WalletHub
Credit Cards to Build Credit
WalletHub makes it easy to find the best credit card for you.
COMPARE CREDIT CARDS TO BUILD CREDIT
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- No annual fee
- Available to people with limited credit
- Free credit-score access
- No foreign transaction fee
- No rewards
- High regular APR
- No reduced introductory rates
- No annual fee
- Qualify with limited or no credit history
- Low security deposit
- Foreign fee
- Requires security deposit
- No annual or monthly fees
- Starting credit line of at least $200
- Great for credit-building
- No rewards
- Higher-than-average interest rate
- Great rewards
- No annual fee
- Relatively low minimum deposit
- Available to people with limited credit
- High interest rate
- No membership fees first year
- Qualify with limited or no credit history
- Membership fees in the second year
- High regular APR
- Requires security deposit
- Qualify with limited or no credit history
- High regular APR
- Foreign fee
- Requires security deposit
- 1.5% cash back on all purchases
- Available to people with limited or fair credit
- No foreign transaction fees
- $39 annual fee
- Above-average regular APR
- Qualify with limited or no credit history
- Does not require security deposit
- One-time fees
- High regular APR
- Foreign fee
- No annual or monthly fees & No fees for account opening
- Up to 2% cash back
- First-year rewards doubled
- Relatively low minimum deposit
- High regular APR
- Qualify with limited or no credit history
- Does not require security deposit
- High membership fees
- High regular APR
- Foreign fee
Which are the best credit cards to build credit?
In general, the best credit card for building credit is the offer with the lowest annual fee and the highest approval odds. You want to begin establishing credit history as soon as possible, after all. And people with no credit are unlikely to get good enough rewards or low enough interest rates to warrant prioritizing such features. That’s also why people with credit builder credit cards should try to always pay their monthly bills in full.
With those guidelines in mind, WalletHub’s editors compared 1,000+ offers to find the best credit cards to build credit in a few different popular usage categories. Here are the top cards right now:
Best Credit Cards for No Credit
| Best For… | Card Name | Annual Fee | Editors’ Rating |
| College Students | Capital One Savor Student Cash Rewards Credit Card (see Rates & Fees) | $0 | 4.7 Stars |
| Light Spenders | Capital One Platinum Credit Card (see Rates & Fees) | $0 | 5 Stars |
| Heavy Spenders | Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card (see Rates & Fees) | $39 | 4.7 Stars |
| No Credit Check | opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card | $35 | 4.0 Stars |
| Honorable Mention | Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card (see Rates & Fees) | $0 | 5 Stars |
| Honorable Mention | Citi® Secured Mastercard® | $0 | 4.6 Stars |
| Honorable Mention | Harley-Davidson® Secured Credit Card | $0 | 5 Stars |
If you don’t get approved for an unsecured credit card for building credit the first time, consider placing a deposit on a secured card with no annual fee. Secured cards tend to have the highest approval odds, so this will likely help you begin building credit as soon as possible. Plus, you’ll get the deposit back when you close your account. So this is an expensive way to build credit, too.
For more tips and info, check out WalletHub’s New to Credit Guide.
Questions & Answers
Comparing credit cards to build credit can be tough. But you’ve got the knowledgeable WalletHub community on your side. We encourage everyone to share their knowledge while respecting our content guidelines. Please keep in mind that editorial and user-generated content on this page is not reviewed or otherwise endorsed by any financial institution. In addition, it is not the financial institution’s responsibility to ensure all posts and questions are answered. WalletHub independently collected information for some of the cards on this page.show more
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Advertisers compensate WalletHub when you click on a link, or your application is approved, or your account is opened. Advertising impacts how and where offers appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear and their prevalence). At WalletHub, we try to list as many credit card offers as possible and currently have more than 1,500 offers, but we do not list all available offers or financial service companies.
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WalletHub is not a financial advisor. Our goal is to provide you with top-notch content, data, and tools. You are responsible for deciding what financial products and providers are best for your needs.
Irrespective of whether an institution or professional is a paid advertiser, the presence of information on WalletHub does not constitute a referral or endorsement of the institution or professional by us or vice versa.
We work hard to show you up-to-date product terms, however, this information does not originate from us and thus, we do not guarantee its accuracy. Actual terms may vary. Before submitting an application, always verify all terms and conditions with the offering institution. Please let us know if you notice any differences.
* The information about the following cards has been independently collected by WalletHub: Citi® Secured Mastercard® and Harley-Davidson® Secured Credit Card.
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