The main card types
- Unsecured cards (standard) – need fair–excellent credit; best rewards/limits.
- Secured cards – you leave a refundable cash deposit; great for building or rebuilding credit.
- Student cards – easier approval, basic rewards, no/low fees.
- Business cards – for company expenses; may require personal guarantee.
- Store/retail cards – easy to get, but high APR and limited use.
- Charge cards – no preset spending limit; must pay in full monthly.
Key terms to know
- APR: interest rate if you carry a balance (varies by credit & market).
- Grace period: usually ~21–25 days; pay in full to avoid interest on purchases.
- Annual fee: many $0 options; fees can make sense if rewards/perks exceed cost.
- Intro offers: 0% purchase/balance-transfer promos (watch the transfer fee).
- Cash advance: expensive—fee + no grace period + higher APR (avoid).
- Credit limit & utilization: try to keep usage <30% (ideally <10%) of your limit.
How to choose (quick picker)
- New to credit / rebuilding → Secured card with $200–$500 deposit; ensure it reports to all 3 bureaus and can graduate to unsecured.
- Everyday cash-back → No-annual-fee card with flat 1.5–2% back, or 3–5% categories you actually spend in.
- Frequent traveler → Travel card with no foreign transaction fees, strong sign-up bonus, and transferable points.
- Large purchase coming → 0% intro APR on purchases for 12–21 months; set auto-pay to clear before promo ends.
- High-interest debt → 0% balance-transfer card (mind the 3–5% fee; pay it off within promo).
Approval basics (what issuers look for)
- Credit score/history (prior on-time payments help a lot).
- Income (enough to repay), debt-to-income, and recent hard inquiries.
- US address and typically SSN (many issuers also accept ITIN).
New to the U.S.? Start with a secured or student card, or a newcomer program; add yourself as an authorized user on a trusted person’s long, clean account to seed history.
Build (and protect) your credit
- Set autopay in full (or at least minimum + manual payoff).
- Keep utilization low; ask for credit limit increases after 6–12 months.
- Keep your oldest account open (age of credit matters).
- Check free reports (Experian/Equifax/TransUnion) and dispute errors.
- Fraud protection: $0 liability from issuers; use chargebacks for undelivered/defective goods.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Carrying a balance “to build credit” (myth—on-time payments and low utilization build credit).
- Applying for many cards at once (multiple hard pulls can ding your score).
- Ignoring annual fee vs. value math.
- Using cash advances.
If you tell me your goal (build credit, cash back, travel, 0% promo), credit tier (poor/fair/good/excellent), and whether you’re new to the U.S., I’ll map 2–3 card types that fit and a step-by-step to get approved fast.