The 5 BEST Credit Cards For Beginners In 2023

What's up guys, it's Graham here!

So a year ago, I made a video going over the best credit cards of 2021. However, recently I realized that there's a bit of a problem in that today is the future, and thanks to the introduction of some new credit cards, we have some even better options to add to the list. So today, we're going to be covering the best beginner credit cards to get in 2022. These are going to be the perfect options if you're just starting out, you don't have a lot of credit history, and you don't have a lot of extra money to spend, but you still want to be a credit card connoisseur; build your score, improve your credit history, and do all of that for the cost of absolutely nothing.

Doing this correctly from the very beginning is so important, because if you could just follow along these next 10 minutes, you'll be able to get a perfect credit score as fast as possible, get a low interest rate anytime you want to leverage your money, and do all of that without spending any extra money out of pocket. Everything in this video is going to be completely free, and all that's required from you is a little bit of your time and one like on the video. Or if you have any interest, you could subscribe, because I post three times a week on personal finance, and I also make credit card puns that some say is outstanding. Get it? I'll stop.

Anyway, thank you guys so much! Now with that said, let's begin.

Alright, so to start, we could not have a proper credit cards for beginners video without mentioning the Holy Grail that has repeatedly made it on this list time and time again, and that would be the Discover It secured card for sure. I get it, if you've seen my channel in the past, you know that I've mentioned this card time and time again. But the fact is, there's no other product that even comes close to being as good. So here's why I'd recommend it, why you should get it, and a few of the variations to figure out which one would be best.

First, if you're completely brand new to the credit card game and you don't have any credit whatsoever, you don't have any other credit cards, or you just turned 18 and you want to be a financially responsible, credit-worthy adult, well you should apply for the Discover It secured card. Now, a secured card just means that you put down a refundable security deposit, and in return, they give you back a credit line equal to that exact amount. For example, if you put down a $200 security deposit, they will give you back a $200 credit line. From there, it's no different than having $200 worth of cash on you at all times, except it's within a small piece of plastic that gives you free stuff.

Now, the reason I mentioned this one so frequently is because most secured credit cards out there, as in the credit cards designed for people who want to build their credit, are absolutely trash; they're the worst. So many of them out there charge unnecessarily high annual fees, like the First Progress Platinum Prestige MasterCard that charges you $49 a year. I mean, come on! At this point, building your credit should be free, and Discover understands that, so they won't charge you an annual fee or try to make it sound better than it actually is by calling it Platinum Prestige.

Now, Discover also gives you what most secured cards won't, and that would be rewards. Now, I'm not gonna lie, it's not like these rewards are incredible or anything like that, but hey, you know what? For someone just starting out, anything is something, and it does add up. In this case, your secured credit card is going to give you two percent cash back on gas stations and restaurants, and you will get unlimited one percent cash back on everything else. They've also been running a promotion where they will match your cash back in the first year, so this is really like getting four percent cash back on restaurants and gas stations, and two percent cash back on everything else, with a credit card that practically anyone could get for free.

Plus, you can now see if you're pre-approved to get this card with no harm to your credit. Not only that, but Discover also allows you to monitor your FICO score for free on their platform, so you could watch how your score is improving over time.

Now, of course, alternatively, if you've already started building your credit and you just want something to build that foundation even stronger, then you have the option to go and apply for their unsecured Discover It cash back card instead. That means you're not going to have to put down any deposit, and with this card, there's no annual fee. You'll get five percent cash back in places like Amazon, grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and online shopping, depending on your revolving category, plus the same one percent cash back on everything else. Then just like the first one, they will match your cash back in the first year, which could get you up to ten percent cash back depending on where you spend your money, which is insane.

So really, no matter which option you pick, either will be perfect to help you build your credit. And from there, all you need to do is pay off your balance in full by the time it's due, and that way you're not going to have to pay any interest on your purchases.

Next, second, we have a credit card that's brand new to the list because it just came out, and I gotta say, I could already tell it's going to be quite popular. And that would be the Petal 2 Visa card. Now, what's unique about Petal is that they approach credit differently than other companies. See, traditionally when you apply for a credit card, they run a credit check based on your on-time payments, credit history, and previous limits. But that poses a problem in that if you don't have any prior credit history, most unsecured credit cards will simply just tell you no, and then you're left with the realization that you cannot get a credit card without having a credit score, but you can't get a credit score without having a credit card.

So, Petal discovered a way around it. They look at your banking history to instantly create what they call a cash score, which is a measure of your creditworthiness based on your income, spending, and savings. Doing this can help you qualify for a better credit card with a higher limit, even if you've never had a credit card or a credit score to begin with. Now, since they utilize your banking information, they also double as a personal finance app that calculates their payments, interest if you don't pay off your balance, your monthly spending, and other personal finance tips to help you save money, like canceling unwanted subscriptions that you might have forgotten about on OnlyFans.

Now, in terms of the card itself, the Petal 2 is designed to be a card with absolutely no fees whatsoever. That means there's no annual fee, there's no international fee, there's no late fee, and there's no return payment fee. So, from all perspectives, it costs you nothing. On top of that, you'll also get one percent cash back right away on all purchases, and that gets bumped to one and a half percent cash back once you make 12 on-time purchases. Plus, you'll also get two to ten percent cash back at select merchants depending on where you shop. So this one is pretty similar to the Discover It secured, except this one is not secured, and it doesn't require any prior credit history.

It's also worth mentioning that they report to all three credit bureaus. So every single month you pay your bill on time, you're adding another positive trade line to your report, and every month that goes by, you're getting one step closer to a perfect 800 credit score.

Now, this is incredibly important, because when you're building up your score, 35 percent of that number is comprised of what's known as your on-time payment history. That just means how many times have you paid your bills as agreed? Generally, the more positive trade lines you have, the more history you will show, and the faster your score is going to increase. For example, if you have one credit card and you paid off every single month, after a year, you'll have 12 positive trade lines, which is good. But if you have two credit cards and you pay them both off in time every single month after a year, you'll now have 24 positive trade lines, which is even better, and that helps push you to credit rock star territory twice as fast.

Alright, so after that we got the third best credit card on the list, because let's be real, chances are most of us do business in one way or another with Jeff Bezos, and that would be the Amazon Prime Rewards Card. The reason I'm putting this one on the list is that they have a fairly low requirement for signing up, and if you have a credit score above 640, which basically means as long as you've had any prior credit whatsoever, chances are they're going to accept you. Plus, they say you'll get an instant decision in 15 seconds.

Now, before I go into the benefits of this card, it's really important to mention that there are two Amazon Rewards credit cards that are very similar but they're different. And even though either of them will work well, we should talk about them separately. But the first is the Amazon Prime Rewards Card, which requires that you have an Amazon Prime membership to get the full benefit. With this card, combined with Amazon Prime, you're gonna get a $150 Amazon gift card instantly just for signing up, and then you'll get unlimited five percent cash back on all Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, two percent cash back at restaurants, gas stations, and drug stores, and then one percent cash back on everything else.

In addition to that, you'll also have no foreign transaction fees and a few other perks like travel protection, rental car insurance, and 10% off select items, and so on. Now, honestly, if you're an Amazon Prime customer and you shop on Amazon more than once a month, most likely the five percent cash back is going to be well worth it, because on a card that's otherwise completely free, this is basically just money back in your pocket for doing absolutely nothing. Not to mention, if you spend more than $2,300 a year on Amazon, the five percent cash back is essentially paying for your entire Prime Membership, giving you that as well for free.

Now, the second option is what's known as the normal Amazon Rewards card. Now, this is what you should get if you don't pay for Amazon Prime but you still want to get some rewards, just not as much. For example, this option will give you three percent cash back on Amazon purchases, two percent at restaurants and gas stations, and then one percent cash back on everything else. But let's be real, at this point, most people have Amazon Prime, so there's no sense going on the non-prime card unless you truly never shop here, in which case, probably just don't get the card to begin with. But even if you do the occasional shopping with our good old buddy Jeff, the non-prime card is still a good option, and with no annual fee and good rewards, it's a great one to keep for a very long time.

Then we got number four, which came out about a year ago, and it almost instantly became my new favorite credit card for beginners, and that would be the Chase Freedom Flex card. Now, I'm purposely mentioning this one a little bit later, because most likely you're going to need some credit history and an average credit score to get approved, but if you can't get it, this one could blow all the other credit cards out of the water.

First, they're going to be giving you a $200 bonus when you spend $500 in the first three months, and you'll get to earn five percent cash back on gas station purchases and up to the first $6,000 in the first year. They're also offering you five percent cash back and up to $1,500 with the bonus categories, five percent back on travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal, three percent back at restaurants and dining, three percent on drugstores, and one percent back on everything else. But wait, there's more! You'll also get zero percent interest for up to the first 15 months of purchases and balance transfers, so if you have a credit card balance on another card that happens to be charging you a ridiculously high interest rate, it might make sense to transfer it here, pay a small balance transfer fee, and then save the interest while you pay it down in full.

They have a multitude of other benefits like purchase protection that covers your items for up to 120 days from damage or theft, trip cancellation insurance, and even they could protect your cell phone. Oh, and they'll also give you three months of free DashPass with activation if you like to order food. So, if you're going to do this anyway, you may as well take advantage of it because it's a part of the offer, and it costs you nothing.

And fifth, we have, in my opinion, the best all-around credit card that everybody loves, and that would be the Citi Double Cash Rewards Card. What's so special about this, you might ask? Well, it's all about the card's simplicity. You just get two percent unlimited cash back on everything, and that's it! There's no revolving categories, there's no limit to how much money you could spend, nothing. Plus, you get all of that for free since there's no annual fee.

And of course, the downside is that they do require you to have a previous credit history and that all of your bills are in good standing, meaning you've always paid on time. But if you meet your criteria and you get this card, it's just all around good. I really wish there was more I could say about this, but it's just that simple: two percent cash back.

Now sure, other cards do get you more than that in certain categories, and other cards have a sign-up bonus, but if you never want to think about it, you never want to keep track of which category is in which during which time, and you just want something to use on everything, this could be it.

Oh, and since not everything could make a top five list, I can't end this off without two honorable mentions. The first one would be the AmEx Blue Cash Everyday Card. Now, what's unique about this card is that, in a way, it can help build your credit score a little bit faster. And that's because American Express is what's known as a charge card, which means it's meant to be paid off in full every single month without ever carrying a balance. As a result, charge cards don't show a preset spending limit on your report. So as you charge your card every month, and that amount is reported to credit bureaus, it's not going to impact your credit utilization, which is another way of saying how much credit you have available to you versus how much of that you use.

In addition to that, this is one of the few American Express cards that doesn't have any annual fees, so it's totally free to use. Plus, you could get $200 cash back when you spend $2,000 on the card in the first six months, and you'll get three percent cash back at supermarkets, two percent cash back at grocery stores, and one percent cash back on everything else.

And my second honorable mention is one of the first cards that I got when I was starting out, and that would be the Bank of America Cash Rewards Card. Of course, they do require you to be in good standing with your credit history before you apply, but assuming you get approved, this one has some really good benefits, all with no annual fee.

Now to start, I like this one a lot because they'll give you a $200 cash bonus when you spend $1,000 on the card in the first 90 days, and since most of us naturally spend $1,000 over three months, consider this like them giving you a free $200 back just for going about your normal daily routine.

Besides that, you'll also get three percent cash back in the category of your choice, two percent cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and one percent cash back on everything else. And then one more thing: if you really want to maximize the benefits and you have a lot of self-control, they do offer zero percent interest for the first 15 months. So if you want something that would essentially be a totally free loan for over a year, this is an option, but you just gotta make sure to pay it off in full by the time it's due, otherwise, you're going to pay some pretty nasty interest.

Then from here, if you want a step-by-step guide in terms of what to do with this information to eventually build up to a perfect credit score for free, here's what I'd recommend. First, sign up for a free credit monitoring service like Credit Karma or creditsesame.com. I don't get paid for mentioning any of this stuff, but I have been using them for over a decade, and it's great to be able to track your progress over time.

The second is to get yourself the Discover It secured card or the Petal 2 Visa card if you get approved. From there, just put a few minor expenses on the card every single week and then pay it off in full by the time it's due. That's it! I also highly recommend you put your credit card on autopay to make sure you never miss a payment, because if you miss just one, it's gonna throw this entire plan into the toilet.

Then third, after six months of doing that, add another credit card to the list, like the Citi Double Cash Card, the Chase Freedom Flex, or the Amazon Prime Card. Then do the same thing as the prior step: put a few minor expenses on the card every single week and then pay it off in full.

In fourth, after six months of doing that, open up the AmEx Blue Cash Everyday Card and repeat the same process again. You see how easy this is? Just pay them all off in full.

Then fifth, after another six months of doing this, request a credit limit increase across all of your credit cards. Even if you don't need the higher limit, the benefit of doing this is that when thirty percent of your credit score is made up of what's called amounts owed, the higher the limits you have, the lower your balances will be in relation to that amount.

For example, if you carry a $250 balance on a $500 limit, that's a 50% utilization, which is high and that will lower your score. However, if you now have a $5,000 limit, and that very same $250 balance, you now have a five percent credit utilization, which is low and that will increase your score. It never hurts to ask for a credit limit increase, and even if you never use it, it’s still gonna help.

Now six, keep doing that consistently, and in about 18 to 24 months, assuming you pay off your bill on time in full, you should have a credit score between 740 and 780, which is going to give you the lowest interest rates anytime you want to leverage your money, get a loan, rent an apartment, lease a car, or do anything really.

Over time, your credit score is going to naturally increase as long as you consistently do this, and within a few years, a perfect 800 credit score is absolutely possible, all for no money out of pocket.

So that's my complete guide in terms of what to get and what to do in 2022. That unintentionally rhymed, but, uh, hey, you know what? It works! Hopefully, these steps should get you in the right direction to getting a perfect credit score and exactly which cards you could do this with for totally free.

And if you want to learn more personal finance tips like this, just do me a quick favor and subscribe. That's also totally free, and I post three times a week. So with that said, you guys, thank you so much for watching! Also, make sure to destroy the like button, hit the notification bell, or feel free to add me on Instagram or my second channel, The Graham Staffing Show.

I post there every single day I'm not posting here, so if you want to see a brand new video from me every single day, make sure to add yourself to that. Thank you so much for watching, and until next time!