Best credit cards for students and first-timers we compare

Among the cards we compare, the Kotak811 Dream Different Credit Card from Kotak Mahindra Bank is first, at 2% value back on everyday spends. Rates are capped on most cards, so check the monthly limit on its page.

Yes: IDFC FIRST WOW! Credit Card, Suryoday SFB Stable Money RuPay Platinum Credit Card, OneCard (One Credit Card). They charge no joining or annual fee on the bank's own terms.

Kotak811 Dream Different Credit Card, Suryoday SFB Stable Money RuPay Platinum Credit Card. Only RuPay credit cards can be linked to UPI apps, and UPI rewards are often lower than card rewards.

Every fee, reward rate and eligibility rule comes from the issuing bank's official pages and terms, last verified 20 Oct 2026. Where a bank doesn't publish what a reward point is worth, we leave the rate blank instead of guessing.

Yes, if they meet a bank's criteria, but most cards ask for income proof that students don't have. The realistic routes are a card issued against a fixed deposit, or one whose bank says no income proof is needed; those are the cards on this page. Of them, only IDFC FIRST names students among eligible applicants (for WOW!); the others don't mention students and accept applicants from 18 who meet their own terms. Approval is always at the bank's discretion.

It's harder. On this page, OneCard is the only card not backed by a deposit: it asks for age 18 or over and a PAN, and no income proof, but it lists salaried or self-employed applicants, is offered in about 66 to 67 cities, and says people new to credit or outside those cities can get an FD-backed card instead. Other unsecured cards set an income bar, such as ₹3 lakh a year for IDFC FIRST Millennia. With no income, an FD card is the dependable way in.

Not with the cards we compare: the youngest age any of them accepts is 18. IDFC FIRST WOW! takes applicants from 18 to 80, Stable Money's Suryoday card 18 to 80, Kotak811 Dream Different 18 to 75, and Axis MY Zone Easy and OneCard from 18. Many cards without a deposit start at 21, such as Scapia and Uni GoldX.

Pick one you can get without a salary and that costs little to keep. IDFC FIRST WOW!, OneCard and Stable Money's Suryoday card charge no joining or annual fee; Kotak811 Dream Different charges a ₹424 joining fee plus GST and no annual fee, and Axis MY Zone Easy's fee table lists ₹500 to join and ₹500 a year. The table above ranks them by everyday value back. Whichever you choose, keep spends well inside the limit and pay the full bill every month, so the card builds your credit history instead of costing you interest.