What's the best first credit card for students?

The best first credit card for students is the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card because it reports to the credit bureaus monthly, has a $0 annual fee, and it is available to applicants with limited credit. Plus, the Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card gives 1 - 8% cash back on purchases. And its intro bonus of $50 for spending $100 in the first 3 months is the cherry on top for students getting their first credit card.

Best First Credit Cards for Students

• Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best Overall
• Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best for a Flat Rewards Rate
• Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card: Best for Bad Credit
• Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card: Best for No Credit
• Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best for Cash Back

How to Make the Most of Your First Student Credit Card

Focus on building credit first.

Your primary objective with your first credit card should be to build a solid credit history. Part of that is ensuring the card you choose reports to the major credit bureaus each month, which nearly all credit cards from major issuers do, fortunately. You can check by looking at the card’s terms and conditions or calling customer service.

You also need to choose a card you can get approved for, as getting rejected won’t help you add positive information to your credit reports. Sticking with student credit cards is a pretty safe bet. Most importantly, though, you need to manage your first card responsibly, so make it a habit to maintain a history of timely payments and keep your balances low to avoid dragging your credit score down. 

Make a budget.

Create and follow a budget to manage your expenses and avoid accumulating unnecessary debt. When the time comes to use your first credit card, a well-maintained budget will make it easier to keep your balances low and pay your bills on time, both of which are key components to building and maintaining a good credit score.

Pay your balance on time and in full every month.

By paying your credit card’s statement balance in full by the due date every month, you can avoid costly interest charges, late fees, mounting debt, and credit score damage. You can use your credit card’s autopay feature to make sure you pay on time.

As long as you have enough money in your linked bank account to cover the full statement balance, you’ll be in good shape, so keep your spending in check. With that in mind, consider using your card only for small expenses, such as a trip to the gas pump or a monthly gym membership, which will make paying in full every month and keeping your credit utilization low easier to manage.

Take advantage of rewards.

If you’re going to pay your bill in full every month (which you should), you can use rewards as a tiebreaker between student credit card offers with no annual fees. You can expect to earn at least 1% back on all purchases, with the best student credit cards offering higher bonus rewards rates in certain spending categories. Just make sure not to overspend solely to earn rewards, as the interest you pay will likely outweigh the value of the rewards.

Keep your credit utilization low.

Your credit utilization ratio, the amount of credit you use compared to your total credit limit, is a major factor in calculating your credit score. You should keep your spending below 30% of your limit, and ideally below 10%, to demonstrate responsible use of your credit. For example, with a card that has a $1,000 credit limit, that means keeping your balance below $300.

Stick with one credit card.

As a student, one credit card should be enough to meet your spending needs. Applying for several cards in a short timeframe will trigger multiple hard credit inquiries, which can damage your credit score. Limiting yourself to one credit card can also make credit-building easier to manage while balancing everything else on your busy schedule.

To learn more, refer to WalletHub’s guide on how to get a credit card with no credit history.

Ideally, it’s a parent’s card. Making your child an authorized user first is a good way to make sure they don’t do anything too stupid and ruin their credit for years. 
After that, for their first solo card, anything from Capital One or Discover is great.

My favorites are (in order of preference):

1. Capital One SavorOne Student (best rewards)
2. Discover it® Student (best bonus)
3. Bank of America® Travel Rewards Student (straightforward points)

All establish credit equally - rewards are just icing.