Best Credit Cards for Young Adults

The best credit cards for millennials are as diverse as millennials themselves, considering the term can apply to anyone who is 24-39 years old in 2020. So while the best credit card for millennials who like to travel, as so many millennials do, is Capital One Venture, lots of younger millennials won't have the good credit and income needed for approval. Similarly, millennials also love shopping online and buying organic groceries, which makes the Amazon.com Visa another great choice, as it offers up to 5% cash back on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases. But it too requires at least good credit. And the same goes for most 0% balance transfer cards, which could come in handy for reducing the cost of student loans.

The best credit cards for millennials who are new to credit are Journey Student Rewards (if you're in school) and Capital One Platinum (if you're not). And the best credit cards for millennials with bad credit are Discover it Secured and Capital One Secured. Almost all of these cards don't charge annual fees, which is important when you have less-than-good credit. Let's take a closer look at what else they offer. 

Here are the best credit cards for millennials:

• Flexible Travel Rewards: Capital One Venture - 60,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. 2 miles per $1 on all purchases. $95 annual fee. Good credit required.
• Online Shopping & Organic Groceries: Amazon.com Credit Card - $50 gift card Amazon gift card loaded onto your account after you're approved, $70 with an Amazon Prime membership. 3 points per $1 on all Amazon purchases, or 5 with Prime. 2 points per $1 at gas stations, restaurants, and drugstores, and 1 on all other purchases. No annual fee. Good credit required.
• Mobile Payments & Cell Phone Insurance: Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa - $150 bonus when you spend $500 in the first 3 months. 1.8% cash back on mobile wallet purchases (e.g. Apple Pay) and 1.5% cash back on everything else. $600 cell phone insurance when you pay your cell phone bill with your card. No annual fee. Good credit required.
• Paying Off Student Loans: Amex EveryDay - 0% APR on purchases for 15 months. 10,000 points for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. 2 points per $1 on up to $6,000 in supermarket purchases per year and 1 on all other purchases. 20% more points when you use your card 20+ times in a billing cycle. No annual fee. Good credit required.
• Students: Journey Student Rewards from Capital One - 1% cash back on all purchases (1.25% if you pay on time). No annual fee. Limited credit accepted.
• Limited & Fair Credit: Capital One QuicksilverOne - 1.5% cash back on all purchases. $39 annual fee. 
• Bad Credit Rewards: Discover it Secured - 2% cash back on $1,000 spent per quarter at gas stations and restaurants (1% on all other purchases), and Discover matches your first year's cash back on your account anniversary. $200 minimum deposit. No annual fee.
• Bad Credit and Low Deposit: Capital One Secured - No rewards. No annual fee. $49, $99 or $200 minimum deposit depending on your creditworthiness. No annual fee. 

At the end of the day, you have to decide what type of millennial you are in order to determine which of the best credit cards for millennials is right for you.

You can get a credit card without a job. Most credit card applications have a section for employment information, but you can also put student, homemaker or unemployed. Annual income and assets are more important than employment status when applying for a credit card, though.

Income is usually from a job, but it can also come from other sources like an inheritance or investments. Your assets are anything of value that you own. For example, if you have a rental property, the property would be an asset. And the rent you charge would be part of your income.

If you're under 21 years old, you'll need your own income source to qualify for a credit card. That could include a regular allowance from your parents, though. If you're over 21, you can list household income that you have reasonable access to. For example, a stay-at-home parent could list their spouse's income. Without a job or any income, a credit card will be much more difficult to get.

How to get a credit card without a job:

• Put down non-employment income: You can list alimony, disability benefits, certain scholarships, and investment or rental income, for example.
• List shared income: If you have consistent access to someone else's income, you can list that. For example, it could be an allowance from a relative (if you're under 21 years old) or your partner's pay (21+).
• Become an authorized user or get a joint account with someone else: An authorized user can make charges on someone else's account. But the primary cardholder owns the account and is legally responsible for paying the bills. This option is the easiest way to get a card and start building credit. You can also get a joint credit card from U.S. Bank without a job, as long as the co-owner has enough income. But in a joint credit card arrangement, both people are liable for the debt.
• Get a secured card: To get a secured card, you must put down a security deposit (usually $200+), which serves as the credit limit. Since there is no possibility of borrowing more than you can pay, secured cards are easier for people with limited income or bad credit to get.

You can get a credit card without a job as long as you have enough income or assets to pay your bills. So being out of work doesn't mean losing out on the opportunity to improve your credit score or enjoy the convenience of plastic.

The best credit cards for 20-year-olds (and 20-somethings more generally) depend on whether  you've already built any credit and whether you're still in school. If you don't have any credit history yet, you'll want to get a starter card, like Capital One QuicksilverOne. If you're still a student, you could get a better deal with  Journey Student Rewards from Capital One. 

But if you're no stranger to credit and you've already built up a good history, you can start setting your sights on more lucrative rewards cards such as Citi Double Cash (2% cash back on everything) or Capital One Venture (2 miles per $1 on everything). 

HERE ARE THE BEST CREDIT CARDS FOR 20-SOMETHINGS: 

• For fair/limited credit: Capital One QuicksilverOne
  1.5% cash back on all purchases. $39 annual fee. 
• For college/grad students: Journey Student Rewards from Capital One
  1% cash back on all purchases or 1.25% if you pay on time. No annual fee. Can get this card with limited history or fair credit.
• For cash back: Citi Double Cash
  2% cash back on all purchases, 1% when you buy and another 1% when you pay. 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months (3% fee). No annual fee. You need good credit to get this card.
• For travel rewards: Capital One Venture
  50,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. 10 miles per $1 at hotels.com/venture, and 2 on all other purchases. $95 annual fee ($0 the first year). You need good credit.
• For online shopping: Amazon.com Credit Card
  $50 Amazon gift card after you're approved ($70 for Prime members). 3 points per $1 on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases (5 with Prime). 2 points per $1 at gas stations, restaurants, and drugstores (1 on all other purchases). No annual fee. You need good credit. 
• For bad credit: Discover it Secured
  2% cash back on $1,000 spent per quarter at restaurants and gas stations, and 1% back on all other purchases. The first year's cash back is matched on your account anniversary. $200 minimum security deposit. No annual fee. 

As you can see, there are good credit cards for 20 somethings of all experience levels, from bad credit to good credit and above. 

The average credit card limit for a 25-year-old is around $3,000.

To get to that number, it's important to know that the average credit score in that age bracket is 650, which is fair credit. Of course, a credit score is not the only factor issuers take into account when determining credit limits. Income and debt play important roles as well, so every amount you may find on the internet should be taken with a grain of salt.

The best credit card for young travelers is the Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students. 

It's a good option if you're a student who wants to reduce the cost of travel without paying an annual fee, both because it has appealing travel rewards and because it doesn't have a foreign transaction fee, so no surcharges when you travel abroad or purchase from internationally-based merchants.

If you're not a student, Capital One Platinum might be your best choice, considering the lack o an annual fee and foreign transaction fees, however, it has no travel rewards.

The best credit cards for people under 21 are usually college student credit cards or simply cards for people with no credit. 

From the college student credit cards, the honorable mentions are the Journey Student Rewards from Capital One and Discover it Student Chrome. You must be a college student to qualify for these.

As for the cards for people with no credit, Capital One QuicksilverOne should be your top pick. It has an annual fee of $39, but you can counter that with the unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase. If you want a no-annual-fee card and have no credit, Capital One Platinum is the way to go.

The best credit cards for young professionals are the Capital One Venture Credit Card, the Citi Double Cash Credit Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card. They all offer above-average rewards per $1 spent, plus a sign-up deal of some kind, and some come with extra perks for travelers. Young professionals are likely to have some credit history behind them and to want a credit card that rewards an on-the-go lifestyle while not costing them too much or being too rigid with rewards redemption.

Capital One Venture gives 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. You don't have to use these miles for travel - they redeem for cash back and other items like gift cards, too - but they're worth the most when used for travel. You can use miles to book your travel through Capital One, or you can reimburse travel purchases on your statement. The credit card's wide definition of “travel” - including airfare, hotels, cruises, train tickets, taxi/bus/limo fare, time shares, and more - make redeeming for travel purchases worth it. You'll also get 60,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, which is worth about $600 in travel redemptions. You'll need at least good credit to get this card. The annual fee is $95.

Young professionals who don't do much traveling (and even those who do) might prefer the Citi Double Cash Credit Card. This card gives 2% Cash Back on all purchases - 1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay for it. That's twice the average rate across rewards credit cards. With cash back credit cards like this one, you don't have to worry about categories or redemption methods. The annual fee is $0 and at least excellent credit is required.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card is ideal for the young professional who travels more often than not. That's because this card has a $550 annual fee, and it may not be worth the fee if you don't travel a fair amount. But if you do, the fee will pay for itself. Chase Sapphire Reserve gives 50,000 points ($750 when redeemed for travel) after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, and a $300 travel expense credit each year you renew. You'll also get an application fee credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, a free Priority Pass Select membership, and a free year of Lyft Pink ($199 value), which gives 15% off every Lyft ride. You'll need very-good-to-excellent credit to get approved for this card, though, which means it's best for more established young professionals.

Whether you travel frequently or stay put most of the time, credit cards can be rewarding no matter which bracket you fall into as a young professional. Take your time to weigh out what you want in a credit card versus how you spend your money. And whichever rewards you end up choosing, make sure you redeem them often.

An 18 year old high school student can get a credit card, but there are federal law has specific requirements that must be met before you even apply.

The Credit CARD Act of 2009 prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from owning a credit card, except under certain conditions. The purpose of the law is two-fold. It requires credit card issuers to review an applicant's ability to repay any debts before extending credit. It allows deters young adults from running up credit card debt that they're unable to pay back.

The conditions for anyone under 21 provide proof of income sufficient enough to make at least the minimum payment. For a student credit card, the minimum payment is usually around $15. An issuer will take that into account along with the applicant's other debts and monthly expenses.

If you're unable to meet the income requirement, you'll still be eligible if you apply for a credit card with a co-signer. The co-signer should be at least 21 years old, have good credit, and the means to take on an additional credit card account. More importantly, a co-signer must be someone you trust, and vice versa. When a person co-signs for a credit card, he or she is ultimately responsible if you don't keep up payments on the account.

Another option, if the federal requirements don't pan out, is to sign up as an authorized user on another person's existing credit card account. As an authorized user, you have the primary cardholder's consent to use their credit card. You'll have your own card with your name on it, along with full access to the card's available credit limit.

You'll also be able to build your credit based on the primary cardholder's good credit. The primary cardholder is liable for any purchases you make on the card, and as their credit profile continues to grow, yours will also improve. The flipside of that is, if any negative information shows up on the primary cardholder's credit report, your credit report will also be affected.

The most important piece of credit card advice for young adults is to get a first credit card as early as possible and then use it responsibly, by spending within your means and not missing due dates. If you do that, you'll be able to graduate to a great second credit card sooner.

The credit building efforts can start way sooner. Becoming an authorized user on an adult's account is the only way to get credit before you turn 18. This can add positive information to your credit reports each month and help you build credit faster.