Best Credit Cards for Beginners in September 2024 | LendingTree (2024)

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The Chase Freedom Rise℠ Credit Card is specifically geared to individuals with limited credit, and applicants can boost their approval odds by funding a Chase bank account with $250 or more before applying. There’s no annual fee, and users earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. There’s even a $25 bonus available for enrolling in automatic payments within the first three months of account opening.

Cardholders may be eligible for a credit line increase after just six months of responsible use. Plus, they also receive additional benefits, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, purchase protection and extended warranty protection on eligible items.

Who’s this card best for?

The Chase Freedom Rise℠ Credit Card is best for existing Chase banking customers and individuals who don’t mind opening and funding an account with the bank before they apply.

This card is ideal if you want to avoid an annual fee and earn a consistent cash back rate on all of your purchases. It’s also a good choice if you want to start to build a relationship with Chase, which offers some of the best cash back and travel credit cards around.

• Increase your approval chances - Having a Chase checking or savings account with a balance of at least $250 will increase your chances of getting approved for Chase Freedom Rise℠
• Earn Cash Back - With Chase Freedom Rise℠, you can start building credit while earning 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open and there is no minimum to redeem for cash back.
• Earn a $25 statement credit after signing up for automatic payments within the first three months of opening your account. With automatic payments, just pick a date and dollar amount to make sure your Credit Card gets paid on time.
• Credit Limit Increase - As a Chase cardmember, you'll be evaluated for a credit line increase in as soon as 6 months. Your credit line is the maximum amount of money you can spend on your Freedom Rise℠ Card
• Free Credit Score - Track your credit score and learn how to build it with Chase Credit Journey.
• No Annual Fee - You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Rise℠ card.
• Member FDIC

The Discover it^® Miles offers simple flat-rate rewards on every purchase, making it a great beginner travel card. Cardholders get 1.5 Miles per dollar on all purchases. Plus, Discover will even match all miles earned during the first year.

This card also comes with an intro offer for purchases and balance transfers, which is uncommon for travel credit cards. That means cardholders can save on interest costs for a limited time.

Who’s this card best for?

If you have good / excellent credit and are looking for your first travel card, the Discover it^® Miles card is a solid choice. While the card doesn’t offer many travel benefits, it does have a simple rewards structure that allows you to redeem for travel purchases or cash back. It also comes with a $0 annual fee.

Just keep in mind that miles can’t be transferred to other programs — instead, they are mostly redeemable for cash back or statement credits to cover travel purchases.

• UNLIMITED BONUS: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers—only from Discover. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. You could turn 35,000 Miles to 70,000 Miles. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match.
• Automatically earn unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase
• No annual fee
• Turn Miles into cash. Or redeem as a statement credit for your travel purchases like airfare, hotels, rideshares, gas stations, restaurants and more.
• 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 18.24% - 28.24% Standard Variable Purchase APR will apply.
• Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app.
• Discover is accepted nationwide by 99% of the places that take credit cards.
• Terms and conditions apply.

The Discover it^® Student Cash Back offers college students an opportunity to earn generous rewards and build credit. Members can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in quarterly bonus categories that change every three months (then 1% back) and 1% cash back on other purchases. Discover will also double all rewards earned the first year through its Cashback Match program.

Who’s this card best for?

The Discover it^® Student Cash Back can help students build a solid credit history and credit score while earning rewards in popular spending categories. The card also offers a 0% Intro APR for 6 months on purchases, then an ongoing 18.24% - 27.24% Variable APR. That can make it a good choice for students who want to use an interest-free period to finance a large purchase, like a laptop or school books.

The Discover it^® Student Cash Back is designed for students with limited / fair credit, and no credit score is required to apply. However, just know that if you want to sign up for this card, you’l need to be at least 18 years old and have a U.S. address, Social Security number and proof of education.

• INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! So you could turn $50 cash back into $100. Or turn $100 cash back into $200. There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
• Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases—automatically.
• Redeem your rewards for cash at any time.
• No credit score required to apply.
• Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app.
• No annual fee and build your credit with responsible use.
• 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months, then the standard variable purchase APR of 18.24% - 27.24% applies.
• Terms and conditions apply.

The Petal^® 2 Cash Back, No Fees Visa^® Credit Card may not come from one of the major banks, but it does have a ton of features that make it a solid choice for credit building. For starters, this no-annual-fee card has no late fees, returned payment fees or foreign transaction fees, and you can earn rewards.

Cardholders start out earning 1% cash back on all purchases, and can graduate to earning 1.25% cash back or 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Cardholders can also earn 1% to 10% back when they use their card to shop with select merchants through the Petal app.

Petal also offers a Leap Program that lets you get approved for a higher credit limit in as little as six months. This factor is important, since starting credit limits on the card can be as low as $300.

Who’s this card best for?

The Petal^® 2 Cash Back, No Fees Visa^® Credit Card is designed for people with limited credit looking to build their credit history. The card reports to the three major credit bureaus, which will help you build your credit profile and score through responsible use.

This card also has a unique approval process that focuses on more than just your credit score to get you approved. For example, you can link your bank account to your application to show positive cash flow and banking history. This data can be used to determine your card eligibility and credit limit.

• No fees whatsoever. No late fee, foreign transaction fee, annual fee, or any-other-kind-of-fee, fee.
• Variable APRs range from 18.24% - 32.24%
• Up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments.
• 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away
• 2% - 10% cash back at select merchants
• $300 - $10,000 credit limits
• No credit score? No problem. If eligible, we'll create your Cash Score instead.
• See if you're pre-approved within minutes without impacting your credit score.
• Build credit alongside hundreds of thousands of Petal card members.
• Petal reports to all 3 major credit bureaus.
• No deposits required
• Card issued by WebBank

on Capital Bank, N.A.'s secure site

The OpenSky^® Secured Visa^® Credit Card is designed for people who have poor credit or no credit, and it doesn’t even require a credit check to be approved. It’s one of the easiest cards to get to build credit if you don’t want to jump through a bunch of hoops or link bank accounts to your application. It also reports to the three major credit bureaus to help users build credit history.

Who’s this card best for?

Because the OpenSky^® Secured Visa^® Credit Card doesn’t require a credit check when you apply, it may be your best option if your lack of credit history makes getting a card difficult, and you may be able to eventually transition to an unsecured card.

While this card doesn’t require that you have a bank account for approval (unlike some secured cards), you will have to provide some financial information, including your annual income, monthly housing payment and housing payment type when you apply.

• New feature! Earn up to 10% cash back* on everyday purchases
• No credit check to apply. Zero credit risk to apply!
• Looking to build or rebuild your credit? 2 out of 3 OpenSky cardholders increase their credit score by an average of 41 points in just 3 months
• Get free monthly access to your FICO score in our mobile application
• Build your credit history across 3 major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
• Add to your mobile wallet and make purchases using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay
• Fund your card with a low $200 refundable security deposit to get a $200 credit line
• Apply in less than 5 minutes with our mobile first application
• Choose the due date that fits your schedule with flexible payment dates
• Fund your security deposit over 60 days with the option to make partial payments
• Over 1.4 Million Cardholders Have Used OpenSky Secured Credit Card To Improve Their Credit
• *See Rewards Terms and Conditions for more information

The Capital One Spark Classic for Business is one of a handful of business credit cards available to individuals with fair credit. In addition, it has no annual fee and lets cardholders earn a flat rate of 1% cash back on all their purchases.

Other notable benefits include free employee cards, extended warranties, a roadside assistance program and expense tracking tools for business.

Who’s this card best for?

The Capital One Spark Classic for Business is best for business owners with fair credit, especially since most business credit cards require applicants to have good or excellent credit. This card earn unlimited 1% cash back for your business on every purchase, everywhere, no limits or category restrictions. Plus, earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

Just keep in mind that this card’s high variable APR makes it a poor option for carrying a balance. Business owners who need to borrow money and pay it back over time should look into credit cards with lower APRs or small business loans.

• Earn unlimited 1% cash back for your business on every purchase, everywhere, no limits or category restrictions. Plus, earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• No annual fee
• Build and strengthen credit for your business by using this credit card responsibly
• $0 Fraud Liability if your card is lost or stolen
• Free employee cards, which also earn unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases
• Rewards won't expire for the life of the account, and you can redeem your cash back for any amount
• No foreign transaction fees

Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card has no annual fee, and the minimum refundable security deposit ranges from $49 to $200. This card reports to the three major credit bureaus, which can help you build credit and work toward an unsecured card.

Further, note that the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card offers a pathway to a higher credit limit in as little as six months, with no additional deposit needed. And with enough responsible card use, you may be able to get your security deposit back.

Who’s this card best for?

Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card is a great option if you’re looking to build credit with a secured credit card, but don’t want to put down a large deposit or pay an annual fee. (That said, you’ll have to apply and be approved before your minimum deposit is determined, and you’re not guaranteed to get a lower security deposit amount of $49 or $99.)

Still, although there’s no rewards program, building credit without the temptation of spending more to earn more rewards may be a better choice for some consumers.

• No annual or hidden fees. See if you're approved in seconds
• Building your credit? Using the Capital One Platinum Secured card responsibly could help
• Put down a refundable security deposit starting at $49 to get a $200 initial credit line
• You could earn back your security deposit as a statement credit when you use your card responsibly, like making payments on time
• Be automatically considered for a higher credit line in as little as 6 months with no additional deposit needed
• Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud Liability so that you won't be responsible for unauthorized charges
• Monitor your credit score with CreditWise from Capital One. It's free for everyone
• Get access to your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with online banking to access your account from your desktop or smartphone, with Capital One's mobile app
• For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited^® is an excellent credit card for beginners with higher credit scores. This card earns elevated rewards in a range of everyday categories, including Chase travel purchases, Lyft rides, dining and drugstore purchases. Cardholders earn a minimum of 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and they don’t even have to pay an annual fee.

Members can even earn a $200 cash bonus when they sign up and spend at least $500 on purchases within three months of account opening. An intro APR offer for purchases and balance transfers sweetens the pot even more.

Cardholders also enjoy benefits like trip cancellation and interruption insurance, purchase protection against damage or theft and extended warranties.

Who’s this card best for?

The Chase Freedom Unlimited^® is a solid card option for anyone whose credit is strong enough to be approved. It offers generous, flexible rewards that can be redeemed for a check, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise and even travel through Chase.

That said, the fact this card charges foreign transaction fees makes it less than ideal for people who plan to travel abroad. When traveling internationally, it would be best to use a card with no foreign transaction fees.

• INTRO OFFER: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
• Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program thatlets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year).
• After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
• No minimum to redeem for cash back.You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expireas long as your account is open!
• Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24%.
• No annual fee –You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited® card
• Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, alerts, and more.
• Member FDIC