Best credit card for a first time applicant?

I'd check out the local credit unions. If you have no credit history, it'll be tough to get a "good" card, but you can get one that offers what you want (cash back, miles, slightly lower rate, ect) and start building your credit.

The one on the Money board

You should be paying it off in full every month anyway.

I had to start with a secured card with basically no benefits when I had no credit. After a while (six months to a year, can’t remember exactly which), I re-applied with the same company and got a better one with good cash back options. Pay them in full every month.

There are several comments recommending to pay off the card in full. I've always heard that you should keep a small balance each month. Is this not necessary?

ETA: Google says myth. OK then

Credit score is based on these factors (there are more but these are the major factors);

number and of and type accounts
% of revolving credit used vs. available credit
number of on time payments
number of late payments
average age of credit accounts (longer is better)

to a lesser degree, number of hard inquiries.


There is no need to carry a balance, paying them off monthly is the optimum.
The goal is to pay no interest and using their $$$ for the billing cycle.

Remember if you pick up a bunch of accounts, they must be used annually (some will go longer) else the creditor may close the account (which reduces the number of accounts, available credit, and possibly length of credit average).

So starting out, get whatever account you can qualify, keep it current and paid off each cycle, wait 6-12 months and try gain another.... Consider signing up for Credit Karma (free) to monitor and protect your credit scores. They have some good resources to learn how they are calculated and such.

Just go to the capital one website and do a soft apply, they'll let you know what you qualify for with their cards. It will most likely be the Platinum which doesn't have rewards but they do have a decent program where you eventually qualify for all of their cards like the Quicksilver and Venture card which have nice benefits.

My kid graduated recently and I was able to get a Capital One Quicksilver in their name. I use it and pay it off monthly which has upped their credit rating.

Check out the Upgrade credit card

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My bank offered me a 30% APR with no annual fees but this seems high

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With no credit history that's what you are looking at. Manage it responsibly and over time you can get better cards.