• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The College Investor

Student Loans, Investing, Building Wealth

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Research
  • Contact
  • Save For College
      • How To Start

      • How To Save For College
      • How To Pay For College
      • What Is the Average Cost of College?
      • What Is A 529 Plan and Where to Open One in Your State
      • How Much Should You Have In A 529 Plan By Age
      • How To Use A 529 Plan For Private Elementary And High School
      • What Are Qualified Expenses For A 529 Plan (And What Doesn’t Count)?
      • The Best Brokers To Open A 529 Plan
      • Tools + Accounts

      • 529 Plans: The Ultimate College Savings Plan
      • 529 Plan Contribution Limits
      • Prepaid Tuition Plans | What To Know
      • Understanding And Using 529A ABLE Accounts
      • Using A Roth IRA To Save And Pay For College
      • FAFSA Deadlines for Financial Aid
      • CollegeBacker Review
      • Upromise Review
      • UNest Review
      • Other Options

      • Student Loan And Financial Aid Programs By State
      • The Guide To Military And VA Education Benefits
      • How To Fill Out The FAFSA
      • How To Find College Scholarships
      • The Best College Scholarship Search Websites
      • How To Find Grants To Pay For College
      • Pell Grants: What They Are And How To Qualify
      • Understanding Federal Work-Study
      • How To Use A 529 Plan If Your Child Doesn’t Go To College
  • Student Loans
      • Borrowing

        • How Student Loans Work
        • How To Apply For A Student Loan
        • Best Student Loans And Rates In January 2023
        • 10 Best Private Student Loans Of January 2023
        • Best Student Loans To Pay For Graduate School
        • Best Student Loans To Pay For Medical School
        • Parent Loans To Pay For College
        • No-Cosigner Student Loan Options
        • Guide To Income Sharing Agreements (ISAs)
        • Best International Student Loans
      • Get Out Of Debt

        • Best Student Loan Refinance Companies In January 2023
        • Best Student Loan Repayment Plans
        • Best Student Loan Refinancing Bonuses And Promotional Offers Of January 2023
        • Student Loan Forgiveness Programs (The Complete List)
        • The Full List Of Student Loan Forgiveness Programs By State
        • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
        • Top Student Loan Scams
        • Average Student Loan Monthly Payment
        • Average Student Loan Debt By Year
      • Reviews

        • Credible Review
        • Splash Review
        • Ascent Review
        • Citizens Bank Review
        • Commonbond Review
        • Earnest Review
        • ELFI Review
        • Laurel Road Review
        • LendKey Review
        • SoFi Review
  • Investing
      • How To Start

        • How To Start Investing in High School
        • How To Start Investing In College
        • How To Start Investing In Your Twenties For 22 – 29 Year Olds
        • How To Start Investing In Your 30s For 30 – 39 Year Olds
        • How To Start Investing With $100 Or Less
        • How To Give Kids The Gift Of Stock
        • What Is Dividend Growth Investing
        • IRA Rollover Chart
      • Tools + Accounts

        • Best Online Stock Brokers
        • The Best Traditional And Roth IRA Accounts
        • The Best Robo-Advisors
        • The Best Investing Apps
        • The Best Places to Trade Options
        • The Best Places To Open A Health Savings Account
        • The Best Solo 401k Providers
        • The Best Self-Directed IRA Providers Of 2023
        • Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges
      • Reviews

        • Vanguard Review
        • Fidelity Review 2023
        • M1 Finance Review
        • TD Ameritrade Review 2023
        • Charles Schwab Review
        • Robinhood Review
        • Webull Review
        • Betterment Review 2023
        • Wealthfront Review
  • Earn More Money
      • Extra Income

        • 20 Best Side Hustles You Can Start Earning With In 2023
        • 53 Side Hustle Ideas To Make Money Fast
        • 100 Ways To Make Money In College
        • 80 Ways To Make Money From Home In 2023
        • 5 Quick Money Making Ideas (That Take Less Than 1 Hour)
        • 10 Interesting Ways You Can Make Money Driving
        • High-Paying Side Gigs That Earn $1,000 or More Per Month
        • The 10 Best Money-Making Apps
        • Paid Surveys: Earn Money For Giving Your Opinion Online
        • 10 Crazy Ways To Make $10,000 You’ve Never Heard Of
      • Build Wealth

        • 40 Passive Income Ideas You Can Use To Build Wealth In 2023
        • 3 Ways To Make $50,000 Per Year Without Working With Passive Income
        • How To Become A Real Estate Investor With Just $500
        • 15 Best Online Business Ideas
        • Residual Income: 7 Super Smart Ways to Build It
        • The Most Common Multiple Income Streams
        • How To Become A Real Estate Mogul With Only $10,000
      • Reviews

        • Fundrise Review
        • RealtyMogul Review
        • FarmTogether Review
        • AcreTrader Review
        • Swagbucks Review
        • Survey Junkie Review
        • TopCashback Review
        • DoorDash Review
  • Personal Finance
      • Banking

        • 10 Best High Yield Savings Accounts Of January 2023
        • 10 Best Money Market Accounts Of January 2023
        • 10 Best Free Checking Accounts In January 2023
        • Best Bank CD Rates Of January 2023
        • 10 Best Business Checking Accounts In February 2023
        • Best Online Banks Of January 2023
        • Best Credit Unions Nationwide Of January 2023
        • Best College Student Checking Accounts Of January 2023
      • Insurance

        • Best Life Insurance Companies
        • Renters Insurance
        • Car Insurance
        • Pet Insurance
        • Umbrella Insurance
        • Disability Insurance
        • Tuition Insurance
        • Travel Insurance
      • Credit Tools

        • Best Budgeting Apps
        • Cash Advance Apps
        • How To Get A Free Credit Score Report
        • Best Credit Monitoring Services For 2023
        • Debt Settlement: Inside The Secret World
        • Credit Repair Explained: Should You Pay For Help?
        • Best Personal Loan Companies And Lenders
        • Online Loan Companies To Borrow From Home
      • Tax

        • Best Tax Software
        • Free Tax Software
        • IRS Tax Refund Calendar
        • Common IRS Questions and Errors
        • Federal Tax Brackets
        • Capital Gains Tax Brackets
        • 401k Contribution Limits
        • IRA Contribution Limits
        • HSA Contribution Limits
  • Forum
  • Search
Home » Credit » Best Credit Cards » Student » Best First Credit Cards For Students In 2023

Best First Credit Cards For Students In 2023

Updated: December 30, 2022 By Robert Farrington

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
Email
Print

At The College Investor, we want to help you navigate your finances. To do this, many or all of the products featured here may be from our partners. This doesn’t influence our evaluations or reviews. Our opinions are our own. Any investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. The College Investor does not offer investment advisor or brokerage services, nor does it recommend buying or selling particular stocks, securities, or other investments. Learn more here.Advertiser Disclosure

There are thousands of financial products and services out there, and we believe in helping you understand which is best for you, how it works, and will it actually help you achieve your financial goals. We're proud of our content and guidance, and the information we provide is objective, independent, and free.

But we do have to make money to pay our team and keep this website running! Our partners compensate us. TheCollegeInvestor.com has an advertising relationship with some or all of the offers included on this page, which may impact how, where, and in what order products and services may appear. The College Investor does not include all companies or offers available in the marketplace. And our partners can never pay us to guarantee favorable reviews (or even pay for a review of their product to begin with).

For more information and a complete list of our advertising partners, please check out our full Advertising Disclosure. TheCollegeInvestor.com strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information in our reviews could be different from what you find when visiting a financial institution, service provider or a specific product's website. All products and services are presented without warranty.

best first credit card for students

Getting a credit card can be an important step in building your financial foundation. A few years of using credit cards properly may give you good enough of a credit history to take out a mortgage.

Responsibly using a starter card will also allow you to upgrade to credit cards which offer more rewards and perks. Keep reading to learn what questions you should ask before you get a credit card and to see our picks for the best first credit cards for students.

If you just want to check out the cards, compare student credit cards here >>

Table of Contents
Are You Ready To Get A Credit Card?
Do I Have A Way To Pay Off The Card?
Will I Be Tempted To Overspend?
Do I Understand Credit Scores?
Tips For Finding Your First Credit Card
Apply While You're In College
Ask A Parent To Make You An Authorized User
Look For Secured Credit Cards
Don’t Expect Massive Rewards At First
Best First Credit Cards For Students
Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students
Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card For Students
Wells Fargo Cash Back College Card
Journey Student Credit Card From Capital One
Capital One Secured Mastercard
Final Thoughts

Are You Ready To Get A Credit Card?

Simply being an adult doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to get a credit card. Before you get a card, here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself.

Do I Have A Way To Pay Off The Card?

Credit cards aren’t free money. They need to be paid off. And with average interest rates at nearly 15%, it's ideal to pay them off in full each month. That means every expense you put onto the card needs to be paid off before interest accrues.

Paying off a credit card requires money. To get money, you need a job or a business that produces income. No job? Start a side hustle before you take on a credit card. You don’t want to tempt yourself to spend money you can't repay.

Will I Be Tempted To Overspend?

It can be tempting to use a credit card as a license to spend money. But if you overspend on a credit card, it may take years to dig out of the debt. And parents don't always have the financial means (or desire) to help their children dig out of a hole that they made through irresponsible money management.

If you don’t trust yourself with a credit card, don’t get one. As you gain more experience with money management, you’ll develop skills that will keep you from overspending. Wait a few years if you don’t trust yourself today.

Do I Understand Credit Scores?

As a college student, you can’t expect to qualify for the best credit card offers. You're unlikely to rack up massive signup bonuses or take free trips to Bali. That just doesn’t typically happen right away. The point of your first credit card is to help you build your credit score.

Your credit score is a measure of how a bank views your creditworthiness. The higher your score, the more likely it is that a bank will lend you money. When you have no open lines of credit, you have no credit score.

After opening your first credit card, you’ll have a credit score. You must make good credit decisions with your first card. That means you need to pay your credit card bill ON TIME every month.

You’ll want to keep your credit utilization below 30% at all times. If your credit limit is $500, keep the total spending on the card to less than $150. You don’t have to pay interest to boost your score. Good credit behavior will raise your credit score over time.

Tips For Finding Your First Credit Card

Finding the best first credit card for students can be a real challenge. When you don’t have any credit open, you have no credit. That often means you’re invisible to a bank.

Without a credit history, it's difficult for banks to judge whether you’re a good credit risk. But here are a few tips to help you find your first card.

Apply While You're In College

Credit issuers love developing a relationship with students while they're in college because they have a long credit history ahead of them. Also, if students get over their head in debt, their parents are often willing to help them out.

For these reasons, several credit cards are specifically targeted at college students. The credit card companies who offer these cards know that the majority of their applicants aren't going to have a long credit history and they're OK with that. 

If you're currently enrolled in a post-secondary program, you may have a much easier time qualifying for a college card than you would for a standard unsecured card after you graduate. Just know that you won't be able to apply without a cosigner unless you're able to verify that you have income.

Ask A Parent To Make You An Authorized User

Very few credit cards have options for cosigners. But if your parents have good credit habits, they may be able to make you an authorized user on their credit card.

When you become an authorized user, you inherit your parent’s good behavior on your credit report. This is a good hack but it can backfire if your parents have poor credit or become unable to pay their bills.

Look For Secured Credit Cards

A secured credit card is a credit card backed by a cash deposit. These cards often have low credit limits, but they reduce the bank’s risk if you default. Look for a secured card with a “graduation” program where the deposit is returned after a year of on-time payments.

Don’t Expect Massive Rewards At First

Your first credit card is all about establishing credit. This can take anywhere from a year and a half to three or more years depending on how often you use the card.

Until you have a good credit score, don’t bother applying for credit cards with big sign-up bonuses or high rewards. A 1% to 3% rewards rate is just fine while you’re getting started.

Best First Credit Cards For Students

Your first credit card isn’t going to be a flashy credit card with a big signup bonus. However, they can help you build credit quickly. One of the recommended cards is a secured credit card which means it requires a refundable deposit to guarantee the amount you borrow.

Compare cards here >>>

Deserve® EDU Mastercard For Students

First Credit Card: Deserve EDU

The Deserve® EDU Mastercard for Students is an unsecured credit card that carries no annual fee and doesn’t require an upfront security deposit. International students who don’t have a Social Security Number can still apply for the card.

The Deserve® EDU Mastercard includes one year of Prime Student for free, 1% back on all purchases, and no international transaction fees. Plus, you'll get cell phone protection of up to $600 that can be claimed in the event that your phone is lost or stolen.

Bank Of America Cash Rewards Credit Card For Students

First Credit Card: Bank of America Cash Rewards for Students

The Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card for Students offers an impressive level of rewards that rivals even many standard credit cards.

Cardholders earn 3% cash back on the category of their choice, 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and 1% back on all other purchases.

Other benefits of this card include it's $0 annual and it's 0% APR for 12 billing periods. Also, students who spend at least $1,000 in purchases within their 90 days with the card will earn a $200 cash rewards bonus. 

Compare cards here >>>

Wells Fargo Cash Back College Card

First Credit Card: Wells Fargo Cash Back College Card

The Wells Fargo Cash Back College Card pays 3% cash back at gas stations, grocery stores, and drugstores. All other purchases earn 1%.

In addition to cash redemption, rewards can be redeemed for travel, gift cards, merchandise, and more. And, like the other cards on this list, the Wells Fargo Cash Back College Card doesn't charge an annual fee.

Compare cards here >>>

Journey Student Credit Card From Capital One

First Credit Card: Journey Student Credit Card from Capital One

The Journey Student Credit Card from Capital One charges no annual fee and pays 1% cash back on all purchases.

If you make your monthly payments on time, the cash back percentage bumps up to 1.25%. On-time payers also you'll receive a $60 streaming subscription credit ($5 per month). 

Capital One also promises to begin considering accounts for credit limit increases in as little as 6 months. That's helpful because a higher credit limit automatically leads to a lower credit utilization rate as long as your spending stays the same.

Compare cards here >>>

Capital One Secured Mastercard

First Credit Card: Capital One Secured Mastercard

The Secured Mastercard from Capital One could be a great first credit card for high school students. It requires a minimum refundable deposit of $49, $99 or $200.

Regardless of the deposit that you set, your initial credit limit will be $200. So it's possible to get approved for a partially secured version of this card right off the bat.

You won't be charged an annual fee while owning the Capital One Secured Mastercard, but you won't earn any rewards either. As it does with the Journey Student Credit Card, Capital One says that it automatically reviews Secured Mastercard accounts for a credit limit increase as early as 6 months after card approval.

Compare cards here >>>

Final Thoughts

The first credit card for students usually isn't as exciting as some of the most popular travel cards or mainstream cash back cards. But an unassuming start can help you improve your credit and develop a strong financial foundation.

It's important to understand the dangers of credit cards, especially how they can lead to overspending and debt cycles. But if you’re conscientious with your first credit card, you'll build positive credit history. And that could help you qualify for the best rates on mortgages, car loans, or other forms of financing, down the road.

Robert Farrington
Robert Farrington

Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.

He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.

He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.

Best First Credit Cards For Students In 2023

Editor: Clint Proctor Reviewed by: Claire Tak

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, or other advertiser and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Comment Policy: We invite readers to respond with questions or comments. Comments may be held for moderation and are subject to approval. Comments are solely the opinions of their authors'. The responses in the comments below are not provided or commissioned by any advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any company. It is not anyone's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Subscribe
Connect with
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of

I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Primary Sidebar

Find The Best Credit Card For You

travel cash back credit cards with Travel Freely

More Credit Card Content

  • The Top 10 Best Rewards Credit Cards In 2023
  • The Top 10 Cash Back Credit Cards
  • The Best Credit Cards To Maximize Travel Rewards
  • The Best Travel Credit Card Reward Strategy
  • Top Small Business Credit Cards For 2023
  • Best Balance Transfer Cards
  • Best Student Credit Cards

Footer

Who We Are

The College Investor is an independent, advertising-supported financial media publisher, focusing on news, product reviews, and comparisons.

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Press & Media

About

  • About
  • Our Team
  • Podcast
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • How We Make Money
  • Archives

Social

Copyright © 2023 · The College Investor · Privacy Policy ·Terms of Service · DO NOT Sell My Personal Information

wpDiscuz