The Best Credit Card for Students with No Credit History

College can be a fun and interesting time in your life. You discover a lot about yourself during your college years–you find out what you want to do with your life professionally, you find out what social circles you fit into, and so much more.

As a college student, you may also be facing some of the realities of adulthood for the very first time, especially if you’ve never lived anywhere on your own, or tried to purchase a vehicle. Does this sound familiar? For a lot of things in life, you’re going to need to have a good credit score.

A great credit score tells companies, auto financiers, landlords, and more that you are responsible and pay your bills on time. A great credit score can help you get higher lines of credit, putting you ahead of many other people who might be looking for the same options, but who might have a lower credit score.

Good credit scores don’t just come in handy for buying vehicles or renting apartments, either. You might want a credit card to use just for emergencies, a backup source of funds if your personal cash flow is running on the low side. A good credit score is also a great way to start planning for the future, for life after college. You will eventually want to purchase a house, take out a loan, or start a business. A great credit score can help you out tremendously in these efforts.

What Do You Do If You Have No Credit?

If you are a student with no credit history, or even someone from a foreign country residing in the United States on a work or education visa, then you may feel like you don’t have many options when it comes to establishing a line of credit.

This couldn’t be further from the truth, however. Having no credit simply means you’re a blank slate, and you have nowhere to go but up.

To get a jump start on building your credit, all you need to do is establish a line of credit from many of the trusted companies out there, and making your monthly payments on time. With these companies reporting to the bureaus, your on-time payments will be reflected on your credit score, and you can start building it up gradually.

So, what is the best option for establishing a line of credit as a student with no prior credit history? Savvy online finance companies like Nova Credit have compiled valuable resources with some of the best options for credit cards for folks with no credit history, and as a student, one option in particular stands out, whether you are an American or a foreign student on a study visa.

Deserve’s “Edu” Credit Card

The well-known financial institution, Deserve, has a credit card that is specifically meant for students to utilize. Some of the benefits include:

• No SSN required to apply for foreign students: If you’re a foreign student studying in the United States on a study visa, this could be the card for you, as it does not require a social security number (SSN) to apply for international students.

• Zero annual fees: You can save up a little extra money with this card, as you won’t have to worry about paying annual fees for using it.

• Cash back: The Deserve Edu card provides a cool 1% cash back reward on all purchases made using the card.

• One year of Amazon Prime Student: That’s right, Deserve will even give you a whole 12 month membership of Amazon Prime Student with your card, completely free.

It is important to note with this card, however, that Deserve reports only to two of the major credit bureaus (TransUnion and Experian). They do not report to Equifax. You also won’t be able to take out cash advances using this card, but as a student, you probably won’t have to worry about that, anyway.

If this sounds like a good option for you, then all you need to do to begin building your credit as a student is to apply for the card! Once you’re set with your new credit card, using it responsibly and paying it off on time will result in you seeing your credit score slowly start to go up, helping set you up for success after you graduate.