Credit cards for building credit
No annual fee and no foreign transaction fee as of Sep 6, 2026. Unlimited 1.5% cash back. $100 cash bonus after $300 in purchases in the first 3 months. Purchase APR 18.49% to 28.49% variable.
No annual fee as of Sep 6, 2026. Security deposit from $1,000, and your credit line equals the deposit. Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase. No welcome bonus. Free access to your Dun and Bradstreet business score.
This card is built for students starting a credit history, not for people who already have strong credit. Discover says no credit score is required to apply, though they may use one if you have it. There is no deposit, this is a real unsecured credit card from day one, not a prepaid or debit card, and not a loan: you borrow and you pay it back every month. You earn 5% cash back in categories that rotate each quarter when you activate, up to the quarterly maximum, and 1% on everything else. As of Sep 4, 2026 the purchase APR is 0% for the first 6 months, then 16.49% to 25.49% variable, and there is no annual fee. The card also carries a $100 statement credit welcome offer and Discover's Cashback Match, which doubles all the cash back you earn in your first 365 days.
Your deposit is $49, $99, or $200 depending on your creditworthiness, and you have 35 days after approval to fund it. Whatever you deposit, your starting credit line is at least $200, and Discover will assign a maximum line between $1,000 and $3,000 based on your creditworthiness, as of Sep 4, 2026. You can deposit more than the minimum before activating your card to raise your starting line. Earning works like Discover's flagship card: 5% back in categories that rotate each quarter, up to a quarterly maximum when you activate, then 1% on everything else. Discover does not publish the exact dollar cap for that quarterly maximum on the card page, so confirm it in your account once approved. The card carries a single published regular APR of 28.24% Variable as of Sep 4, 2026, with no promotional intro rate advertised. Build a track record of on time payments and Discover will refund your deposit and move you to the unsecured Discover it Cash Back Credit Card, same account number, same Cashback Match if you are still inside your first year.
This card asks for no security deposit and no prior card history. You get 3% cash back on dining, up to $6,000 in spend, for your first 6 months, 1.5% on everything else after that, and a $25 credit for turning on automatic payments. The annual fee is $0 and the purchase APR is 18.24% to 27.74% variable, as of Sep 4, 2026. Having at least $250 in a Chase checking or savings account can improve your approval odds, and Chase says it will automatically review your account each year for an upgrade to Freedom Unlimited once you have a year of on-time payments.
This card has one job: turn a small refundable deposit into a working credit line while your payment history gets reported to all three major credit bureaus. Your deposit, $49, $99, or $200 depending on your creditworthiness, sets a starting line of at least $200, and you can add more deposit, up to $1,000 total, to raise it further, as of Sep 4, 2026. There is no rewards program and no welcome offer, since the design is aimed at building credit rather than earning points. With on time payments, Capital One says you could become eligible for a credit line increase in as little as six months, and eventually get your deposit back and move to an unsecured Platinum card. The caveat: none of that is promised, and the 28.99% variable APR makes carrying a balance expensive.