So as a personal finance blogger who has a lot of personal experience with credit cards (both good and bad) I get these questions a lot:
- What are the best credit cards for young adults?
- I’m a recent high school or college graduate, what credit cards are right for me?
- What’s a good first credit card?
- And when should somebody get a first credit card anyway?
It all depends whether you have already established credit or not. Do you already have at least one credit card? Do you have student loans? If you’re still unsure, check your credit score to find out what kinds of credit cards you’ll qualify for.
If you have no credit history, you’ll need to read up on building credit for the first time. In some cases you’ll need to get a special type of product called a secured credit card that works likes a debit card (with money you deposit in a bank account) but helps you build credit.
THE BEST CREDIT CARDS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Assuming you have at least some credit history, here are three cards that are great fits for most young adults, depending on your situation.
Capital One® Cash Rewards
If you are starting to build credit, the Capital One® Cash Rewards provides cash rewards for people with fair or limited credit. This is the card to use if you want to earn rewards on stuff you buy everyday and will be good about paying off your balance every month. If you have some established credit, there are better odds of getting approved for this card than most.
Capital One® Cash Rewards
Great For: Cash back rewards and low intro rates.
Credit Needed: Fair
Average Approved Score: 617
Lowest Approved Score: 559
- 50% bonus on the cash back you earn every year
- 1% cash back on all purchases
- Earn unlimited cash back that doesn’t expire
- Redeem cash back anytime for any amount, even set automatic redemptions
- Personalize your card with an image of your choice
- 0% intro APR on purchases until March 2014
| Intro APR | Balance Transfer APR | Regular APR | Annual Fee |
| 0% for until March 2014 | N/A for N/A | 19.8%* Variable | $39 |
Discover itTM
If you have excellent credit and want strong cash rewards, check out the Discover it Card, which offers unlimited cash back and up to 5% in rotating categories. Read our full review. Note that the Discover it card requires a strong credit history, but if you have it, the combination of cash rewards, low interest rates, top-rated customer service, and late payment forgiveness make it an ideal choice for people new to credit. I carried the earlier version of this card — the Discover More card — for about eight years in my twenties.
Discover it®
Great For: Cash back rewards in revolving categories like dining, travel or gas.
Credit Needed: Excellent
Average Approved Score: 707
Lowest Approved Score: 674
- The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards.
- Fair...No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And we won’t increase your APR for paying late.*
- Generous...5% cash back Bonus on up to $1,500 in purchases at Home Improvement Stores now through June with free and easy sign-up. And 1% cash back on all other purchases.*
- Plus a Cashback Concierge℠ who guides a free, personalized online tour to help you get the most rewards for how you use your card.
- Flexible...Choose your own due date and pay up to midnight ET online or by phone.
- Human...talk to a real person any time with 100% U.S.-based service.
- Safe...Because you’ll never pay for unauthorized purchases with our $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee.
- 0% Intro APR* on purchases and balance transfers for 14 months. Then the variable purchase APR applies, currently 10.99% - 22.99%. *Click apply for Terms & Conditions.
| Intro APR | Balance Transfer APR | Regular APR | Annual Fee |
| 0% for 14 Months | 0% for 14 Months | 10.99% – 22.99%* Variable | $0 |
Discover it® for Students
Are you a full-time student looking to establish healthy credit? Student credit cards are no different from other credit cards except that they are designed to approve applicants who are still in school (and don’t have as much credit history). Again, I like Discover’s product but you can’t go wrong with any of these credit cards designed for students.
Discover it® for Students
Great For: Helping students build good credit history.
Credit Needed: Fair
Average Approved Score: 673
Lowest Approved Score: 630
- The new Discover it card is out to change the way people think about credit cards.
- Fair...No annual fee. No overlimit fee. No foreign transaction fee & no pay-by-phone fee. No late fee on your first late payment. And we won’t increase your APR for paying late.*
- Generous...5% cash back in categories that change throughout the year like gas, restaurant, movies, and more up to $1,500 in purchases with free and easy sign-up. And 1% cash back on all other purchases.*
- Plus a Cashback Concierge℠ who guides a free, personalized online tour to help you get the most rewards for how you use your card.
- Flexible...Choose your own due date and pay up to midnight ET online or by phone.
- Human...talk to a real person any time with 100% U.S.-based service.
- Safe...Because you’ll never pay for unauthorized purchases with our $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee.
- 0% intro APR* on purchases for 6 months, then the variable standard purchase APR of 12.99% - 18.99% *Click apply for Terms & Conditions.
| Intro APR | Balance Transfer APR | Regular APR | Annual Fee |
| 0% for 6 Months | See Terms for See Terms | 12.99% – 18.99%* Variable | $0 |
Not decided yet? See even more recommended credit cards »
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Disclaimer: One way I’m able to support my blogging while helping you is to link to products I like and earn a referral commission if you sign up. I only link to products I trust. That said, you should know that if you click the links to these cards and ultimately apply for and are approved for that card, I may be paid for that. If you choose to support Money Under 30 in that way, thanks!
About David E. Weliver
I agree with your choice of the Discover More card. I’ve had one for about five years now and love it. The extra 5% cash-back bonus that changes every three to four months is a nice feature as well.
i want to build my credit im in the national guard and i only plan to use the card if i already have the money and for gas. so please help me becuase im trying to start a family and really you need to have credit to do that, thank you for listning.
Hi Brian, if you have a little credit history the Discover More card is a good first card even if you don’t use it often, sometimes it requires a bit more credit history to get approval though. You might check out Capital One’s site as they offer some cards for applicants with little/no credit history, although some have annual fees.
Another option is to check with USAA. They have cards with programs designed for the military, and their service is supposed to be excellent.
https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/banking_credit_cards_main
I’m going to be a freshman in college, in the fall and I’m hoping to get my first credit card to help pay for some of my expenses. My parents have excellent credit (not sure if that makes a difference), but I’m just not sure which card is the best option
Hey David– thoroughly enjoy your website– especially the credit card information. Thank you for your insight. I am a 27 yr old graduate student and I’m wanting to establish some credit. I have not had a major credit card yet, just a department store one (which I’ve always paid on time) and a 4 yr car loan. I was hoping this credit would give me enough to get a Chase Freedom Cash Back card, but I was turned down. My credit report did not reflect my car payments (I’m currently trying to get that corrected), but now I’m hoping to get any form of credit card started. My out-of-state graduate school is expensive (aka my loans are large), but I WILL pay the balance every month and at age 27, will not abuse it in any way. I’m just 15 months from a real job and hopefully a home someday, etc. Should I still go for a “student” credit card? A secured credit card? Cash back would be nice, but I would rather not get turned down again. Any help would be great…….keep up the good work!
Thanks!
ST, two things to consider: If you have a checking account with a smaller bank or credit union, pop into a branch and ask about their credit cards options. They may not come with rewards, but they may be able to approve you for a no-fee, unsecured card that’ll get you started. The other option is the Orchard Bank card shown on this page. They approve people with a wide variety of credit situations, and offer a secured card as a back-up resort. Depending on their assessment of your credit, their may be an annual fee, but after a year or two with this card you should be able to get approved for another one and cancel the fee-charging one. Good luck.
Hey,
I wanna thank you so much. Not only did your recommendations help me in finally figuring out my credit score but also helped me in getting all my student loans in order. I’m a newly graduated engineer and needed help finding and figuring out my credit and getting a credit card. You helped me understand all of what I needed to know to start working on my credit. I’ve recommended your website to all of my college buddies. Thank you again, I was so lost and you helped figure things out without trying to put me into more debit like what some banks and credit companies try to do.
Is the Capital One MTV Visa card a good deal for a student with established credit and a score of 724?
Thanks
I need advice on credit and what i should do in regards to credit cards. i just recently turned 18 and need to start building credit since i have no credit. so i applied for a capital one credit card, i got denied for my first application so i applied for another credit card the secured capital one credit card because i saw that it said it helps build credit. i should of done my research before even applying for any card but at the moment i was so eager to get one, which wasn’t good. I got approved for the secured credit card from capital one and paid the one time fee to get my card. I feel stupid in doing that because shortly after applying i found out that there was a student credit card journey from capital one which is much more convinient for me because of its rewards and there isnt annual fees like the secured card has. I called them and asked to see if i can switch to the journey card but they said no because they are not similar cards. I want to know if i should close the secured card from capital one and open up the journey card. But i dont want to hurt my credit score.
Hi Caroline, It’s hard to know whether you would’ve been approved for the Journey card or any other card at 18 with no credit yet. Although the secured card has fees, it’s not a bad way to start building credit, and has the advantage of helping you begin using a credit card without the risk of going into debt right off the bat.
If I were you I would keep the secured card for 6 months or a year and then apply for a second card—perhaps a student card if you’re a full-time college student (a requirement for these cards). After you get that second card you can cancel the secured card. Let us know how it works out.
I’m 19 with no credit history and just got approved for an American Express Gold charge card. I’ve been told that’s kinda crazy. Just wondering what’s going on. Did I slip through the cracks?