Best Credit Cards for Teens of September 2024

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is ideal for teens who want to earn travel perks. Every purchase earns 2X miles, with bonus categories for hotels, rental cars, vacation rentals and flights booked through Capital One Travel.

Your teen can apply for this card at 18, but it requires excellent credit to be approved — something that’s uncommon for young people without a well-established credit history. A better option is to add them as an authorized user on your account; it’s free, and they will still be able to take advantage of the card benefits.

If your teenager is heading to college, the Capital One SavorOne Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is a great way to build credit. It’s open to students enrolled at a community college or accredited university — or admitted with the intent to enroll within 90 days. Capital One requires fair credit for approval, which typically means that students must have some history with credit.

The SavorOne Student card earns 1% cash back on most purchases. Since it’s designed for students, it also earns 3% cash back on certain streaming services, grocery store purchases, restaurants and entertainment. It doesn’t have an annual fee.

For teens who want to earn a solid cash-back rate on all purchases — rather than maximize bonus purchases — the Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards Credit Card is worth considering. Like the SavorOne, it’s a no-fee card designed for enrolled and admitted students with at least fair credit. However, instead of bonus categories, it offers 1.5% cash back for every purchase.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited is a cash-back card. Your teen will earn 3% back on dining and restaurants, 5% on travel booked through Chase Travel and 1.5% back on everything else. There’s no annual fee, and rewards are unlimited.

This card includes Chase Credit Journey, which helps your teen understand their credit score. You’ll likely need to add them as an authorized user or cosign for an individual account.

The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card is designed for people who are rebuilding credit, which can be convenient for teenagers who don’t have a credit history.

Your teen will need to make a deposit to open the card with a $200 credit limit — Capital One requires $49, $99 or $200, depending on the applicant’s information. You can make additional deposits up to $1,000 to increase the credit limit accordingly.

This is one of the best credit cards for teenagers who are at least 18 and have a bit of cash to use as a deposit. The bank conducts automatic credit line reviews starting around the 6-month mark; teens who use the card responsibly can earn back their deposit and get a higher credit line.

The OpenSky^® Secured Visa^® Credit Card is another secured credit card that works well for teenagers who want their own account to build a credit history. It requires a deposit of $200 (up to $3,000) and an annual fee of $35. OpenSky doesn’t conduct a credit check, which is helpful for people with limited or no credit.

Your teen must be 18 to open an OpenSky account. Over time, and with timely payments, it can help them build credit and qualify for traditional credit cards.

The Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express is one of our favorite credit cards for 17-year-olds and younger teenagers.

When considering credit cards for minors, you can add authorized users who are as young as 13 years old. It’s one way to teach kids about responsible credit card use.

Every purchase your teen makes with the Blue Cash Preferred card will earn cash back. The earning potential is particularly high for purchases at U.S. supermarkets and eligible U.S. streaming services; these purchases earn 6% cash back (on up to $6,000 per year for U.S. supermarkets, then 1%). They’ll get 3% back for transit and purchases at U.S. gas stations and 1% back on other eligible purchases.

If you’re interested in getting your teenager an American Express card that earns ample cash back for ordinary purchases, the Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express is a good option. It comes with a flat 3% cash back (on up to $6,000 spent per year in each category, then 1%) on a wide range of purchases, including U.S. supermarkets, U.S. online retailers, and U.S. gas stations.

Teenagers are unlikely to get approved for this card on their own, so you’ll probably need to add them as authorized users for a $0 fee. For kids 18 and older, you may also have the opportunity to cosign the application.