Best Credit Cards for Recent College Graduates

If you're fresh out of college, your credit card options may be limited. Here's why:

• If you never had a student credit card to practice with, you may have thin or no credit.

• Even if you did have a student credit card that you managed well, you may only have worked your way up to "fair credit" (FICO scores of 630 to 689), which is an underserved market.

• If you had a student credit card but ran into trouble managing it responsibly, you may have bad credit.

Whichever category you may fall into after graduation, prioritize a card's credit-building features over nice-to-have perks and benefits.

A card without an annual fee makes it easier to keep the account open and active, and preserve your credit score. Ideally, the card also reports payments to all three major credit bureaus — TransUnion, Equifax and Experian — because those companies compile the information that helps calculate your credit scores. It can further help your credit journey if there's a possibility of credit limit increases over time or a path to upgrade to a better credit card with the same issuer after displaying good credit habits.

Here are some beginner-friendly credit cards that can help you establish credit.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s guide to your first credit card

Options if you have no credit

Chase Freedom Rise®

The Chase Freedom Rise® is an excellent starter card, and it's attainable for those with no credit history. It has a $0 annual fee, a decent rewards rate of 1.5% cash back on all purchases, plus a possible path to upgrade to another credit card in the Chase portfolio (namely, the Chase Freedom Unlimited®).

The Chase Freedom Rise® is an unsecured card, so you don't have to come up with an upfront security deposit, although Chase says you can increase your odds of approval if you have a balance of at least $250 in a Chase checking or savings account. You can be evaluated for a credit line increase in as little as six months, and the card reports payments to all three major credit bureaus.

Zolve Classic Credit Card

The $0-annual-fee Zolve Classic Credit Card is a good choice if you’re a newcomers to the U.S. who can’t meet the Social Security number requirement on most credit cards. With this card, you can potentially qualify with alternative documentation such as an I-20 if you’re a student, offer letters or pay slips. It reports payments to all major credit bureaus, and it earns 1% back on all purchases.

There’s currently no path to upgrade to a better credit card from Zolve once you've used this one to establish a good credit history. But that may not be a dealbreaker in this case, considering that there aren't many credit card options for those lacking a Social Security number.

Options if you have fair credit

Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is a solid unsecured starter card for new graduates. It earns an unlimited 1.5% cash back on purchases, plus 5% back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal. You’re also automatically considered for a higher credit limit in as little as six months, which could bump up your credit scores. (A higher credit limit can lower your credit utilization ratio, a key factor in your scores.)

The card reports to all three major credit bureaus, and its annual fee of $39 is reasonable, given that the market for those with fair credit is small.

Tilt Essentials

The $0-annual-fee Tilt Essentials credit card is one of three cards in Tilt's portfolio, which is generally aimed at those looking to build or rebuild credit. This particular Tilt card is the most rewarding one, offering 3% cash back on gas and groceries when you set up automatic payments, and 1% on all other purchases. But unlike its two siblings, you'll typically need at least fair credit to qualify for the Tilt Essentials. That said, the Tilt cards can opt to rely on more than just your credit scores to evaluate creditworthiness. (There's no security deposit, but you may be required to link your bank account through a third party to provide the real-time spending data that can be used in the underwriting process.)

All Tilt cards report to the three major credit bureaus and offer several ways to increase your credit limit. But keep in mind that Tilt's pre-qualification process will determine which of the three Tilt cards, if any, you qualify for.

Options if you have bad credit

Discover it® Secured Credit Card

The $0-annual-fee Discover it® Secured Credit Card is among the most generous secured card options. It offers 2% cash back on up to $1,000 spent per quarter on restaurants and gas, and 1% back on all other purchases. It requires a minimum security deposit of $200 to qualify.

That deposit may be a bit steep, but it could be worth it, as this card offers incentives and a possible path to upgrade to a better product. With responsible use over seven months, Discover reviews your account to see whether you’re eligible to graduate to a traditional unsecured credit card and get your deposit back. Discover also reports payments to all three credit bureaus.

Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card requires a security deposit of at least $200. You can eventually get it back when you close the account or upgrade to a different credit card with Capital One.

The card also has credit-building features like the chance to be automatically considered for a higher credit limit in as little as six months without having to add to the deposit.

Payments are reported to all three major credit bureaus, and you'll also get solid rewards: 1.5% cash back on most purchases and 5% cash back on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Terms apply.

Chime Card™

The Chime Card™ is technically a secured card, but it breaks away from that traditional mold in several ways. It doesn’t require a hard credit check, and you don't have to pay a minimum security deposit upfront. But you will need to open a Chime Checking Account.

The money you move from that Chime Checking Account to the Credit Builder secured account determines your credit limit. You can also use this money to pay off your balance, and when you do, those payments are reported to all three major credit bureaus. The card also packs features that can keep you out of debt. It doesn’t charge interest or fees because you can’t carry a balance from one month to the next.