The 5 Best Credit Cards to Build Your Credit!

Whether you have no credit history or a poor credit rating, improving your credit score is a smart financial move. Several credit issuers offer cards designed to help.

Here are the five best credit cards to build your credit from a poor score or start from scratch. 

1. Sable ONE Secured Credit Card

The Sable ONE Secured Credit Card helps those with a limited credit history of fewer than three years or a bad credit score rebuild their credit. You need to open a free Sable debit account, which doesn’t carry any ongoing fees. 

With the Sable ONE you can change to an unsecured card in only four months. About 98% of applicants are approved, and the variable APR is low at 11.74%. 

2. Discover It® Student Cash Back

For young people with no credit history, the Discover It® Student Cash Back card offers an unsecured option to help build a credit history properly from the start. 

Cardholders get 0% APR for the first six months with no annual or initial fees and 13.74% to 22.74% after that. The card also has several ways to earn cash back while building credit. 

3. Discover It® Secured Credit Card

The Discover It® Secured Credit Card is available for those with little credit history, but the high APR makes it a better choice for someone who wants to rebuild their credit with one of the major credit card companies.

Discover will review your account in seven months and may decide to refund your $200 deposit and switch the card to an unsecured, standard credit account. There’s no annual fee, but the variable APR is high at 23.74%. 

4. Petal® 1 “No Annual Fee” Visa® Credit Card

The Petal® 1 Visa® Card is a great choice for people with bad credit who prefer a higher interest on purchases to a security deposit. This unsecured card offers a variable 20.74% to 30.24% APR with no up-front deposit or annual fees. With an APR that high, pay the balance in full monthly if you can to avoid interest.

Applicants can get from $300 to $5,000 in credit. Side hustles for quick cash can help you make the payments. 

5. Capital One Platinum Credit Card

For those with fair credit scores between 630 and 689 and those with a limited credit history, the Capital One Platinum MasterCard is a great way to build your credit from average to excellent. 

This card is great for those who plan to pay their monthly balance to avoid interest at the high variable 26.99% APR. The lack of rewards and high interest make it a card for building credit and not much else, but it can help boost a credit score in only a few months. 

Final Thoughts

One of these five best credit cards to build your credit can help you go from no credit score to a good one or improve a poor credit rating.

These cards let you check for pre-approval without a hard pull against your credit, so don’t be afraid to see if you qualify.