Best credit cards to build credit for January 2026

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Upgrade path: You could earn your security deposit back and upgrade to an unsecured Quicksilver card with responsible use.

Why we like this card for earning simple rewards: The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards has a straightforward earning rate of 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases. That means you don’t have to worry about different spending categories or rates, making it easy to use one card for everything.

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Upgrade path: Your account is automatically evaluated yearly to see if you can upgrade to a Chase Freedom Unlimited card. To qualify for an upgrade, you must have:

• An open Freedom Rise account

• Purchased something using your Freedom Rise card in the past 12 months

• Made on-time payments to all lenders in the past 12 months

• No suspended Chase accounts

In addition to this upgrade opportunity, responsibly using your Freedom Rise card could also help you qualify for other Chase credit cards.

Why we like this card for beginners: The Chase Freedom Rise provides an excellent introduction to credit cards with no annual fee and a simple rewards rate.

In addition, there’s a special offer for Chase banking customers: If you have at least $250 in Chase checking or savings accounts, you receive increased approval odds for the Chase Freedom Rise.

All information about Chase Freedom Rise has been collected independently by Yahoo Finance. Chase Freedom Rise is no longer available through Yahoo Finance.

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Upgrade path: There’s no official upgrade path for the Petal 2 Visa, but responsible use could help you qualify for better rewards credit cards.

Why we like this card: The Petal 2 Visa doesn’t require a security deposit and there’s no credit check needed to see if you’re pre-approved. With this card, you don’t have to worry about an annual, late, foreign transaction, or returned payment fee. You can earn a credit line increase in as little as six months by making qualifying on-time payments.

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Upgrade path: Discover starts automatic monthly account reviews after seven months to see if you’re eligible to upgrade to an unsecured credit card and get your security deposit back.

Why we like this card for earning cash back: Most other cards on this list don’t provide a welcome offer, but the Discover it Secured Credit Card gives an unlimited dollar-for-dollar cash-back match at the end of your first year. That means if you earn $200 in cash back your first year, you’ll receive an additional $200 (for $400 total) from Discover.

Because of these generous welcome offers and excellent rewards rates, you can typically find Discover cards on lists of the best cash-back credit cards.

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Upgrade path: You may automatically graduate to a U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card and have your security deposit returned with responsible card usage.

Why we like this card for earning everyday rewards: Few secured credit cards provide better rewards on everyday purchases than the U.S. Bank Altitude Go Secured Visa. In fact, many unsecured cards can’t match this card’s earning potential.

That includes earning 4x points on dining, takeout, and restaurant delivery, as well as 2x points on streaming services, grocery stores, and at gas stations and EV charging stations. The 4x earning rate is the real winner here (especially for foodies), but the 2x rate is great for other common expenses.

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Upgrade path: You may qualify to have your security deposit returned based on periodic Bank of America account reviews.

Why we like this card: Secured credit cards require security deposits that typically equal your available credit limit. That means if you put down a $1,000 security deposit, you could have a $1,000 credit limit.

The issue with many secured cards is that they tend to have low security deposits, which means you don’t get much of a credit line. That could be problematic for actually using your card to make purchases. And it’s easier to have a high credit utilization ratio with a low credit limit, which could impact your credit score.

With the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured, you can deposit up to $5,000, giving you plenty of credit to work with.

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Upgrade path: With responsible use, you could automatically graduate to a U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card and have your security deposit returned.

Why we like this card: The U.S. Bank Cash+ Secured Visa has a $0 annual fee and an excellent rewards rate. It reports your card activity to the three major credit bureaus, allowing you to build your credit history over time.

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Upgrade path: With this card, Bank of America conducts periodic account reviews to see if you qualify to have your security deposit returned.

Why we like this card: The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Secured makes sense if you want a secured card with a customizable earning rate. Note that there’s an earning cap of $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter in the 3% and 2% categories.

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The Capital One Platinum isn’t a secured credit card, so there’s no security deposit required. That makes it an excellent choice if you want to build your credit with an unsecured card that doesn’t charge an annual fee. Keep in mind that the Capital One Platinum doesn’t earn any rewards.

If you’re a small business owner looking to build your business credit, consider the Bank of America Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured Business Credit Card.

This card has a $0 annual fee and earns 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases. If you responsibly use your card and your credit history improves, Bank of America could transition you to an unsecured version (where your security deposit is returned) based on its periodic account reviews.

The Amazon Secured Card is ideal for frequent Amazon shoppers seeking to establish or rebuild their credit history. It only works at Amazon.com and Amazon’s physical stores. You may be eligible to upgrade your secured card to an unsecured card after 12 months.

The Varo Visa Believe Card has no annual fee, no security deposit, and no credit check required for application. In short, it’s a bit of a unicorn in this particular credit card space, making it easy (for qualified applicants) to build their credit while avoiding some of the major obstacles that come with the territory.

Read our full Varo Believe Card review

The best student credit cards provide excellent options for students just starting their credit-building journey. Here are some cards to consider if you’re a student and want to build your credit:

The Capital One Savor Rewards for Students is a powerful student rewards card. We think the primary benefit of the Capital One Savor Rewards for Students (other than building their credit history) is the ability to earn elevated rewards in common student spending categories. You can earn an unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and groceries, plus 1% on all other eligible purchases.

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The Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students is a travel credit card with a $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. This card provides unlimited 1.5x points on all eligible purchases, making it an excellent option for everyday student purchases.

Since this is a travel card, the Bank of America Travel Rewards for Students makes sense for students who like to travel and/or plan to study abroad.

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The Discover it Student Cash Back has no annual fee and doesn’t require a credit score to apply.

As a new cardholder, you receive an automatic dollar-for-dollar cash-back match at the end of your first year. You can also earn 5% cash back on Discover’s everyday rotating categories (up to a quarterly maximum) when you activate the earning offer.

We recommend the Discover it Student Cash Back if you want to earn valuable cash back while building your credit.

• Might not have strict eligibility requirements

• Could help you build your credit history

• Could provide an upgrade path to a better card

• Typically works like any other credit card

• Could require a security deposit

• Might have fewer rewards and benefits

• Might have a lower credit limit

• Annual fee: Credit cards with annual fees could be worth it to help you build credit. However, it’s worth considering no-annual-fee cards first because there are plenty of available options.

• Security deposit: Secured credit cards provide accessible ways to improve your credit with limited or no credit history, but they require a security deposit. Unsecured cards don’t have the deposit requirement but could have more strict eligibility requirements.

• Credit check: When you apply for a credit card, most credit card companies check your credit history with a hard inquiry to determine your creditworthiness. This is often the case even if it’s a card designed for beginners. If you don’t want a hard inquiry, there are some cards available (like the Chime Secured Credit Builder Visa) that don’t require a credit check.

• Credit reporting: When comparing cards, consider only cards that report your credit activity to the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). Otherwise, using a card won’t help you build your credit.

• Perks and rewards: Your primary personal finance goal might be to build your credit history, but it doesn’t hurt to earn some cash back, points, or miles with a rewards credit card at the same time.

• Upgrade path: Many cards that can help you build credit have clear upgrade paths that their card issuers provide. This could be useful for graduating to a better card with more benefits. But remember that you can always create your own upgrade path by building enough credit history and qualifying for more credit products.

Secured credit cards are ideal tools for helping build or rebuild your credit history. They require an up-front deposit, often equal to your credit limit, but they can be used like any other credit card. If your card issuer reports card activity to major credit bureaus, a secured card could help improve your credit score with responsible use.

Making on-time payments is the most crucial factor for improving your credit score. Your payment history accounts for about 35% of your FICO Score, so avoiding missing or making late payments is essential. Missing one payment could significantly impact your score, possibly dropping it 100 points or more.

There’s no set limit for how much you can increase your credit score in a month, though it often takes months or even years to see significant improvement. However, depending on your actions, you could see a positive impact in as little as 30 to 45 days. Important factors include your payment history, length of credit history, and credit utilization ratio.

We researched dozens of secured and unsecured credit card offers from various issuers to compile a list of cards that could help build your credit history. We didn’t include all available cards and purposefully avoided cards with strict eligibility requirements.

We created a rubric to rate each card on our list according to factors such as annual fees, security deposits, credit checks, credit bureau reporting, and more.

Our final list of cards scored well on our rating system and aligned with our research, experience, and expert opinion.

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Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. All opinions belong solely to Yahoo Finance and are not those of any other entity. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information. This site doesn’t include all currently available offers. Credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.