Best credit cards for no credit history in January 2025
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- Discover it® Student Cash Back: Best for students
- Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card: Best for credit line upgrade
- Firstcard® Secured Credit Builder Card: Best hybrid card
- Discover it® Secured Credit Card: Best secured card for gas and dining
- Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card: Best starter rewards card
- Self - Credit Builder Account with Secured Visa® Credit Card: Best for building credit with savings
- OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card: Best for unbanked consumers
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Showing 7 results
Intro offer
Cashback Match
Rewards Rate
1% - 5%
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
17.49% - 26.49% Variable APR *Rates as of December 12, 2024.
Why you'll like this: This card is every bit as valuable as its non-student counterpart, which is rare for a student card.
Best for credit line upgrade
Intro offer
N/A
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
29.99% (Variable)
Why you'll like this: This card can give you a credit limit higher than your security deposit if you pay less than $200, giving you some breathing room while you build your credit.
Best hybrid card
Intro offer
N/A
Rewards Rate
1% - Up to 15%
Annual fee
N/A
Regular APR
0% APR
Why you'll like this: You can build your credit while earning interest on funds you deposit on the card.
Best secured card for gas and dining
Intro offer
Cashback Match™
Rewards Rate
1% - 2%
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
27.49% Variable APR *Rates as of December 12, 2024.
Why you'll like this: This card earns twice as many rewards as most other cards’ base rewards rates in two popular spending categories.
Best starter rewards card
Intro offer
N/A
Rewards Rate
1.5% - 5%
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
29.99% (Variable)
Why you'll like this: Its solid flat rate matches the flat rewards rate of most other flat-rate cards, despite its status as a secured card.
Best for building credit with savings
Intro offer
N/A
Annual fee
$25
Regular APR
28.49% APR Variable
Why you'll like this: You can diversify your credit mix with just one product to build credit fast, without a security deposit.
Intro offer
N/A
Annual fee
$35
Regular APR
24.89% (variable)
Why you'll like this: If you have negative marks on your credit report, you could have an easier time qualifying for this card than other credit-builder cards.
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Compare Bankrate's top credit cards for no credit history
Card name | Best for | Annual fee | Regular APR | Bankrate review score |
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Students |
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Intro Offer: Cashback Match
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.
Regular APR: 17.49% - 26.49% Variable APR *Rates as of December 12, 2024.
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5.0 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Discover's secure site
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Credit line upgrade |
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Intro Offer: N/A
Regular APR: 29.99% (Variable)
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4.1 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Capital One's secure site
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Hybrid card |
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Intro Offer: N/A
Regular APR: 0% APR
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3.0 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Firstcard's secure site
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Secured card for gas and dining |
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Intro Offer: Cashback Match™
Intro Offer: Unlimited Cashback Match - only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year! There's no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a dollar-for-dollar match.
Regular APR: 27.49% Variable APR *Rates as of December 12, 2024.
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4.5 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Discover's secure site
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Starter rewards card |
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Intro Offer: N/A
Regular APR: 29.99% (Variable)
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4.0 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Capital One's secure site
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Building credit with savings |
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Intro Offer: N/A
Regular APR: 28.49% APR Variable
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3.1 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Self's secure site
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Unbanked Consumers |
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Intro Offer: N/A
Regular APR: 24.89% (variable)
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3.1 / 5 Our writers, editors and industry experts score credit cards based on a variety of factors including card features, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers have no say or influence on how we rate cards.
Apply now
on Capital Bank's secure site
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