Credit CardsBuilding Credit·May 1, 2026
Best Credit Cards for Building Credit at Any Age
Secured and starter cards that report to all three bureaus and graduate to unsecured within 12 months.
Best secured cards
- Discover it Secured — $200 deposit, 2% gas/restaurants, graduates in ~7 months.
- Capital One Platinum Secured — as low as $49 deposit.
- U.S. Bank Cash+ Secured — 5% rotating categories.
Best starter cards
- Petal 2 Visa — uses cashflow data, no fees.
- Capital One QuicksilverOne — fair-credit approval, 1.5% on everything.
- Chime Credit Builder — no credit check, no fee.
Bottom line
A retiree with no credit history can reach 720+ in 12–18 months for the price of a $200 refundable deposit.