Best Student Credit Cards
WalletHub makes it easy to find the best credit card for students
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Best Credit Cards for Students
- Journey Student Rewards from Capital One: Best for Cash Back
- Discover it® Student Cash Back: Best for Bonus Rewards
- Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students: Best for 0% Intro APR
- Secured Mastercard® from Capital One: Best for Higher Approval Odds
- OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card: Best for No Credit Check
- Deserve EDU Student Credit Card: Best for International Students
Journey Student Rewards from Capital One Journey Student Rewards from Capital One

- Earn 1% cash back on all your purchases. Pay on time to boost your cash back to a total of 1.25% for that month
- Earn $5 per month for 12 months on Select Streaming Subscriptions when you pay on time. *Exclusions Apply
- Enjoy no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- You can help build your credit with responsible use of a card like this
- Pick the monthly due date that works best for you
- Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months
- $0 fraud liability if your card is ever lost or stolen
- Monitor your credit profile with the CreditWise® app, free for everyone
- See More Details & Reviews About TheJourney Student Rewards from Capital One
Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card Petal® 2 Visa® Credit Card

- Up to 1.5% cash back after making 12 on-time monthly payments
- 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away
- 2% - 10% cash back from select merchants
- No fees whatsoever. No late fee, international fee, annual fee, or any-other-kind-of-fee, fee.
- $500-$10,000 credit limits
- Variable APRs 12.99%-26.99%
- Build credit alongside tens of thousands of Petal Card members
- Cash flow technology may help applicants without credit history get approved
- Petal's mobile app makes it easy to manage your money, track your spending, and automate payments
- See if you're pre-approved within minutes without impacting your credit score
- Petal reports to all 3 major credit bureaus
- No deposits required
- Card issued by WebBank, Member FDIC
- See More Details & Reviews About ThePetal® 2 Visa® Credit Card
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card

- No credit check necessary to apply. OpenSky believes in giving an opportunity to everyone.
- The refundable* deposit you provide becomes your credit line limit on your Visa card. Choose it yourself, from as low as $200.
- Build credit quickly. OpenSky reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
- 99% of our customers who started without a credit score earned a credit score record with the credit bureaus in as little as 6 months.
- We have a Facebook community of people just like you; there is a forum for shared experiences, and insights from others on our Facebook Fan page. (Search “OpenSky Card” in Facebook.)
- *View our Cardholder Agreement located at the bottom of the application page for details of the card
- See More Details & Reviews About TheOpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students

- Receive one year of Amazon Prime Student on Deserve after spending $500 in the first three billing cycles with your EDU card (Lifetime Value of $59).
- Earn 1% Cash Back on all purchases with your Deserve EDU Mastercard. Once approved, you'll automatically start earning cash back on all purchases.
- Feel secure with cell phone protection up to $600.
- Refer A Friend Program: Refer anyone to Deserve using your personal referral code. Upon approval, card activation and use, you'll receive $30 and so will your referral. Referral bonuses are unlimited!
- No deposit required. No annual fees.
- No international transaction fees on purchases abroad so you can travel with confidence.
- No Social Security Number required for international students to apply.
- Manage and track your spending, set automatic payments and securely freeze your card all through one easy to use app.
- See if you prequalify with no impact to your credit score in minutes.
- Deserve Mastercards are issued by Celtic Bank, Member FDIC.
- Enjoy Mastercard Platinum Benefits intended to make your life easier like Mastercard ID Theft Prevention™ and Master Rental®.
- See More Details & Reviews About TheDeserve® EDU Mastercard for Students
Petal® 1 Visa® Credit Card Petal® 1 Visa® Credit Card

- $0 Annual Fee
- 2% - 10% cash back from select merchants
- $500-$5,000 credit limits
- Variable APRs 19.99-29.49% APR
- No annual or international transaction fees. Late and returned payment fees may apply
- Build credit alongside tens of thousands of Petal Card members
- Cash flow technology may help applicants without credit history get approved
- Petal's mobile app makes it easy to manage your money, track your spending, and automate payments
- See if you're pre-approved within minutes without impacting your credit score
- Petal reports to all 3 major credit bureaus
- No deposits required
- Card issued by WebBank, Member FDIC
- See More Details & Reviews About ThePetal® 1 Visa® Credit Card
First Command Bank Classic Visa® Card First Command Bank Classic Visa® Card

- Earn 1.5 points for exchange and commissary purchases and 1 point for every dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Redeem rewards for travel, cash, merchandise or charity.
- Minimum credit limit of $500.
- 24/7 access to client services.
- First Command Bank is currently accepting new account applications only from existing clients of First Command Bank or First Command Financial Services.
- See More Details & Reviews About TheFirst Command Bank Classic Visa® Card
Patelco Credit Union Progress Student Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card Patelco Credit Union Progress Student Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card

- Receive 2 points for every $1 on all school and grocery purchases, and 1 point for every $1 on all other purchases
- Redeem points for cash, merchandise, and even travel. Points never expire
- Secured with Zero Liability Protection and Mastercard ID Theft Protection™
- Purchase Benefits: Price Protection and Extended Warranty Coverage
- Mastercard Global Service™
- Free Online Banking and Mobile App for iOS and Android
- See More Details & Reviews About ThePatelco Credit Union Progress Student Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card
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6 Best Credit Cards for Students in 2021

Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students
The best student credit card is the Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students. It is the best credit card for students because it has a $0 annual fee and some of the best perks available to people with limited or no credit. For starters, online applicants who make $1,000 in purchases within 90 days of opening an account get an initial bonus of $200. In addition, this BofA student card offers introductory APRs of 0% for 12 months on new purchases and 0% for 12 months on balance transfers, with a balance transfer fee of 3% (min $10). Its ongoing rewards are very good, too, with cardholders earning 1 - 3% cash back, depending on the purchase category.
Journey Student Rewards from Capital One
One of the best credit cards for students with no credit is the Journey Student Rewards from Capital One card because it has a $0 annual fee and gives 1% cash back on all purchases (1.25% back in months you pay your bill on time). The Capital One Journey Card also has a $0 foreign transaction fee and is accepted worldwide by merchants that take VISA. So it’s a great card for saving money and building credit whether you’re studying abroad or in the U.S.
Secured Mastercard® from Capital One
The Secured Mastercard® from Capital One is one of the best starter cards on the market because it has a $0 annual fee and offers high approval odds to people with limited credit. This is what’s known as a partially secured card, since the spending limit cardholders receive could be higher than the amount of the refundable security deposit they are required to place. It has no rewards but does report account information to the major credit bureaus on a monthly basis. This will help you build credit if you pay the bills on time and otherwise manage the account responsibly.
Discover it® Student Cash Back
Discover it® Student Cash Back (Discover offers are not currently available on WalletHub and may be out of date) is one of the best credit cards for students because it has a $0 annual fee, a 0% foreign transaction fee, and great rewards. Cardholders earn 1 - 5% Cash Back on purchases, and Discover matches all the rewards you earn the first year your account is open. You get that bonus after your first account anniversary. Plus, Discover it® Student Cash Back offers an introductory APR of 0% for 6 months on new purchases. And it’s available to applicants with limited or no credit history.
Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students
The Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students is the best credit card for international students because students born abroad can get approved without a Social Security number. International students can use their passport and proof of a U.S. bank account instead. Plus, the Deserve EDU card has a $0 and rewards cardholders with 1% cash back. It’s available to students with limited or no credit history, too.
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card is one of the easiest credit cards to get right now. It has no credit check for new applicants. It also has a reasonable annual fee, charging $35. Plus, since it’s a secured credit card, the OpenSky Card makes it hard for students to spend more than they can afford to repay. The card’s spending limit is equal to the amount of the refundable security deposit cardholders are required to place when opening an account. The deposit must be at least $200.
Credit Cards for College Students at a Glance:
Credit cards for students with no credit usually have $0 annual fees and report account information to 1-3 major credit bureaus each month. So they’re great for building credit inexpensively. No-credit student credit cards also charge interest at a 15.13% annual rate, on average – below the market-wide average of 17.87%, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report. And many of the best student credit cards have 0% introductory APRs, great rewards or both.
Credit cards for college students with no credit tend to be much better than other credit cards for people with no credit because students have a profitable combination of youth and high earning potential on their side. Most students also have limited or no credit. So as long as your credit isn’t “bad,” and you have an active college or university email address, you should be able to get most credit cards branded for student use. That’s why our editors’ picks for the year’s best student credit cards for no credit are quite similar to the best student cards overall.
Methodology & Recap:
To help you find the best student credit card for your needs, WalletHub’s editors compared 1,000+ credit card offers based on their rewards, rates, fees and approval requirements. Below, you can learn more about how college credit cards work and how to get the right one for your needs.
Student Credit Card Pre-approval
Most major credit card companies that offer credit cards to college students allow prospective applicants to check for pre-approval before submitting an official application. This allows applicants to assess their odds of approval without affecting their credit standing. Pre-approval uses a harmless “soft inquiry” into your credit history, whereas a “hard inquiry” is needed to evaluate an official application. That could lead to a small temporary drop in your credit score. If you get pre-approved for a credit card offer, it means your chances of getting approved for an account are very high, should you decide to apply.With that being said, college students with little or no credit history already have high approval odds for most student credit cards. Pre-approval will merely confirm that for most students.
Student Credit Card Benefits
The biggest benefits of student credit cards are easy approval, low fees, credit-building, and better rewards than similar non-student cards provide. Student credit cards typically offer more generous terms than other cards for people with limited credit because students tend to be young and have above-average earning potential. Credit card companies want to establish a profitable long-term relationship, so they offer students better deals than they’ve proven they deserve to date.Beyond that, student credit card benefits are largely the same as the perks on other credit cards. Student credit cards also give $0 liability guarantees for unauthorized transactions, for example. They make spending, either on everyday purchases or emergency expenses, a lot more convenient, too.
Types of Credit Cards for Students
The two main types of credit cards for college students are unsecured student credit cards and secured credit cards. Both types should be pretty easy to get for students, even with limited or no credit history, as long as they have enough income to afford monthly bill payments.If you want to segment things even more, you could split up the available offers based on features, too. For example, there are student credit cards with travel rewards, cash back student credit cards, 0% APR credit cards for students, and more.
College Student Credit Card Interest Rates
The interest rates on student credit cards are sometimes very low to start with, but they don’t stay that way for long. For example, there are often several credit cards for college students with introductory 0% APR promotions, lasting for a certain number of months after account opening. But the average regular APR on a student credit card is over 16%, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report.Finally, you have to remember that getting the right student card is only step one. You must also use it responsibly – by paying your bill on time and using only a portion of your credit limit – if you want to build credit and maximize your savings. You can track your progress and get helpful tips for how to improve by signing up for a free WalletHub account.
Best Credit Cards for Students Compared
Student Credit Card | Best For | Review Rating |
Journey Student Rewards from Capital One | Cash Back for Students | 5.0 / 5 |
Discover it® Student Cash Back | Bonus Rewards | 4.7 / 5 |
Bank of America® Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students | Bonus Cash Back | 5.0 / 5 |
Secured Mastercard® from Capital One | High Approval Odds for Students | 5.0 / 5 |
Deserve EDU Student Credit Card | International Students | 3.5 / 5 |
OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card | No Credit Check | 4.0 / 5 |
Questions & Answers
Comparing student credit cards with no 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....show moreshow less
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Ask the Experts
- How important is it for students with no credit history to get a credit card?
- Does being a student make it easier to get a credit card with no prior credit experience?
- What are some of the biggest credit-card mistakes that students make?
- Is it easier for a student with no credit to get a credit card if he or she goes to an Ivy League school or gets straight A’s?
- To what extent does having no credit hold back a recent college graduate?
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Brian Clark
Assistant Professor of Banking and Corporate Finance in the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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William Klinger
Professor of Business at Raritan Valley Community College
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George Repic
Instructor and Chair of Business and Economics at SUNY Rockland Community College
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Michael Johnson
Finance Instructor at Madison College
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Don-Weimer
Instructor of Economics at Milwaukee Area Technical College
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Nonna Y. Sorokina
Assistant Professor of Finance in the School of Business at The College of New Jersey
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† Approval Odds are WalletHub estimates intended to gauge your likelihood of approval for a particular product. Approval Odds are based on WalletHub data and are not provided or endorsed by the lender. Approval Odds are not meant to imply or guarantee that you will be approved by the lender or that credit will be extended.
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