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★ BEST CARDS FOR BUILDING CREDIT185 UNITED KINGDOM CARDS TRACKEDNO BIAS · NO SIGNUP
Best For — Building or rebuilding credit

The best credit cards for building credit in United Kingdom

For people building or rebuilding credit, the best cards are starter and secured cards with lenient approval that report to the credit bureaus every month, carry no (or a tiny) annual fee, and give you a real path to graduate to a better card. We track 185 United Kingdom cards.

*An underserved giant — one of the largest segments by demand.

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The profile

Who this guide is for

  • You have thin, fair, or no credit history yet
  • You've been declined for mainstream rewards cards
  • You want a card that reports to the bureaus to build your score
  • A refundable deposit (secured card) is fine if approval is easier
The shortlist

Top cards for building credit in United Kingdom

8 ranked
№ 8
NewDayMastercard

Pulse Mastercard

Cash BackNo Annual Fee
  • Earns 0.25% back on groceries — one of your biggest spending categories
  • £0/yr annual fee
  • Earns 0.25% on Other
  • Cash Back card
Annual fee£0per year
Est. first-year value+£29Not yet checked with NewDay
No application link on file · apply through NewDayRead our review →
Method

How we picked

We start from every card we hold in United Kingdom, keep those that suit people building or rebuilding credit, and rank them on estimated first-year value for a typical people building or rebuilding credit profile: rewards from the card's earn rates, plus a welcome offer the page can print, minus the annual fee. A card whose annual fee we cannot state ranks after every card whose fee we can. Nothing here is pay-to-rank. Business cards appear only on business guides, student cards only on student guides, and prepaid cards on none. A figure we do not hold is shown as “Not confirmed”, never as a zero.

More guides

Best cards for other people

TravelersFrequent FlyersInternational JetsettersPoints OptimizersHotel LoyalistsBudget BackpackersDigital NomadsBusiness TravelersCruise LoversRoad TrippersBusinessSole ProprietorsStartup FoundersE-commerce SellersCorporate / EnterpriseContractors & TradesReal-Estate InvestorsNo Credit / First CardBad Credit / RebuildFair CreditSecured CardsThin FilePost-BankruptcyYoung AdultsStudentsUndergraduatesGrad StudentsInternational StudentsStudent Cash BackStudent TravelCash BackFlat-Rate Cash BackGrocery MaximizerGas & CommutersDining & FoodiesOnline ShoppersStreaming & SubscriptionsRent PayersProfessionalsDoctorsNursesTeachersLawyersTech WorkersGovernment / Public SectorFirst RespondersAccountants & FinanceFamiliesNew ParentsLarge HouseholdsSingle ParentsCommuter FamiliesTeens (Authorized Users)ExecutivesLuxury TravelersAffluent High-IncomePrivate BankingMulti-Card StrategistsConcierge SeekersSeniorsFixed-Income RetireesSnowbirdsRetiree Cash BackNewcomersNew ImmigrantsWork-Visa HoldersReturning ExpatsFreelancersSelf-EmployedRideshare & DeliveryContent CreatorsSide HustlersLow Interest & DebtBalance TransferLow Ongoing APRDebt Consolidation0% Big Purchase
Questions

Frequently asked

What is the best credit card for people building or rebuilding credit in United Kingdom?

The best card for people building or rebuilding credit in United Kingdom depends on your exact spending and credit. The shortlist above holds 8 cards for this profile, each chosen because it fits people building or rebuilding credit: starter and secured cards with lenient approval that report to the credit bureaus every month, carry no (or a tiny) annual fee, and give you a real path to graduate to a better card.

How did you choose these cards for people building or rebuilding credit?

We start from every card we hold in United Kingdom, keep those that suit people building or rebuilding credit, and rank them on estimated first-year value for a typical people building or rebuilding credit profile: rewards from the card's earn rates, plus a welcome offer the page can print, minus the annual fee. A card whose annual fee we cannot state ranks after every card whose fee we can. Nothing here is pay-to-rank.

Why do some cards show no annual fee figure?

Because we hold no confirmed figure for it. Our fee column used to default to zero, and many cards still carry a zero that no check has confirmed — so a zero on its own cannot be told apart from a field nobody filled in, and printing “£0” there would invent a price. A card shows a fee where a positive one is on record, or where a zero was confirmed against the issuer's terms; otherwise the slot reads “Not confirmed”, and the issuer's own page is the place to check before you apply.

How are these cards ranked?

By that estimated value, computed by the same rules for every card, with one adjustment: a card that matches this guide's goal gains 15% of its estimated value (at least 25) in the ordering, so it can rank above a card with a higher estimated value. The figure printed on each pick is the estimate itself, without that adjustment. Our methodology page sets the rules out in full. Each card's review page marks which of its figures a published document states.