What Is The Best Credit Card To Start Building Credit Score. If you’re anything like me, I believe you want to have an amazing credit score to guarantee that you buy that home, get the car loan, or even secure that dream job in the future, but the thing is starting from zero can be a little daunting sometimes.
I can vividly recall the first day when I was provided a wide range of options to select a credit card for the very first time in my life to build a credit score but had absolutely no clue how to go about it, should I go for a rewards option? Or should I go for the one that is easier to get approval from?
Well, today, I’m here to make that process slightly easier for you.
With the help of this guide, I will help you gain knowledge about the best credit cards available with the intention of gaining a positive credit score.
We’ll highlight the best options, key features that you should be looking for in a card, and ways you can enhance your credit score- literally step by step.
What Is a Credit Score and Why Does It Matter?
Before we move on to the process of credit cards, let’s spend a few minutes trying to understand what a credit score is and its importance.
A score of your financial habits based on a number ranging between 300 to 850 is what we refer to as a credit score. This score can dictate a lot of potential opportunities you may have to go for in the future, but let’s shed some light on how exactly is the score calculated.
When applying for a car, home or even an apartment, your credit history greatly impacts whether you’ll be able to borrow, buy or rent these items.
Ideally, the better your score the better rates you will be offered for a loan which can save you a bulky amount of cash concerning interest rates in the long run.
Key Factors That Affect Your Credit Score
Now, let’s try to understand what constitutes your credit score. If we analyze carefully, it can be seen that there are five important elements to consider:
1- Payment History (35%)
This is a crucial element. It determines whether you have paid your bills as per the due dates. Late payments or even worse, defaults on payments can have a negative impact on this score. But worry not, paying your bills on time will only increase your score!
2- Credit Utilization (30%)
This includes the percentage of the credit limit that is being spent versus how much is being offered. This would mean if your cap is $1000 and spending $500, it’s 50% of the total limit. Try to maintain this trend under 30% to show lenders that you are financially prudent.
3- Length of Credit History (15%)
The more the number of years in which you had a credit, the better it would be. But if you are just beginning, do no panic. This is not going to be an issue over the course of time if you use your credit smartly.
4- Credit Mix (10%)
This takes into account a broad category of items including credit cards, mortgages as well as student loans as types of debt that you have. There is a need to maintain a good variety of credit in order to increase your score, however, this is not something which is very integral if you are a beginner.
5- New Credit (10%)
In a brief period, if one applies for multiple credit cards or mortgage loans then the overall score will drop. Each application can cause a minor decline, so consider this applying for new debt as a task to do slowly.
What to Look for in a Credit Card to Start Building Credit
If you are starting out with getting credit history then the kind of credit card chosen plays an important role. Here’s what you should keep in mind:
1. Low Fees
The fees with few limits are suited for a nascent usuario de credit card hodler so that they do not destroy one’s budget.
One of the included costs that many credit cards would charge is an annual fee. This is a fee that the issuer of the card would place for just possessing it. The charge can range from as much as $ 25 to more than $ 500.
While some premium rewards cards charge an annual fee of thousands of dollars, it is recommended that these not be applied for when first trying to build credit as the benefits will more likely be talking them unlimited back when trying building your credit with little around to enjoy the card with.
Fees if high are for everyone, but will especially be daunting to learners on going through the Introduction to credit usage.
When starting out, it’s better that you apply for a card that either does not have an annual fee or has one that is a lower cost. This grants you the chance to build your credit without incurring additional charges.
2. Credit Limit
Your credit limit is the total amount a credit card issuer can offer you. It is crucial to find a credit card with an appropriate credit limit as it affects your credit score, building up history with the card becomes challenging if there is too low of a limit but if it’s too high, you can be tempted to overspend on it which is not good as well.
Understanding how much of your available credit you are currently using is important to the calculation of your credit rating. This is referred to as a credit score and it is the percentage of the total credit card balances divided by the total credit limits across all credit cards held.
Utilization has an inverse relationship with credit score, the lesser the utilization the better the score. For instance, you have a $500 credit limit, and you make purchases of $300, the ratio will be unrealistic at 60% which can lower your credit score. In contrast, with a $2000 limit, the same $300 spent only has a 15% utilization ratio.
3. Reports to Credit Bureaus
When selecting a credit card for the purpose of establishing credit, one of the key aspects that you should pay attention to is whether the credit card issuer is obligated to report your activities to the three main credit bureaus; Equaifax, Experian, and<br Deco.
These agencies consolidate and hold the information forming your credit history or file as well as your credit rating.
You should understand that if the bank that issued you a credit card doesn’t notify credit bureaus when you make card transactions, all your attempts to establish the history of good credit won’t count. Even if you never miss a date when payment is due or you use only a small part of the limit, this data will not affect your score unless the bank disseminates it to the credit bureaus.
4. APR (Interest Rates)
You must understand that the APR is the Annual Percentage Rate and it is the interest charged against any existing balance that your credit card has. Interest would be charged on any unpaid balance that is unpaid after paying off the amount due every month. The APR seems to differ from a card to another it seems to fall between 15% and 25% for a few.
The APR is a good reason for ensuring that you try your best to clear your dues, however, clearing the dues is the best alternative to ensure that you are not charged interest at all. But sometimes there is a need to unpaid a balance, that is where having a lower APR saves you money. Even a chance occurrence where there was an unpaid balance, the interest received is a good reason to ensure that the APR is lower.
Best Credit Cards for Building Credit in 2025
Let us discuss the best credit cards that can be applied for regarding the building of a credit score. You start off scanning the market after understanding the parameters to consider. A few recommendations include the following:
1. Discover it® Secured Credit Card
- Overview: This is a secured card that serves great initial users as for the credit limit, there is an initial refundable deposit.
- Why It’s Great for Building Credit: The security issued by the bank issues reports to the three credit bureaus. Also, after 8 months or 240 days of maintaining the card, discover automatically reviews the client to see if they are eligible for the unsecured card.
- Pros: No annual charge for the card, reports to all three credit bureaus, and provides cashback on the money spent.
- Cons: There is an upfront deposit needed in order to issue the card.
2. Capital One Platinum Credit Card
- Overview: This is an unsecured card, therefore no upfront deposit is needed for you to hold it. This is perfect if you are new to the ‘gender’ of credit and are looking to build a reputation without collateral.
- Why It’s Great for Building Credit: Capital one also after some time frame offers a credit limit at a fee when the customer has paid on the credit card/account on time assisting to better your small credit utilization ratio.
- Pros: No annual fee, potential for a higher credit limit with responsible use.
- Cons: No rewards program.
3. Petal® 1 “No Annual Fee” Visa® Credit Card
- Overview: This card is tailored for consumers with no credit or minimal credit and does not ask for a security deposit. Petal is able to approve you thanks to its alternative data system that takes your banking data and other factors into consideration.
- Why It’s Great for Building Credit: It reports to all three credit bureaus and does not charge any annual fees, furthermore you have the ability to receive cash back from transactions made on your card.
- Pros: There are no security deposit requirements, there is a cash back program, and no yearly fee.
- Cons: If you carry a balance over, it tends to have a higher annual percentage rate which can be an issue.
How to Use Your Credit Card to Build Your Credit Score
This is something new when it comes to having a credit card; having one is only half the job, the other is knowing how to use it to improve your credit score. Here are a some things to get you on the right path.
Pay Your Bill on Time
This is the best advice I can give if you want to start building your credit, Work smarter by setting up automatic payments and reminders so that there is never a due date that passes unaccounted for.
Keep Your Credit Utilization Low
It is ideal that you don’t make purchases using more than 30% of your available credit. For example, if the limit on your card is $1000, try your best to keep your balance below $300.
Pay More Than the Minimum
This is the problem Minimum payments will maintain your debts for long time while also increasing the interest you will have to pay on the borrowed amount. More payments overall tend to help in decreasing the overall balance faster which helps your credit score.
Avoid Opening Too Many Accounts
Each time you apply for a new card, remember that this can result in a small decrease in your credit score. Therefore, be careful in making new applications for cards.
Mistakes to Avoid When Building Credit
Credit building is vital, there are a few pitfalls that you must steer clear of:
- Paying Late:
Delays in credit payments can reflect on the report for around seven years. Hence, on-time payments are a must!
- Maxing Out Your Credit Card:
Avoid spending over the set limit on your card, because using up the high limit might be detrimental to your credit score.
- Ignoring Your Credit Report:
Check your credit report for discrepancies and suspicious activities and you can avail one free report from each bureau every year.
How Long Will It Take to Build Credit?
If you wish to improve your credit score it is going to take time, however if you stay dedicated to making the payments on time, controlling your balance and if you wish to be patient, you may witness your hard work start to pay off after around 3-6 months. Keep in mind, building a strong credit score is a long term endeavor.
My Opinion
However, one thing to keep in mind is if you wish to build a strong credit history, id suggest you get yourself the right credit card. And that goes to show you how dedicated one needs to be in order to reach the set goals for themselves. Always remember it is about using loans sparingly, making timely payments, and being patient as the wait will be beneficial for you.
Sembrar hoy para construir una base sólida te traerá frutos mañana y tu futuro agradecido lo reconocerá. ¡Seguramente yo lo estoy!
