The Best Credit Cards for Beginners in 2024

The Discover it Secured card is perfect if you have limited to no credit history and want to start building credit. With this card, you don't need a credit score to get approved because when you apply you put down a refundable security deposit and receive a credit line equal to that deposit. After 7 months, they perform monthly reviews on your account to see if you qualify to upgrade to an unsecured card and get your deposit back. Discover it Secured also offers 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. Discover it Secured also has no annual fee and will match all cash-back rewards at the end of the first year.

The Chase Freedom Rise card is one of the best entry-level cards and is great for beginners. The Chase Freedom Rise card requires minimal to no credit history to be approved and offers no annual fee and a 1.5% cash back on all purchases. If you enroll in automatic payments you can even earn a $25 statement credit if you do it within the first three months of opening the account. Plus if you have a total available balance of at least $250 in Chase checking or savings accounts it will increase your chances of getting approved. The Chase Freedom Rise card is perfect for people who are new to credit and also bank with Chase.

The Discover it Cash Back Credit Card is an all-around great credit card that requires minimal credit to get approved and no annual fee. The Discover it Cash Back Credit Card offers a 5% cash back on rotating categories, a 1% cash back on all other purchases, and no annual fee. The categories rotate every quarter and you will need to activate them to receive the 5% cash back but it is well worth it. The Discover it Cash Back card also offers an amazing welcome bonus. At the end of your first year, you get an unlimited cash back match for all the cash back you earned in the first year and there is no limit to this.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited credit card is another great credit card that requires minimal credit history to get approved. The Chase Freedom Unlimited card has no annual fee and 0% APR for the first 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. This card also offers 5% cash back on travel through Chase, 3% cash back at restaurants, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. You can also earn a $200 sign up bonus if you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. The Chase Freedom Unlimited card is a great all-around credit card with its only drawback being that you need prior credit history to be approved.

The Apple Card is a great credit card for beginners because of its easy-to-use interface and needs minimal credit history to get approved. The Apple Card also has no annual fee and great cash-back rewards. The Apple Card offers 3% cash back at select merchants like Nike, Apple, Uber, and more when using Apple Pay, 2% cash back on all purchases when you use Apple Pay, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. The Apple Card offers many benefits with no fees and a great user interface making it perfect for beginners. The Apple Card also works seamlessly with Apple Wallet and Apple Cash making it perfect for people using Apple devices.