10 Best Credit Cards for Recent Grads in 2019


10 Best Credit Cards for Recent Grads in 2019

Citi Double Cash Cash

This is a good card for 2019 graduates who have good credit. If the college student does not have any kind of credit report available, they may not qualify for this card, but it is worth checking out. It offers one percent cash back on everything and another one percent back for monthly bill payments. Plus, there is no annual fee, so it is a nice card to have when moving from college into the working world.

Chase Slate

2 chase slate credit cards

rawpixel.com

This is a solid card when it comes to financing. It is a free balance transfer card that offers a 15 month zero introductory interest rate. For students who are new to credit cards or who just want to get the hang of credit card spending and paying off, this is a nice way to go. Plus, if they have an older student credit card and want to transfer a balance over they can, as the zero percent interest rate covers transfers as well. This card also does not have any kind of annual fee.

Journey Student Rewards From Capital One

3 Journey Student Rewards From Capital One credit cards

Aleksandra_Gigowska

For this card a .edu email account is required, but for most college graduates, their email account will stay active for some time. This is a card that is good for students who have no credit history, or at least a very limited history. It provides a one percent cash back on all purchases and a 1.25 percent cash back when the monthly bill is paid on time, plus it doesn’t have any kind of annual fee to it.

BankAmericard Cash Wards for Students Credit Card

4 BankAmericard Cash Wards for Students Credit Cards

Monkey_Business_Images

For recent graduates, this card comes with a nice initial bonus. After spending $500 within the first 90 days (which likely will happen when just buying groceries and gas) the card provides a $100 cash bonus. Plus, the user receives three percent cash back on gas and two percent cash back on groceries, plus one percent back on everything else. The card also doesn’t have an annual fee. This is a solid card for students who don’t have any real credit history or have a limited credit history.

BankAmericard Travel Rewards for Students Credit Card

5 BankAmericard Travel Rewards for Students Credit Cards

Patty_Chan

Now, most students right out of college will not be able to qualify for the big time travel credit cards like an AMEX Platinum or Double Gold. That doesn’t mean they can’t start earning points toward travel now and apply for another card later on after their credit history is built up. With this rewards card, designed for students with no credit or limited credit history (and an .edu email address), the holder receives 20,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days. This is good for $200 in travel purchases. Plus, it offers 1.5 points per $1 spent and there is no annual fee or foreign transaction fee.

Capital One Secured MasterCard

6 Capital One Secured MasterCard credit cards

Ollyy

It is easy to fall into some credit traps early on in college. Whether just going out to restaurants too often or abusing free credit card signups to receive perks around campus, after graduation it is time to get smart about credit. This credit card is designed for grades with either an inactive .edu email or poor credit. It is a partially secured card, which means the credit line can go up, depending on credit standing, disposable income, and a few other factors. It doesn’t have any annual fees, which is good. Now, also it doesn’t have any real perks, but for simply building a credit report up, this is a fine card to have.

Capital One Platinum Credit Card

7 Capital One Platinum Credit Card

michaeljung

This is another card for poor credit or no credit and your .edu email is inactive. There is no security deposit required and you don’t need to have any credit history to receive approval for the card. There also is no annual fee charged. Now, the card isn’t secured, so if you have really bad credit it may not approve you, but if you’d like to avoid paying a deposit, this is a card worth checking in on.

Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card

8 Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card

syda_productions

This card provides a 1.5 percent bonus on everything you buy and it gives you a $100 bonus after spending $500 in the first 90 days. You also don’t have an annual fee and 0 percent interest on purchases made within the first nine months. The interest does bump up anywhere from 13 to 23 percent, so keep this in mind, and it is a credit card that you’ll likely only receive if you have medium to good credit, but in terms of an initial bonus, it is hard to beat it.

Regions Student Relationship Rewards Visa Credit Card

9 Regions Student Relationship Rewards Visa Credit Card

gpoinstudio

This is a nice card if you are going for a financing based credit card. There is no annual fee, zero percent financing on anything you buy within the first year and it has some nice perks you can select from after signing up. It is a credit card you do need to have a good credit history for, but as a student credit card, it also isn’t expecting anything extensive.

Discover It Secured Credit Card

10 Discover It Secured Credit Card

Andresr

This is another credit card that is designed for people who you don’t have an active .edu email address and whose credit score is poor. It does require a security deposit of $200, but it doesn’t have an annual fee, provides two percent cash back at restaurants and gas stations, plus one percent cash back on everything else. For a secured credit card, it is hard to get anything better.