The 8 Best Student Credit Cards of October 2022

Student credit cards are a great resource for students to safely build credit — and they can make paying for things like books and groceries a lot easier. But students who have never managed credit before may be apprehensive about wielding something as powerful (and intimidating) as a credit card, especially if they’ve heard horror stories about crippling credit card debt.

To help, we’ve compiled a list of the best student credit cards currently available. Whether you’re trying to earn rewards, fund your study abroad or just start building credit history, one of these credit cards is likely ideal for you.

The Best Student Credit Cards

• Discover it Student Cash Back: Best Overall Student Credit Card

• Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best Student Credit Card for Simplicity

• Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card for Students: Best Card for Studying Abroad

• Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best Card for Rewards

• Chase Freedom Student Credit Card: Best Card for Bonuses

• Deserve EDU Mastercard for Students: Best Card for International Students

• Discover it Secured Credit Card: Best Secured Credit Card for Students

• Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card: Best Card for Safely Building Credit

What Is a Student Credit Card?

A student credit card is marketed specifically toward college students as a way to start building their credit. Students can sometimes get approved for a credit card with a limited credit history or no credit history at all.

Student credit cards may offer rewards (cash back or travel points) and might even have unique perks to draw in students, like free Amazon Prime or forgiveness for a late payment every now and then. But because student credit cards are aimed at college students, who typically don’t have significant income or high credit scores, credit limits tend to be low and interest rates are usually higher. And if you’re under the age of 21, you might need to provide proof of income to get approved.

How Do Student Credit Cards Work?

Student credit cards function just like regular credit cards, in that users can borrow a certain amount (up to their credit limit) and must make payments each month. Regular on-time payments can help improve your credit score — but late payments and spending more than you can afford to repay can quickly lead to mountains of credit card debt and a low credit score.

Using a student credit card responsibly (i.e., only spending on necessary purchases and paying it off in full, on time, every month) can boost your credit score. Once you’ve graduated, you can inquire about upgrading the credit card to a non-student option or increasing the credit limit.

If nothing else, you can open a new, better credit card but leave the student card open. Just don’t swipe it; having an extra credit card open increases your available credit (and reduces your credit utilization), which can boost your credit score. Plus, it’s nice to have in the event of an emergency.

Why You Should Build Credit as a Student

Building credit as a student can set you up for success when you graduate — and responsibly using a student credit card is an easy way to do that.

A better credit score will make it easier to get approved for a car loan and then a mortgage loan; if you want to open a business after graduation, you may eventually need to take out a small business loan. Not only does a stronger credit history make it easier to get approved, but it also improves your chances of getting lower rates and even getting better rewards offers from other credit card issuers.

Building credit is about more than just increasing your odds of getting approved for larger credit asks down the road. An established credit score can make it easier to get approved for an apartment rental, set up utilities or even get hired for a job.

Pros and Cons of Student Credit Cards

Student credit cards offer several advantages to college students at the beginning of the credit journeys, but these credit cards also have their drawbacks.

What to Look for in a Student Credit Card

So how do you pick the best student credit card for you? You’ll need to carefully consider a range of features, like APRs, foreign transaction fees and welcome bonuses, to determine which card is best suited for your situation. Here are some things to consider:

Minimum Credit Score Requirement

The first thing to ask yourself is if you even qualify for the student credit cards you’re interested in. While most student credit cards are designed for students with limited credit history (or no credit history at all), some of the best options — those offering strong rewards and/or welcome bonuses — do have higher thresholds for credit scores.

Credit Reporting

If your main goal of obtaining a student credit card is to boost your credit score, make sure that the credit card issuer actually reports your activity to the three major credit bureaus. Most major credit card companies report usage, but it’s always good to make sure before signing up.

APR

As a student building credit, it’s a good idea to pay off your card in full every month. You can do this by limiting your spending to the amount of cash you already have in a bank account. Doing so means you won’t have to worry about credit card interest — a smart move since student credit cards usually carry high APRs.

But just in case you may carry some debt over month to month, you’ll want a student credit card with a low APR. Check out each card’s introductory APR and its regular APR; when in doubt, go with the card with the lower rate.

Fees

The best student credit cards have no annual fees (or monthly fees, for that matter). In general, you should only consider paying annual fees for a credit card if its rewards are strong enough that you’ll make considerably more money in the year by swiping it. As a student on a limited budget, it may be less likely that you’ll use your card for large enough purchases to justify an annual fee.

Speaking of fees, look for a student credit card with no foreign transaction fees, especially if you’ll be traveling (for school or for pleasure) in the next few years.

Rewards or Welcome Bonus

The primary reason to get a student credit card is to start building credit. Many applicants who have no prior credit history or even bad credit may be limited to basic credit cards without any perks. But some student credit cards, reserved for qualifying students with good credit (even if it’s limited), may pay out cash back bonuses or travel points. Others might offer a one-time welcome bonus.

For cash back and points rewards, pay attention to how they work. Some are complicated — 2% for groceries, 3% for gas and 1% for everything else, for example — while others are more straightforward, with one flat rate. Variable perks can be enticing once you have a wallet with several rewards credit cards, though they can become a burden to keep track of. But for students just learning how credit cards work, a single flat rewards rate might be the way to go.

While rewards shouldn’t be your North Star when signing up for a student credit card (credit score requirements, APRs and annual fees are more important), they can give one card an edge over another if you’re having trouble choosing.

Additional Features

When shopping around for student credit cards, you may also want to consider:

• International student acceptance: If you’re not American, your options will be more limited. Look for credit cards that don’t require a Social Security number to apply.

• Pre-approval: If you’re worried about getting rejected when you apply — and thus damaging your already delicate credit score — look for student credit cards that offer pre-approval. Pre-approvals do not hurt your credit score.

• Graduation: What happens to the card when you graduate? Some credit card companies will let you transition it to a different card while others may require that you apply for a separate card.

Alternatives to a Student Credit Card

Student credit cards are not the only way to start building credit as a student, and they may not even be your best option. Before signing up for any card, consider these alternatives:

Become an Authorized User

A parent, guardian, domestic partner or even trusting friend can make you an authorized user on their credit card. Doing so allows you to use their credit card as your own — but you won’t be on the hook for payments. As long as the credit cardholder makes regular, on-time payments, you should see your credit score go up.

But beware: If the cardholder makes late payments and uses the card irresponsibly, your score will suffer too.

Open a Retail Credit Card

Credit cards from stores typically don’t have the best rates and terms, but they do offer unique perks for the retail experience at that store. As long as having a line of credit at your favorite shop won’t incentivize you to overspend there, opening a retail credit card is a good way to establish credit history. Retail credit cards are usually much easier to open than a standard credit card — or even a student credit card.

Start With a Secured Credit Card

Our list of the best student credit cards includes two secured credit cards. That’s because they really are a great way to build credit safely. Because you make a security deposit upfront, your spending is backed up by that cash. This means the credit limit will be low — but the security deposit removes risk for the card issuer, which means it’s much easier to get approved.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Student Credit Cards

We’ve gathered the answers to the most common questions about student credit cards to help you fully understand their advantages and disadvantages.

Contributor Timothy Moore is a writer and editor in Cincinnati who covers banks, loans, insurance, travel and automotive topics for The Penny Hoarder.