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How to Build Credit Without a Credit Card

5 min read

Published August 18, 2025

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

Credit history plays an important role in your financial circumstances.
Factors like a positive credit history and low credit utilization can help you build a positive credit history without a credit card.
Tools like credit-builder loans, credit cards with authorized users, and services that report your rent to credit bureaus can help you build credit.

Your credit history is a record of your experience managing debts. Lenders often review your credit history to determine whether you’re a trustworthy borrower. That’s why your credit score can have a big impact on everything from your apartment rental applications to personal loan terms and mortgage rates.

Used responsibly, a credit card can be a helpful tool for building credit history. But if you don’t currently qualify for a credit card, or you’d just prefer not to have one right now, you may still use other tools to establish a good credit history.

Can you build credit history without a credit card?

Yes, you can build credit history without a credit card. When you manage any debt—like a credit card or loan—lenders report your activity to the credit bureaus to create your credit report.

Factors from your credit report that influence your credit score include your payment history, the amounts you owe, your credit mix (of revolving credit and installment loan accounts), and how long you’ve managed credit.

The following actions may help you build credit history without a credit card.

Pay existing loans on time

Payment history accounts for a major portion of your total FICO^® Score,¹ so paying your existing loans on time may have a significant impact on your credit.

If you have student loans, auto loans, or personal loans, be sure to pay at least the minimum amount required by the due date each month. As you pay down your balance, you may also see your credit improve over time as your credit utilization shrinks.

You usually shouldn’t apply for a car loan unless you need one. But taking out an auto loan when you buy a new car or a personal loan to cover an unexpected emergency could help you build a strong credit history—as long as you manage the loan responsibly and avoid missing payments.

Get a credit-builder loan

Some financial institutions, like credit unions, offer loans designed specifically for people looking to build personal credit history called “credit-builder loans”.

The Federal Reserve explains that a credit-builder loan works more like a savings tool than a traditional installment loan. Instead of borrowing money, you typically give your desired loan amount to the lender as collateral. Instead of paying out the loan upfront as a lump sum, the lender then puts the funds in a savings account or certificate of deposit, where they’ll accrue interest.

As you make your regular payments, the lender reports your activity to each major credit bureau, building your credit history. Once you pay the loan off, you receive the principal balance back, plus interest. As long as you stay on top of payments, this can help you save money as you build credit history.

Did you know?

The Discover it^® Secured Credit Card helps you build your credit history with responsible use.² After 7 months, we begin automatic monthly account reviews to see if you qualify to upgrade to an 'unsecured' card and get your deposit back.³

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Become an authorized user on someone's credit card account

If you don’t want a credit card of your own right now, a trusted family member or friend may help you build credit history by adding you to their account as an authorized user. As an authorized user on someone else’s credit account, you may receive your own card and access to their credit limit. However, the primary cardmember maintains responsibility for managing the card’s balance and payments. Each purchase you make may help them earn rewards, but it also increases their credit utilization ratio.

Typically, the credit card issuer reports both the primary cardmember’s and authorized user’s activity to each credit bureau. Your actions on the credit card may influence the authorized user’s credit and vice versa. So it’s important to make sure you trust the primary cardmember to use their credit responsibly and for you to maintain healthy credit habits, too.

Add other monthly bills to your credit report

Even if you don’t have a credit card or loan, your responsible financial habits may be able to boost your credit history.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that each major credit bureau—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—can include rental information on credit reports. However, landlords usually don’t automatically report rental payment history to the reporting agencies. If you’d like your credit profile to reflect your positive payment history, you can ask your landlord to enroll in a rental reporting program.

Some services allow you to add other types of bills, like your utilities, internet, cell phone, or even streaming services, to your credit reports. If you sign up for a program that reports your utility bill payments to the credit bureaus, you may want to enroll in autopay to make sure you never miss a due date.

The bottom line

If you don’t want a credit card right now, you may have other credit-building tools at your disposal. Healthy financial habits, like paying your bills on time each month and taking on only as much debt as you can afford, help you create a strong financial foundation no matter how you build your credit history.

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