Does American Express Have a Student Credit Card?
No. None of the personal cards on American Express's card list is a student card. Students usually start with a student card from another issuer or as an Additional Card Member on a parent's Amex, then apply for the no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday.
That's the short answer to the question this page gets most. The rest covers which student cards to start with (and what their issuers print about them today), how an Amex Additional Card helps you build a record, what Amex says about international students, and which Amex to apply for once you have some credit history behind you.
Step One: Start With a Student or Starter Card
A student card is built for someone with a thin or empty credit file. These three are the ones we'd look at first, with the figures each issuer shows today.
Capital One Quicksilver Rewards for Students
- $0 annual fee.
- Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase.
- A one-time $50 cash bonus once you spend $100 on purchases within 3 months of account opening.
- 5% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- 18.74% to 28.74% variable APR.
Capital One says the card may be an option whether you're at a 4-year university, a community college or another higher education institution, and checking your eligibility doesn't affect your credit score. The flat 1.5% means there's nothing to track, which suits a first card. Apply for the Quicksilver Rewards for Students.
Discover it Student Cash Back
- $0 annual fee.
- 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter, up to the quarterly maximum, when you activate.
- 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- Cashback Match: Discover matches all the cash back you earn in your first year, dollar for dollar, with no limit.
- 0% intro APR for 6 months on purchases, then 16.74% to 25.74% variable.
Cashback Match is the draw here. Say you earn $100 in cash back in your first year: Discover adds another $100 at the end of it. The catch: the 5% applies only when you activate it each quarter. Apply for the Discover it Student Cash Back.
Petal 2
- No annual membership fee, late fee or returned payment fee, and no foreign transaction fees.
- 1% to 1.5% cash back on everyday purchases.
- 28.24% to 30.24% variable APR.
- Reports to the major credit bureaus.
Petal is the pick if you aren't enrolled in school. Its pitch is "no experience necessary": you can link a bank account during the application, and Petal says bank data raises your odds of an offer if you'd otherwise be declined on your credit score alone. The cards are issued by WebBank.
Become an Additional Card Member on a Parent's Amex
This one isn't a card application at all. Amex lets a cardholder add Additional Card Members who are at least 13 years old and have never had a defaulted Amex account, and it reports account information to the credit reporting agencies for every user over 18.
So a parent with a well-run Amex can start your record before you apply for anything. The parent stays responsible for every purchase on the account, and on a card like the Blue Cash Everyday you'd carry the same card they do. Our guide on how to build credit as a college student walks through the other routes.
Step Two: What Amex Says About Getting Your Own Card
An Amex Credit Intel guide for parents says that to get a credit card in your own name, you must be at least 18 years old and have your own steady source of income.
Two Amex tools make the first application less of a gamble. On cards like the Blue Cash Everyday, Amex lets you apply with confidence: you find out whether you're approved with no impact to your credit score, and your score may be affected only if you're approved and accept the card.
For newcomers, Amex partners with Nova Credit, a free service that could help you transfer an international credit profile to a U.S. equivalent. Amex says that may let immigrants from certain countries apply with a foreign credit record instead of building credit from scratch.
If you already hold an Amex card from another country, Amex lets you apply for a U.S. card using your existing account number, as long as you're the primary cardholder and have held the card for at least 3 months. You can apply for one U.S. card that way and add more once you've built a local credit history. Without a Social Security number, our guide to getting a credit card without an SSN covers the ITIN route.
Step Three: Which Amex to Apply for First
Amex's list of no-annual-fee cards has three: the Blue Cash Everyday, the Hilton Honors American Express Card and the Delta SkyMiles Blue. For most students and recent grads, the Blue Cash Everyday is the one, because its cash back lands on everyday spending rather than one hotel or airline.
Blue Cash Everyday Card
- No annual fee.
- 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 a year in purchases (then 1%).
- 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases, on up to $6,000 a year (then 1%).
- 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, on up to $6,000 a year (then 1%).
- 1% cash back on other purchases.
- A welcome offer as high as $200 cash back after you spend $2,000 in purchases in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary, and Amex shows you yours after you apply.
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months from account opening, then 19.74% to 28.74% variable.
- Up to $7 a month in statement credits on a Disney+, Hulu or ESPN subscription paid with the enrolled card ($84 a year).
Groceries, gas and online shopping are everyday costs once you're living on your own, and those are the three 3% categories. One thing to know if you're studying abroad: the card charges a 2.7% foreign transaction fee, so it isn't the one to carry overseas. See our Blue Cash Everyday card page for the full details, or apply for the Blue Cash Everyday.
Why Not the Gold or Platinum First
The Amex Gold costs $325 a year and the Platinum costs $895. Both pay off only if you use what you're paying for, and that's hard on a student budget.
Gold: 4X points at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 a calendar year) and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 a calendar year). It carries up to $10 a month in dining credits at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory and Wonder, plus $10 a month in Uber Cash. The dining credit needs enrollment, and the Uber Cash arrives once you add the card to your Uber account.
Platinum: 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel, up to $600 a year in hotel credits (up to $300 each half year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings), a $200 airline fee credit, a $219 CLEAR+ credit and 10 Delta Sky Club visits when you fly an eligible Delta flight, along with Amex's Global Lounge Collection of 1,550+ lounges.
If you don't eat out, order in and travel enough to use those credits, a no-annual-fee card earns you more. A no-annual-fee card also costs nothing to keep open for years, and the age of your accounts counts toward your credit history.
When the Gold Starts to Make Sense
Look at the Gold once your restaurant and grocery spending is steady and you'd use the monthly dining and Uber credits without changing your habits. Say you already spend $10 a month at Five Guys or through Grubhub and take an Uber or Uber Eats order each month: you'd use both credits, and the 4X on food would sit on top.
The Platinum fits later, when you fly often enough to use the lounges and credits. If you get it and find you aren't using it, our guide to downgrading the Amex Platinum to the Gold covers the next step.
The Bottom Line
Amex doesn't list a student card, so start with a student card like the Quicksilver Rewards for Students or Discover it Student Cash Back, or ask a parent to add you as an Additional Card Member. Pay every bill on time. When you have your own income and some history, apply for the Blue Cash Everyday using Amex's no-impact approval check, and keep the Gold for when your dining spending can use its credits. If you're 18 and choosing your very first card, our guide to the best first credit cards for 18-year-olds compares more options.
Updated October 10, 2026: card offers and Amex's rules for new applicants.
