Best Credit Cards of August 2022

Best Credit Cards of August 2022

The five best credit cards for beginners from credit cards that virtually anybody can be approved for two ones that will literally pay you to use them. 

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The number five is the DISCOVER IT Secured Credit Card. The recommended credit score for this card is between 306 and 629 This is one of if not the best-secured credit cards on the market today. For starters, the credit card has no annual fee. It has perks and rewards that are better than even some regular traditional credit cards and has a pretty remarkable signup bonus.

All of which we'll talk about in a second the discover secured credit card is a first-class credit card perfect for anybody with either no established credit or bad credit. This card will help you to build your credit by allowing you to put down a security deposit which will then act as your line of credit. 

And of course, the security deposit is fully refundable if you ever decide to close the card or upgrade in the future and unlike most other secured credit cards this card will actually tell you when you're eligible for an upgrade to a regular credit card and we'll give you your deposit back from this point you can keep your Discover card.

But it may also be a good idea to go and open up a new unsecured credit card to continue building your credit profile and some of the later credit cards on this list will be a perfect fit when it comes to rewards and perks. The Discover secured credit card is completely unmatched against its competitors for starters.

The entire first year that you have the credit card discover will match all of your cashback dollars for the dollar and what's even better is that there is no limit to how much they'll match if you earn $25 in cash back your first year then they'll match you $25 If you earn $1,000 Your first year in cashback then discover will give you $1,000.

And speaking of cashback you'll also earn 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations up to $1,000 every quarter and you'll earn 1% cash back on all other purchases. In addition to the rewards, there are also some additional perks for starters, payments on your credit card are reported to all three credit agencies which help you build credit.

And even though you shouldn't be missing payments discover won't charge a late fee on your first late payment. You'll also get free access to your FICO score and free fraud protection alerts and the card comes with a $0 fraud liability guarantee. In addition to all of this, you can also see if you're pre-approved for one of the discovered unsecured standard credit cards without it actually harming your credit score.

If you don't want to use the Discover it card or perhaps you applied for it and were somehow declined. An alternative credit card that you can use is the Capital One platinum secured credit card this card is very similar to the Discover card with the exception of the reward.

Unfortunately, this card does not have any rewards and it also does not have a signup bonus but it does have very flexible security deposit requirements and it has a $0 annual fee, and just like with the Discover card the recommended credit score ranges between 306 to 629 which makes it a perfect option for somebody with no established credit or even bad credit. 

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The number four is the PETAL 2 Visa Credit Card. The recommended credit score range for this card is between 630 and 850. Now what makes the PETAL 2 standout aside from it being a great credit card for beginners is that the credit card does not charge any fees no late fees, foreign transaction fees, no annual fees, or any other kind of fee.

The card also comes with some really great rewards and perks but more on that soon. The PETAL 2 is a great card for anybody trying to build their credit score as a beginner to be approved the credit card looks beyond just your traditional FICO score. Instead pedal uses a unique algorithm that looks at things like your income savings and spending habits to determine your eligibility.

And so if you are brand new to the world of credit, but you have a steady job, then you'll likely be eligible for this card. The PETAL 2 also has some really great rewards and perks for starters, you'll earn 1% cash back on everything and then after 12 months of on-time payments, you'll start earning 1.5% cash back on all purchases. 

Best Credit Cards Of August 2022: Reviews, Rewards & Offers

You can also earn a whopping 10% cash back on select merchants from the PETAL app you can enable your locations to have PETAL automatically find cashback opportunities around you additionally the PETAL 2 also reports all of your credit activity to all three major agencies and so if you're using the credit card responsibly by making on-time payments and not carrying balances over from month to month.

Then you can expect your credit score to improve quickly and because this is a Visa card it also comes with certain visa benefits, for example, you'll get car rental collision insurance, death protection, and roadside assistance with the PETAL 2. PETAL 2 also has a great app full of Easy account management and budgeting tools that can help you with your overall finances.

And if you cannot be approved for the PETAL 2 cards a great alternative is actually the PETAL 1 card the pedal one is actually specifically designed for people who don't have a strong enough cash flow or credit history to be approved for the PETAL 2 the major difference between these two cards is that the PETAL 1 does not give you that 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

Instead, you'll only earn 10% cash back at select merchants, which is basically just a fancy way of saying that you're probably not going to get much cash back overall though the PETAL 1 is still a great alternative. It also has no fees just like the PETAL 2 does not require a security deposit and is still a great card for beginners who are trying to build up their credit history.

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And number three is the Capital One Quicksilver cash reward credit card. The recommended credit score range for this card is between 630 and 689. This is an average credit card if you have an average credit score, but you still want an unsecured credit card that has average rewards.

Now, I must warn you this is the only credit card on this list that does have an annual fee and it comes in at $39 per year. However, if you plan on spending more than $2,600 per year with this credit card.

Then the card will essentially pay for itself. This is a good credit card for somebody who spent a few months building their credit score using a secured credit card or a student credit card and are ready to transition into a traditional unsecured credit card.

And because these credit cards will accept a fair credit score the odds of you being approved are much greater than if you have a thinner credit file and can't be approved for any of the other credit cards on this list.

Such as numbers one and two overall though this credit card should act as a stepping stone that will help you to reach a better credit score which in turn will help you to reach better credit cards.

In terms of the rewards, unfortunately, this card does not have any signup bonus however, you will still get 1.5% cash back on everyday purchases typically with credit cards you're sacrificing rewards when you go with a card that accepts lower credit scores. Once you start getting into the higher-tier credit cards such as number one and two on this list, then things start looking a whole lot better. 

As far as the perks this credit card has a few minor ones for starters, you'll automatically be considered for a higher credit limit after six months of consistently using the card. Additionally, the credit card has other basic perks such as a free credit score and zeroes fraud liability now a good alternative credit card two is the Capital One platinum credit card this card also has a low credit score threshold that makes getting approved easy now.

The good news is that this credit card does not charge any annual fees like the last credit card but the bad news is that you don't get any benefits and so you could go with the Capital One Quicksilver One Cash Rewards Credit Card pay an annual fee of $39 in order to get that 1.5% cash back on all purchases or you could avoid the annual fee.

But not get any cash back rewards programs ultimately just remember that these are both building block credit cards you're not going to be here forever because eventually you will be able to apply and be approved for some of these next credit cards on the list.

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Number two is the Citi Custom Cash Credit Card. The recommended credit score for this card is between 690 and 850. The city custom cash card is relatively new in the credit card world but it's a real contender against other similar credit cards such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited or the DISCOVER IT. The city custom cash card has a very impressive reward system that is hard to beat signup bonus and no annual fee. 

The city custom cash card is a great option for anybody who has some established credit and a good credit score. And so for example, if you've already had the discover it secured credit card or the PETAL 2 card for several months now and you've been using those cards consistently and you've built up some good credit history then this card is an awesome next step for a number of reasons. 

For starters, let's talk about the signup bonus, you'll earn $200 In cash back after you spend $750 Within the first three months after opening the card. In addition to the signup bonus are the rewards which are some of the best that I've seen. You'll earn 5% cash back on up to $500 every quarter on your highest spending category with other similar credit cards such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited or the discover it you get 5% cash back on rotating categories.

And so for example, from January to March, you might get 5% cash back on groceries and fitness club purchases. From April to June the category may rotate to target and gas stations and from July to September they might rotate again to say amazon.com and restaurants and the categories will rotate every single quarter. 

In addition, the rewards have to be activated every quarter. And so for example, in April, you can't just go to the gas station, swipe your card and expect to get the 5% cash back automatically because if you didn't activate that category, then you won't get the reward. However, this is not the case with the city custom cash card with this card the rewards are automated.

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If one quarter you spent the most money on groceries then the 5% category would automatically be applied to groceries if the next quarter you spend more money on gas because gas prices have skyrocketed then the 5% will automatically be applied to your gas station purchases.

It's a 5% Rewards Card on autopilot and on top of that 5% cash back you'll also get 1% cash back on all other purchases and so anything that does not fall into that 5% category, you'll still get 1% cash back on additional perks include a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months and like most credit cards nowadays you'll also get free access to your FICO score and fraud protection and zero liability on unauthorized purchases.

Unfortunately, the however city has cut many of the perks that would make this a number one contender, for example, they no longer offer any kind of rental car insurance cell phone protection, travel, and emergency assistance trip cancellation insurance, or anything else like that. 

Now a good alternative credit card to the Citi custom cash card is the Citi Double Cashback Card. The Citi Double Cashback credit card is exactly what it sounds like it'll pay you 2% cashback on everything. There are no requirements, no rotating categories that you have to keep up with, and activating just 2% cash back on all purchases is simply easy to the point.

Additionally, this card also has no annual fees and the required credit score is between 690 and 850. Unfortunately though, aside from the 2% cashback, the credit card does not offer any type of signup bonus and also has very low perks which is the reason why it's only a sidekick but that's not a sidekick.

#1. NUMBER

The number one credit card on the list is the Chase Freedom Flex. The recommended credit score range for this card is between 690 and 850. The Chase Freedom Flex is arguably the best credit card on the market today for cashback rewards for starters, even though the credit card has a very lucrative reward system that could earn you 1000s of dollars and cashback rewards per year.

Does it still have a $0 annual fee Who is this credit card actually for? Well, anybody who likes free money that's who. No, but seriously if you've made it through all the other cards on this list, you have a good to excellent credit score with several months worth of good consistent credit history and you want a credit card that will give you wallet-fattening rewards and this credit card is for you.

For starters, the Chase Freedom flexible earns you $200 In cashback bonuses in the first three months after you spend $500 Then you'll earn 5% cash back on rotating categories up to $1,500 every quarter so far this year these bonus categories have been grocery stores and eBay amazon.com and select streaming services.

And in previous years we've seen Walmart and PayPal home improvement stores, gas stations and so far. In addition to that 5% cashback and rotating categories, you will also earn 5% cash back on travel when you book through Chase unlimited rewards. You'll also earn 3% cash back on dining which includes both takeout and delivery services and 3% cash back on drugstore purchases.

And on top of all of that, you'll still earn 1% cash back on all other purchases and if things couldn't get any better, well then I'd be lying to you because on top of the rewards you'll also get extremely flexible perks for example when you use your Chase Freedom flex card you'll get purchase protection, extended warranty protection, car rental Collision Damage protection, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, cellphone insurance fraud protection, free access to your credit score.

And believe it or not, much more. You'll also get a 0% intro APR for the first 15 months after opening the card. Now a really good alternative credit card that can also be combined with the Chase Freedom flex Shoukry a powerful duo is the Chase Freedom unlimited this card offers many of the same perks and benefits as the freedom flex but has a slightly different reward system with this card you'll still get the $200 signup bonus the 0% APR 5% cash back at gas stations within the first year and it has no annual fee.

You'll also still earn all the other cashback bonuses, but the only difference is that instead of getting the 5% cash back on rotating categories, you'll simply get a 1.5% cash back on all purchases. And so even though Chase Freedom unlimited does not have the rotating categories. It can still act as a really good daily driver credit card because of that 1.5% cash back on all purchases.