Best credit cards for no credit history in October 2023

Many students will often have little, if any, credit history. The requirements for approval on these kinds of credit cards are fairly relaxed, making them more accessible for students. However, many student credit cards offer specialized, student-centric benefits and rewards and are just as easy to qualify for and probably fit better into a student’s lifestyle.

Our pick for you: The Discover it® Student Cash Back Card

Foreign students studying abroad in the U.S. who wish to start building credit may run into some challenges. Luckily, international students can access credit cards. Some cards on the market skip the need for a Social Security number (SSN) or only require you to open a U.S. checking account, effectively removing a few of the main barriers for international students trying to access credit.

Our pick for you: The Zolve Azpire Credit Builder Card + Checking Account

If you aren't a current student — but still hope to build credit for the first time — you may find your fit in a credit card for no credit history. Relaxed credit requirements, modest rewards and other credit-building tools allow credit beginners to start their credit journey. Most of these credit card options are also relatively low in cost, often skipping annual fees. If you're a first-generation credit user, these options can also be a good place to start.

Our pick for you: The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Card

It can be difficult to begin building credit without a credit history and a Social Security number, but immigrants with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Number can qualify for a number of starter credit cards like the Capital One Platinum Credit Card. Some issuers will also look at alternative data, such as your bill payment history and banking activity, which can help overcome a limited credit history.

Our pick for you: The Capital One Platinum Secured Card

A credit-building card’s cost has a large influence on its overall score and our decision to include it in our best cards list. This is because cards in this category tend to be much pricier than traditional credit cards designed for people with a good or better credit score. 

We compare a card’s total cost, including any annual fees, account activation fees, monthly fees and more against the total cost of other cards in the credit-building category and assign each card a score based on its affordability. We also factor rewards-earning potential into our assessment of a credit-building card’s total cost, subtracting expected earnings from the sum of its fees. 

To get a sense of a credit-building card’s rewards-earning potential, we estimate its average annual rewards rate and average annual earnings based on the most popular spending categories (as covered in the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer spending report). 

However, we use a slightly lower spending assumption ($300 per month or $3,600 per year) to estimate average earnings, assuming credit-builders will start out with a lower credit limit, will want to keep credit utilization low and will focus primarily on small purchases they can easily pay off.

While low-cost credit-building cards will always be at a major advantage in our scoring system and will likely earn a higher spot on our best cards list, no-annual-fee credit-building cards can be hard to come by, especially if you’re looking for an unsecured card. With this in mind, we may include unsecured cards with high fees in our list if they offer other benefits for credit-builders, like a high starting credit limit or useful perks.

A card’s APR is also a major factor in its credit-building score. Each card’s average APR is compared against the average APR of other cards in the category, and the cards with lower-than-average APRs receive a higher rating. 

Given the many costs students face — from textbooks to laptops — the presence of an introductory APR on purchases or balance transfers also plays a role in a student card’s score and its inclusion on our list. 

Though high APRs are hard to avoid when you’re just starting out or working on your score, credit-builders and students should strive for as low an APR as possible since they’re likely to either be new to managing cards or trying to establish better financial habits and avoid falling into debt.

Along with a credit-building card’s cost, we consider how easy the card makes it to build credit. To assess this, we evaluate its credit limit potential and minimum deposit requirement.

Unsecured cards with a high starting credit limit and secured cards that let you put down a large deposit and get a matching high credit limit will score the highest according to our “Ease of building credit” rubric and are more likely to appear on our list. 

This is because a high credit limit can make it much easier to keep your credit utilization low, a primary credit-building factor that makes up 30 percent of your FICO credit score. 

Secured cards have a slight advantage in this category since the maximum credit limit on a secured card tends to be much higher than the typical starting credit limit on an unsecured card that’s available with a bad or fair credit score. However, unsecured credit-building cards have the upper hand in another key aspect of building credit: accessibility. 

Cards that carry no or a low deposit requirement can also receive a high score according to our “Ease of building credit” rubric since these cards offer a lower barrier to entry than secured cards that require you to put up hundreds of dollars in an upfront deposit. 

Indeed, some users may prefer to pay a non-refundable $50 annual fee while they work on their credit score than tie up hundreds in a refundable security deposit.

We evaluate a student or credit-building card’s benefits based on how useful they are for someone looking to build a positive credit history or save money on everyday spending. 

We consider the inclusion of a rewards program, student-centric perks, access to your credit score or a credit monitoring service of prime importance, along with the ability to prequalify for the card with only a soft credit pull and a clear path to increase your credit limit or graduate to an unsecured or full-fledged rewards card.

Cards that include these benefits are likely to score higher according to our credit-building card and student card scoring rubrics and are more likely to earn a place in our list.

No, your credit report and your credit score are not the same. However, both are essential to your financial standing.

A credit report is a detailed account that includes a person's credit accounts and debts, past and present. A credit score is a numerical snapshot that provides a way for lenders to measure your creditworthiness at a given point in time.

No credit is not the same as bad credit. Someone with no credit is typically just starting out, often as a young adult or someone new to the country. Creditors don’t have enough history to know how someone with no credit will handle their finances but may be willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Having bad credit means that your credit report has negative marks, which can happen if you make late payments, default on debt or are a victim of credit card fraud. If you have bad credit, you are typically considered riskier to lenders compared to someone with no credit.

No, it doesn’t. Checking your score is considered a "soft inquiry" or "soft pull." A soft inquiry (checking your own score, when an employer or landlord does a credit check, etc.) doesn't impact your credit score. On the other hand, a hard inquiry (e.g., applying for credit) can lower your score for a short time.

The answer to this question depends on your personal situation. When just getting started, it will take about three to six months before the credit bureaus can calculate your credit score. The best way to start is to open a card that best fits your needs and use it responsibly by paying it off on time each month.

• Find a co-signer. Having a co-signer on your credit card application could bolster your chances of approval depending on the strength of your co-signer’s credit history, their income and other factors.
• Get a secured credit card. Rather than income, a secured credit card prioritizes whether or not you can pay a security deposit. If you can afford the upfront cost of a security deposit, then this type of card might be accessible even without a job. 
• Apply for a joint credit card account. You can apply for a joint credit card with someone, like a spouse or partner. Both applicants get a credit check, but the income is considered jointly. However, if one person misses a payment, it will affect both parties' credit.