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All 4 cards — sorted by credit requirement, easiest first
Firstcard Secured Credit Builder
Firstcard
Fee
Free
Deposit
$100
Check
Soft
- Passport or ITIN accepted — no SSN required
- No hard credit inquiry, no US credit history needed
- FDIC insured, Mastercard Zero Liability fraud protection
Builds credit toward future unsecured cards
Capital One Platinum Secured
Capital One
Fee
Free
Deposit
$49
Check
Hard
- ITIN accepted in place of SSN
- Low minimum deposit — $49, $99, or $200 depending on creditworthiness
- Reports to all 3 credit bureaus; free CreditWise monitoring included
May automatically upgrade to unsecured Platinum after 6 months of on-time payments
Capital One Quicksilver Student Cash Rewards
Capital One
Fee
Free
Deposit
None
Check
Hard
- ITIN accepted for F-1/J-1 students; proof of enrollment required
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, no cap
- No foreign transaction fees — great for international transfers
American Express (Global Card Transfer)
American Express
Fee
Free
Deposit
None
Check
Hard
- Transfer your existing Amex account from your home country to a new US card
- Must have held your home-country Amex card for at least 3 months in good standing
- Supported countries include Canada, UK, Australia, India, Mexico and more
These are direct issuer links, not affiliate links. We earn nothing from these applications.
After about 12 months of on-time payments
Ready to upgrade? These US cards are next.
Requires a US SSN. If you don't have one yet, keep building until you obtain one — then follow the no-credit roadmap.
Capital One Platinum
No annual fee
Discover it Student
No annual fee
Chase Freedom Unlimited
No annual fee
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