Today’s topic is credit cards, specifically the best credit cards for beginners in 2025. Let’s face it—by having an effective credit card strategy, you could save a ton of money in all aspects of your life, whether it’s from grocery purchases, travel, child care, or even potentially rent.
If that’s something you’re interested in, pop a squat, tap the thumbs-up icon, and let’s get into it. If you’d like to support the channel, feel free to check out any of the affiliate links in the description box below for some of the top offers, from beginner cards to advanced cards to travel cards. I appreciate it!
Let’s jump in.
For every single credit card, I’m going to talk about:
- The Signup Bonus
- The Earnings
- The Benefits
- My Final Verdict and Recommendations on how I would use that card.
A quick housekeeping note: every single card we’re going to talk about here is going to have no annual fee. This is one of the most important things as a beginner when you’re getting your first card. If there’s an annual fee, I would most likely stay away from it until you’re familiar and comfortable with how to use a credit card.
Now, I don’t want to drag this out, but on the topic of how to use a credit card for beginners: the most important thing is to pay on time and pay in full. Try to pay off the majority of your balance before the statement closing date if you want to boost your credit score.
That said, let’s dive in.
Card #6: The Citi Custom Cash
- Signup Bonus: Right now, this card will give you a $200 signup bonus after you spend $1,500 within the first 6 months. The card also offers a promotional 0% APR for the first 15 months.
- Earnings: This card earns a whopping 5% cash back on your highest spend category every single month (like gas or groceries) on up to $500 of total spend, after which it reverts to 1% cash back. For all other purchases, you earn 1% cash back.
- Benefits: Not a whole ton of bells and whistles here; it’s pretty simple. One interesting note: even though you’re earning cash back, if you have one of their Premier cards (like the Citi Strata), you can convert these “Thank You Points”—which would typically be redeemed as cash back—into actually transferable points. But you have to pair it with a Citi Strata or one of their more premier cards.
- Verdict & Recommendations: I really like this card for earning 5% cash back on a category like groceries or gas. My tip: even though you can only apply and get one of these cards, you can do a product change. If you have another type of Citi credit card (even some co-branded ones), you can call and have them change it to a Citi Custom Cash. That way, you might have two, and instead of a $500 max on gas for 5%, you could have $500 on each card for a total of $1,000.
Card #5: The Discover It
- Signup Bonus: This card offers unlimited cashback match of whatever you earn as cash back in the first year. It also has a promotional 0% APR for the first 15 months.
- Earnings: This card earns 5% cash back on a set of categories that change every quarter (like groceries, Amazon.com, or online shopping) on up to $1,500 of spend per quarter. All other spending earns 1% cash back. Couple that with the signup bonus, and in essence, you earn 10% cash back on the bonus categories and 2% cash back everywhere else in that first year.
- Benefits: The one to call out is that this card has no foreign transaction fees.
- Verdict & Recommendations: This was my very first credit card. There’s not a ton you can do to seek out more benefit, but out of all the cards on this list, I personally think the Discover It is probably the easiest one for most people to get approved for. As a beginner, the most important thing is to apply, get approved, start using it, and start building a strong credit profile so you can get other cards.
Card #4: The Wells Fargo Active Cash
- Signup Bonus: Right now, you’ll earn a $200 signup bonus after you spend $500 within the first 3 months.
- Earnings: This card is dead simple: you earn 2% cash back on all your purchases, no limit. It also offers a promotional 0% APR for the first 12 months.
- Benefits: This card gives you cell phone protection. If you pay your cell phone bill with this card and the phone gets stolen or damaged, you’re covered for up to a $600 claim with a $25 deductible. Another thing to keep in mind: you can take this cash back and convert it into transferable points if you also have one of Wells Fargo’s mid-tier or top-tier cards (like the Autograph).
- Verdict & Recommendations: This is a great middle-of-the-road beginner credit card because you just earn 2% cash back on everything—no need to think about bonus categories.
Card #3: The Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Signup Bonus: At the filming of this video, the public offer is $250 cash back after spending $500 in the first three months. However, there’s a non-public offer that’s a lot more elevated: a cash back match of the base cash back for up to $20,000 in spend in the first year. (I have a link to that offer in the description below).
- Earnings: This card earns:
- 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase travel portal.
- 3% cash back at drugstores and on dining.
- 1.5% cash back everywhere else.
With the non-public offer, you get an additional 1.5% cash back on top of all those categories (effectively making it 6.5%, 4.5%, 4.5%, and 3% everywhere) on up to $20,000 of spend in the first year.
- Benefits: This card gives you 3 months of complimentary DashPass, followed by 9 months at 50% off (activate before Jan 31, 2025). You also earn 5% cash back on all Lyft purchases until March 31, 2025.
- Verdict & Recommendations: I’m biased—this was my second credit card ever. It introduced me to the world of credit cards because it has phenomenal complimentary cards in the Chase Sapphire line. This is a great place to start to build a relationship with Chase. Then, as you scale, you can get cards with better earnings, better signup bonuses, and valuable transferable points.
Card #2: The Capital One SavorOne
- Signup Bonus: This card earns $250 cash back after you spend $500 within the first 3 months. It also offers a 0% promotional APR for the first 15 months.
- Earnings: This card earns:
- 5% cash back on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel.
- 3% cash back at grocery stores, on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services.
- 1% cash back on everything else.
- Benefits: This card has no foreign transaction fees. You can also pair the cash back you earn with one of Capital One’s premium cards (like the Venture or Venture X) to convert them into transferable miles.
- Verdict & Recommendations: This is a phenomenal card for elevated cash back. The strategy of pairing it with the Venture X is one of my favorite credit card combos. With just two cards, you can have one of the best setups out there.
Card #1: The Bilt MasterCard
- Signup Bonus: Right now, the publicly available signup bonus is nothing. However, some people report getting an email after approval to earn 5x points on all spend in the first 5 days.
- Earnings: This card earns:
- 3 points per dollar on dining.
- 2 points per dollar on travel.
- 1 point per dollar everywhere else.
PLUS: 1 point per dollar on rent (up to 100,000 points per year), with no processing fees. The catch: you must make 5 transactions per statement cycle.
- Benefits: There’s a laundry list:
- No foreign transaction fees.
- It’s a metal card.
- You get transfer partners (like Alaska Airlines and Hyatt) with no annual fee.
- Cell phone protection (up to $800 with a $25 deductible, 2 claims per 12 months).
- As a Bilt member, you can earn points for buying a house (1 point per $2 of the purchase price) by working with a Bilt-partnered real estate agent through the app.
- Verdict & Recommendations: Even though this card is structured towards renters, with 3x on dining and 2x on travel, it’s also a phenomenal travel card. Having transferable points is insane for a credit card with no annual fee. The closest competitor is at least $100 a year. If I’m just starting out, I am jumping on this card all day, any given day.
If you’re interested in any of these cards and would like to support my channel, I would greatly appreciate it. All my affiliate links are in the description box down below. Comments? Questions? Leave them down there as well, and I’ll catch you on the next one. Peace!