The best credit card for students with bad credit is the Discover it® Secured because it has a $0 annual fee, a $0 foreign transaction fee and very nice rewards. The Discover it Secured Card gives 2% cash back on a total of $1,000 spent each quarter at gas stations and restaurants – great for commuting and eating around campus. All other purchases earn 1% back. Discover also doubles all the rewards cardholders earn the first year.You don’t have to be a student to get the Discover it Secured Card. But “student” credit cards do not accept applicants with poor credit. So you have to consider other options. With that in mind, WalletHub’s editors compared 1,000+ credit card offers in search of the best cards for students with bad credit, and you can find their selections below.
2019’s Best Credit Cards for Students with Bad Credit
| Credit Card | Best For | Annual Fee | Minimum Deposit |
| Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit | No Security Deposit | $0 - $99 | None |
| Capital One® Secured Mastercard® | International Travel | $0 | $49, $99 or $200 |
| OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card | No Credit Check | $35 | $200 |
| Discover it® Secured | Rewards | $0 | $200 |
| Milestone® Mastercard® - Bad Credit Considered | No Deposit | $35 - $99* | |
| Fingerhut Credit Account | Store Card | None | |
| Green Dot Visa® Secured Credit Card | No Bank Account | $39 | $200 |
If you happen to have bad credit as a student because of mistakes made with a credit card you were an authorized user on, things actually aren’t so bad. Authorized users aren’t responsible for making payments, so they can’t really be punished for mistakes made by the main accountholder. As a result, you can simply ask the major credit bureaus to remove any authorized-user accounts that have negative information associated with them. Doing so could immediately improve your credit standing and expand your credit-card options.
