Best Beginner Credit Cards for No Credit

As an individual, we are dependent on credit for several life events including purchasing a home, buying a car, and even establishing a great credit history to lend loans in the future for big purchases. Choosing a credit card and using it responsibly over time is a great way to establish a good credit profile. The best beginner credit cards are easy to avail of with lenient terms and conditions to facilitate a large user base.

The best beginner credit cards for no credit usually come with no annual fees and report payments directly to the credit bureaus to help you build credit over time. The starter credit card you are likely to avail of depends on multiple factors that include credit experience, history, fee, and type of employment. In various cases, there are certain features to look for in the best beginner credit cards. You are likely in search of a card with low or no annual fee, minimal interest charges, and if possible, the card to earn cashback

As a beginner, it is recommended to avoid cards with high fees, penalties, and interest rates. To help you make quick decision, we have crafted a list of the best beginner credit cards. Let’s dig deeper into the details of each card.

Quick Summary – Best Beginner Credit Cards for No Credit

• Discover it® Student Chrome – Best starter credit card for students
• Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students – Great Cashback credit card for students  
• Discover it® Student Cashback -Best welcome bonus credit card for students
• Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card – Best secured credit card for low deposit
• Discover it® Miles – Great travel credit card for beginners

Charting the Best Beginner Credit Cards for No Credit

Credit cards	Annual Fee	Foreign Transaction Fee	Regular APR	Introductory APR
Discover it® Student Chrome	$0	$0	16.49%-26.49%	None
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students	$0	None	15.99%-25.99%	None
Discover it® Student Cashback	$0	$0	16.49%-26.49%	5% off up to $1,500 in gas stations and restaurants each quarter (first year only)
Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card	$0	None	13.24%-24.24%	None
Discover it® Miles	$0	None	16.49%-26.49%	Unlimited 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all purchases

1. Discover it® Student Chrome

Best Feature	Great reward program for the students
Annual Fee	$0
Welcome Bonus	Discover will match all the cashback at the end of the year
Regular APR	18.24%-27.24% (Variable APR)

This card is a top-notch starter credit card that gives you an exceptional choice of spending on gas stations and restaurants which consumes a lot of your cash. The healthy rewards you get with no FICO credit history requirement, make it an excellent choice for beginners.

This card being in the list of the best beginner credit cards has a simple reward structure and can earn you a cashback of 2% with a combined spending of $1,000. Moreover, the introductory APR offer could stretch your student budget enough to cover expenses for entertainment and dining.

Product Highlights for #1among the best beginner credit cards

•  Get unlimited cashback match only on Discover. With one of the best beginner credit cards, all the cashback you have earned will be automatically matched at the end of the year. Works like magic, you could easily turn $50 into $100 with no minimum spending limit.
•  Get 2% cash back on restaurants and gas stations with combined purchases of $1000 in each quarter
•  Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
• No credit score is required to apply for Discover it® Student Chrome
• With one of the best starter credit cards, you experience first-class security that reduces your exposure to personal information online by removing malicious sites that can easily fetch your data. This feature can be activated using the mobile application
•  Charges no annual fee so you can effectively build your credit score over time
•  Provides 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 6 months and 10.99% APR on balance transfers

Pros	Cons
Charges no annual fee	Complicated reward structure
Introductory APR offer	Spending cap for bonus categories
Qualify with no or average credit
Offers high-spending bonus categories

2. Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students

Best Feature	Great cashback for the beginners
Annual Fee	$0
Welcome Bonus	$200 bonus on a spending limit of $1,000
Regular APR	18.24%-28.24% (Variable APR)

Are you looking for a cashback reward card with no annual fee? Look no further than Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students. This card is in the list of best beginner credit cards that can help you earn impressive cashback. Moreover, this card also offers an introductory APR for 15 billing cycles which is enough for the user to take advantage of.

In brief, this card is a better all-around solid choice for building good credit habits and a great financial history.

Product Highlights for #2 among the best beginner credit cards

•  Get $200 as a signup bonus after you make purchases of at least $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening
•  Being in the list of best beginner credit cards, you can easily earn a cashback of 3% on the category of your choice
•  Get 2%  cashback on grocery stores and whole sale clubs
•  Get unlimited 1% cash back on all the other purchases
•  With this card you get access to newly expanded categories that are entirely based on Bank Of America customer feedback ( for instance (EVC stations, streaming platforms , online shopping and much more )
•  Charges no annual fee and there is no date for the expiration of rewards
•  Offers 0% introductory APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers
•  When you make use of the card responsibly, you can build your credit history quickly and efficiently. And also get access to your FICO score for free on the mobile baking application
• Being one of the best starter credit cards it comes with a security of chip and convenience of a tap

Pros	Cons
Free access to FICO score	High penalty APR on late payments
Generous welcome bonus that is easy to earn	Charges foreign transaction fees
Offers competitive cash back rewards
Introductory APR period

3. Discover it® Student Cashback

Best Feature	Good student rewards
Annual Fee	$0
Welcome Bonus	Discover will match all the cashback at the end of the year
Regular APR	18.24%-27.24% (Variable APR)

 A student card with rewards is like a cherry on top. With the Discover it® Student Cashback, you can easily earn exceptional rate cashback with spending of up to $1,500 on rotating categories in each quarter. The card comes with no annual fee and the cashback is automatically earned at the end of the first year.

Being in the list of best beginner credit cards, it can help you build solid credit history while you earn rewards on the spending categories.

Product Highlights for #3 among the best beginner credit cards

• With this card, you get unlimited cashback that can be matched and automatically earned at the end of the first year. There is no minimum spending limit and you can easily turn $100 to $200 with the distinct dollar-for-dollar match feature.
•  Earn unlimited 5% cashback on everyday purchases on multiple grocery stores , restaurants, and gas stations in each quarter.
•  With this card you can earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
•  No credit score is essential to get this card
•  Being one of the best beginner credit cards for no credit , you can build your credit over time with the responsible use of it .
•  This card offers 0% introductory APR on purchases in the first 6 months
•  Discover will reduce the exposure of your personal information online and protect you information from various malicious sites

Pros	Cons
Offers 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories	Comparatively low 1% base reward rate
First-year cashback match	Activation of bonus categories in each quarter
Comes with no annual fee

4. Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card

Best Feature	Good secured card with low deposit
Annual Fee	$0
Welcome Bonus	Not applicable
Regular APR	30.7% (Variable APR)

The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card is a secured credit card option that is viable for all those looking to build great credit scores. As one of the best beginner credit cards, it offers no rewards which means its solely a card to create a great credit history. With no foreign transaction fee, you can easily make purchases outside U.S.

Overall, the Capital One card makes it easy to track payments and benefit from the card in the best possible ways. Make your payments on the credit card on time and create great credit score with the help of this card.

Product Highlights for #4 among the best beginner credit cards

•  This card comes with no annual, foreign transaction fee with no hidden charges
•  Being one of the best beginner credit cards, it is a viable choice to build your credit over time
• You can put down a refundable security deposit that starts off with $49 with a initial credit line of $200
• With the responsible use of the credit card, you can turn your security deposit into statement credit
• Have a greater chance to be considered for a higher credit line in a duration of 6 months with no extra expenses
• With $0 fraud liability, you won’t be responsible for the unauthorized charges
• If you possess this credit card, you can easily monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One.
•  Get access to online banking with 24/7 assistance in case of inconvenience

Pros	Cons
No foreign transaction fee or annual charges	Charges high APR
Applicants with no or limited credit can avail this card	No reward program
Security deposit of $49, $ 99, $200 is acceptable

5. Discover it® Miles

Best Feature	Great travel rewards with cashback twist
Annual Fee	$0
Welcome Bonus	Discover match
Regular APR	17.24%-28.24% (Variable APR)

The Discover it® Miles credit card offers unlimited 1.5 Miles per dollar on every purchase you make through this card. For travelers who do have not a solid credit history, this card can help you gain rewards in a hassle-free manner. Moreover being one of the best beginner credit cards for travel , it can automatically match miles at the end of the first year.

Discover it® Miles gives you the option to redeem miles for cashback for purchases other than the travel category. In a nutshell, this is a perfect choice for budget-minded occasional travelers.

Product Highlights for #5 among the best beginner credit cards

• Only Discover will get you an unlimited cashback match on the end of the first year . For instance , if you have earned a total of 35,000 miles , you can easily get 7,000 miles . For this there is no minimum spending or maximum rewards for it .
•  For every purchase, you  get unlimited 1.5 x miles
•  Being on the list of best beginner credit cards, it provides 0% introductory APR for a period of 15 months and then standard variable APR is applicable
•  This card will help you reduce the exposure of your personal information by removing your personal information from the sites that might affect you in the future
•  This card is accepted nationwide on almost 99% of the places that accepts credit cards
•  Get an instant alert in case you find your social security number on the Dark websites
• With Discover it® Miles, you can easily turn miles into cash or statement credit at any time of the day for travel purchases, gas stations, ride shares, airfare, and much more

Pros	Cons
Long introductory APR period	Miles cannot be transferred
Miles can be easily redeemed for travel and all other purchases	No luxury travel benefits
No annual and foreign transaction fee

 Best Airline credit cards to win awards

 If you are in search of an airline credit card to fly in style, look no further than the airline credit cards that offer greater rewards. The airline rewards are in the form of miles for travel and in fewer cases in the form of cashback to make purchases while you are on the go.

 Frequently Asked Questions