advance if your rate is going to change.

Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, you could get extra protection if something goes wrong on single purchases that cost between £100 and £30,000.

So, if something you've paid for turns up broken or faulty, or if it doesn't arrive at all, you may be able to get your money back through a Section 75 claim.

Read more about your consumer rights in our guide to the top credit card features.

Yes, you can use your Tesco Bank Credit Card abroad just as you would at home.

With each transaction in a foreign currency you’ll be charged a foreign exchange fee of 2.75% of the cost of your purchase.

Get more information in our guide to using your credit and debit cards abroad.

The calculator works out how many Clubcard points you could collect if you had a Tesco Bank Credit Card and used it to pay for items in and out of Tesco.

Based on the amounts you enter into the calculator, we work out the number of Clubcard points you could collect and give an idea of the amount in Clubcard vouchers.

The fuel calculator uses an average price per litre to calculate the number of points, based on 1 point per litre bought. Calculation based on average fuel price per litre. Average price per litre is based on both petrol and diesel and an average fill of 33 litres. Average price per litre updated monthly.

Remember though, your points will be worked out on each individual transaction that you make and not on your total monthly spend. So, this means the calculator only gives an indication and the actual points you receive could vary.

Don't forget that you'll need to spend a minimum amount to begin collecting Clubcard points.

When you open a credit card account with us you’ll be automatically enrolled into the Clubcard scheme if you’re not already a member, and Tesco Bank will share information with Tesco Stores for the operation of your Clubcard account.

Clubcard accounts are managed separately by Tesco Stores, and you should visit the Tesco Stores privacy notice for further information about how Tesco Stores uses your information.