Getting a credit card

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How to Choose the Best Credit Card for College Students

8 min read
Last Updated: November 21, 2025
Getting a credit card

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Key Takeaways

  1. Choosing the best student credit card starts with understanding how credit cards work.

  2. Students should look for features like cash back rewards and low annual fees.

  3. Secured credit cards are an option for students who have no credit history or low credit scores.

A student credit card can have many benefits, for college students, including building credit and earning rewards. But it can be confusing to figure out which student card is best for you.

 

Should you go for the card with the best cash rewards or the lowest required credit score? How do you know which cards you’ll qualify for? Which benefits are the most useful for college students?

Five steps to help you choose the best student credit card for you:

Credit cards can be a powerful financial tool, especially when used responsibly. Building a good credit history starts with good credit card habits. With good credit habits, you can avoid credit card debt, limit your interest fees, and build a good credit score. Follow these steps to compare and apply for the best student credit card for you.

Step 1: Understand credit card basics

Before you start thinking about which student credit card will be best for you, it’s important to learn how credit cards work.

 

Understanding credit card interest is especially important. If you can’t pay your entire monthly balance, your card’s interest rate will determine how much extra you’ll pay to your credit card issuer. The higher the annual percentage rate (APR), the more you’ll have to pay.

Student credit cards usually have a lower credit limit than regular credit cards, because students generally have less income than other cardholders. But this can be a benefit to students—it’s harder to get into credit card debt with a lower limit.

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Step 2: Think about what you need from a student credit card

What are your financial priorities? They’ll help you choose the best student card for your needs.

Let’s say your highest priority is saving money to put toward tuition or a student loan—and you’ll put most of your purchases on your debit card—but you’d like to have a credit card for unplanned or emergency expenses. In this case, a card with no annual fee may be a great choice—you won’t need to pay just to keep it open. A low interest rate might be helpful, too, just in case you can’t pay off your unplanned expense right away.

On the other hand, if you plan to use your card mostly for travel or studying abroad, it might be more important to find one with no foreign transaction fees.

 

Many student cards offer cash back on certain categories, like restaurants, gas, or travel. If you’ll be using your credit card mostly for these kinds of purchases, a student rewards card might be best for you.

Step 3: Check your credit report

When you apply for a student credit card, the card issuer will check your credit report. This report shows previous credit card accounts, loans, inquiries and some other pieces of financial information, including whether you’ve made any late payments.

Card issuers largely depend on your credit report to decide whether to give you a credit card.

 

It’s a good idea to get a free credit report before you apply for a student credit card. You can request one per week at AnnualCreditReport.com. There are a few different things you might find when you request a credit report:

If you’ve never used a credit card or gotten a loan before, you may not have a credit report. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just means you haven’t built up a credit history yet. If you don’t have a credit history, though, you may want to focus on cards for college students with no credit history.

Your credit report may have a few things on it, like previous credit card accounts or loan payments. If you don’t have any missed payments, late payments, or collections, you’re in good shape.

If you’ve missed payments in the past, or have had debts go to collections, your credit report will show it. If you have negative information on your credit report, you may find it harder to get approved for a student credit card. Fortunately, there credit cards for people with “bad” credit.

Sometimes the credit reporting agencies get it wrong. You might have something on your report that isn’t true, like a debt collection or incorrect personal information. Dispute credit report errors sooner rather than later to improve your chances of getting approved for a good student card.

Did you know?

There’s no credit score required to apply1 for Discover Student credit cards1 like the Discover it® Student Cash Back Card.

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Your credit score

Your score tells lenders and card issuers how likely you are to repay your debts. It’s based on the information on your credit report, like how long you’ve had credit accounts and whether you’ve missed payments.

Lenders may look at both your credit report and your credit score.

Not sure how to interpret your credit score? Check out our guide to credit scores to learn what yours means.

If you don’t have a credit score, don’t worry—it takes some time to get one, and if you haven’t been using a credit card or paying a loan for more than six months, you might not have one yet. Getting a student credit card can be a good way to build a credit history and get a credit score that will be useful when you’re applying for home loans, car loans, or other credit cards after graduation.

Step 4: Compare credit cards for college students

Now that you know how student credit cards work, how you’re likely to use your card, and what your credit report looks like, it’s time to compare the best credit cards for college students.

 

Here are some common perks of student credit cards:

  • No annual fee 
  • Low or 0% APR during an introductory period
  • Low or no credit score minimum
  • Cash back rewards on dining, travel, groceries, and more

If you know how you’re likely to spend money on your card, you can choose a student cash back card that will maximize your rewards. For example, if you’re likely to spend more money on groceries than any other category, a card with 5% cash back on groceries would be a great choice.

Some credit cards for college students offer rotating bonus categories. The Discover it® Student Cash Back Credit Card, for example, lets you earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.

Different cards may also have different interest rates and fees. Be sure to read the terms and conditions of any credit card offer. A card with good perks might seem like a great deal until you find out that it has high interest or an annual fee.

Secured credit cards for college students with negative information on their credit reports

If you have negative information on your credit report—like late payments or defaulting on a loan—credit card issuers may see you as unlikely to pay your debts. And you may find it hard to get approved for the best credit cards for college students.

So what can you do?

A secured credit card is a great way to build better credit. Good credit comes from a history of on-time payments. And that history may help you get approved for the cards and loans you want in the future.

When you get a secured card, you’ll make a cash deposit. The card issuer keeps your deposit until you make a certain number of on-time payments. For example, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card requires that you make a deposit of at least $200. That deposit becomes your credit limit. So, if you deposit $700, your credit limit will be $700.

This helps you build up a solid payment history, which will help improve your credit and could make you more likely to get approved for another card in the future.

Step 5: Apply for a student credit card

Once you’ve found a student card that has the perks you want, it’s time to apply.

You may be asked to provide additional information to show that you qualify for a student credit card. That might include proof of enrollment in a college or university and proof that you’ve accurately reported your income.

Some student credit card applications may also allow a cosigner. This is a person who agrees to pay your debts if you can’t. Cosigning isn’t common, but may be an option if you’re under 21 and don’t have your own income.

The bottom line

Want to get the best student credit card for your situation? You’ll need to take these five steps:

 

  1. Understand credit card basics
  2. Think about what you need from a student credit card
  3. Check your credit report
  4. Compare credit cards for college students
  5. Apply for a student credit card

If you find that you don’t have the credit history you need to get a student credit card, you can consider a secured credit card to help you build better credit.

No matter how your credit is or how experienced you are with credit cards, you can find a card that will help you build credit and earn rewards while you’re in college.

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