Many friends who have just arrived in the U.S. hear me talk about credit cards for the first time and think it sounds a little exaggerated: apply for a credit card, and the bank not only charges you nothing, but might even pay you back hundreds or even thousands of dollars? Use your cards for groceries, dining, and travel, earn cash back, and turn the points you collect into business class, first class, and hotels?

  • The answer is yes.

I started writing US Card 101 in 2015, and I’ve now been researching U.S. credit cards for more than ten years. At the beginning, it was actually very simple: open one or two cards, grab a little sign-up bonus, and earn some cash back from everyday spending. Later, as my credit history grew longer and I became more familiar with different banks such as Chase and AMEX and their points systems, I gradually started studying airline miles and hotel points. Over the years, credit card points really have saved our family a lot of money. From the early days when we used them for flights and hotels to take the kids to Disney, to later booking business class between the U.S. and China for my parents and in-laws, and then the Chicago–Beijing first class that the whole family has flown, many trips that would otherwise have cost a lot of cash ended up being covered by points and miles.

But I have always felt that the most important rule in credit card rewards is not “how many cards you apply for,” but rather:

  • Get more rewards on the money you were already going to spend; do not spend extra just to earn rewards.

If you get that backwards, then you are not gaming the banks — the banks are gaming you.

This post is mainly for beginners who are just starting to learn about U.S. credit cards. We will not talk about dozens of cards yet, and you do not need to learn airline miles, hotel points, and all the complicated rules on day one. First, get the most important basics down, and then learn the rest step by step.

Things beginners should remember first

If you only remember a few things from this entire article, I think the following are enough:

  • Pay your bill in full and on time every month;
  • Do not increase your spending just to earn points;
  • The most important job of your first credit card is usually to build credit history;
  • Do not apply for a card just because its bonus looks high; the order in which you apply for credit cards matters;
  • The two main ways credit cards reward you are sign-up bonuses and everyday cash back/points;
  • Learn airline miles and hotel points later; you do not need to understand everything at the start.

Once you get these things right, using U.S. credit cards is not nearly as complicated as it may seem.

1. Can U.S. credit cards really make you money?

  • Yes.

To attract new customers, U.S. banks usually offer new credit card applicants a Welcome Offer, which is what we commonly call a sign-up bonus. A common setup is: after applying for the card, you meet a certain spending requirement within a set period of time, and then you receive cash, bank points, airline miles, or hotel points. Some bonuses are worth a few hundred dollars, and when you run into a really good sign-up bonus, it is not unusual for it to be worth more than $1,000.

Using myself as an example, I earned quite a lot in my first three years in the U.S.

At that time, I did not have anything close to the complete application roadmap I have now, so looking back, there were definitely some steps I would change if I could do it over. That is also why I now recommend beginners: getting your first few cards right matters far more than chasing as many cards as possible from the start. Credit cards are a long game. Your first card is there to build credit, and only after that do you gradually start thinking about bank application rules, big bonuses, points systems, and which cards are worth keeping long term.

Yes, if you plan well, you can end up with a whole stack of cards like I do and still get far more value each year than you pay in annual fees!

2. How do credit cards mainly make money?

In simple terms, there are two main parts: sign-up bonuses + everyday spending rewards.

Sign-up bonuses

Sign-up bonuses are usually the biggest part of a credit card’s value.

Here I do not recommend memorizing how many points a certain card currently offers, because sign-up bonuses change very quickly. Today it might be 60,000 points, and a few months later it might become 80,000 points; if it reaches a historical high, it could be even higher. So a more practical approach is: before applying, compare the current bonus with the card’s past bonuses to see whether it is actually high or low.

Our constantly updated U.S. credit card sign-up bonus rankings are designed to solve exactly this problem. They bring together the credit cards that are worth paying attention to right now, so beginners can at least get a sense of which offers are at a good level, instead of opening a bank website, seeing a big number, and assuming it must be worth applying for. If your everyday spending is not very high and you are worried you will not meet the spending requirement, you can also check the credit cards with the easiest sign-up bonuses to earn. Some cards may not have the highest bonus, but their spending requirements are much lower, which makes them more practical for beginners, students, or people with relatively modest day-to-day spending.

These are the points currently in my account, and most of them were earned through sign-up bonuses. It is not an exaggeration to say that this would be enough for the whole family to travel around the world.

Everyday spending rewards

The second part is the cash back or points you earn from everyday spending. Many credit cards offer extra rewards for different categories such as dining, groceries, gas, travel, and online shopping.

After you have been playing the credit card game for a while, you will often find yourself wondering before checkout, “Which card should I use for this?” But beginners do not need to start with a dozen cards just to earn an extra 1% cash back. It is enough to find a few cards that are easy to manage and cover your main spending categories.

If you want to choose cards by spending category, you can refer to U.S. credit card rankings (by spending category). It organizes suitable cards by different spending scenarios, such as dining, groceries, and travel, and is a good fit for people who already have some credit history and want to gradually optimize their everyday card setup. If you do not want to research points, transfers, and miles at all and just want a simple way to earn money, you can go straight to cash back credit card rankings. The biggest advantage of cash back is simplicity: after you swipe, you get cash, and you do not need to think about how much airline miles are really worth.

In addition, card rewards are only part of the picture. Extra perks like AMEX Offer can also be very useful sometimes. Over the years, I have saved quite a bit through various AMEX Offers myself. Many times, I was already planning to buy something, and after stacking card offers, cash back portals, and merchant promotions, the final price ended up being much lower. Below is how much one of my AMEX cards saved me over a little more than two years thanks to its offers!

3. Who can apply for a U.S. credit card?

Having an SSN is certainly the easiest, but not having an SSN does not necessarily mean you cannot apply for a U.S. credit card. In some cases, you can use an ITIN, and the requirements vary by bank and by card product.

The real factors to look at are:

  • Whether you have an SSN or ITIN;
  • How long your U.S. credit history is;
  • Your income situation;
  • What credit cards you already have;
  • How many credit products you have applied for recently.

If you do not have an SSN, you can first read Which U.S. credit cards can you apply for with an ITIN?. This article mainly covers which issuers may allow ITIN applications and what to watch out for when you actually apply. If you do not even have a U.S. credit history yet, you can read How to build credit history in the U.S. without an SSN. For someone who has just arrived in the U.S., a more important question than "getting the highest rewards" is how to build your U.S. credit file as early as possible.

So if you have just arrived and basically have no credit history, your first goal should not be "which card has the highest rewards," but rather:

How do I get the right card first and start building credit history?

If someone else has been in the U.S. for ten years and you arrived three months ago, you are not solving the same problem, so do not copy someone else's credit card lineup.

4. How should a beginner choose their first credit card?

If you have no credit history at all, the most important thing for your first card is to build credit history, not chase the biggest sign-up bonus.

In general, you can start by looking at recommended no-annual-fee credit cards from U.S. banks. Choosing a no-annual-fee card as your first card has one very practical advantage: as long as the card still fits your needs, you can keep it for the long run without having to decide whether to close it once the annual fee kicks in in the second year. You can also look at credit cards worth keeping long term. Credit history itself is an important part of your credit score, so some old accounts with no annual fee and easy long-term retention can be very meaningful for many people.

If you already have about six months to a year of credit history, the question gradually shifts from "Can I get a credit card?" to "Which one should I apply for first?" At that point, you need to start learning each bank's application rules, such as the very well-known Chase 5/24. Simply put, some cards are not the kind you can apply for whenever you want later. If you do not plan ahead and apply for too many other cards first, it may hurt your chances with Chase and other banks later on.

So I think the easiest mistake here is: seeing the card with the highest rewards and applying for that one first. In fact, for people planning to play the credit card game long term, the order of applications is sometimes more important than whether one bonus is 10,000 points higher or lower.

That is also why we have another article, "2026 U.S. Credit Card Application Roadmap", which focuses on how to arrange your first, second, and third cards. This beginner guide just explains the concepts first and does not go into every detail.

5. What are the easiest credit card mistakes to make?

Not paying the statement balance in full and on time

This is much more serious than missing out on a few points. For most beginners, understanding Statement Balance, Due Date, and Grace Period is more important than researching which card gives 1% more cash back. If these terms are unfamiliar, you can first read When should you pay your credit card bill?. This article mainly explains what the billing date, Due Date, Statement Balance, and similar terms actually mean, and when you should pay. If you want to learn the specific steps for paying from a bank account, AutoPay, and so on, see A summary of 8 ways to pay off a credit card.

I personally prefer to set AutoPay to Statement Balance and then check it regularly myself. If you really forget, do not just let it sit; you can refer to What should you do if you forget to pay your credit card?. The sooner you handle it, the better.

Applying for cards without a plan

Once people start discovering sign-up bonuses, it is easy to see one high bonus and apply for it, then another. A few months later, they realize the card they actually wanted can no longer be approved because of bank rules. So if you plan to play the credit card game long term, it is worth planning your first few cards a little. Beginners do not need to memorize every bank rule, but they should at least know:

  • Some cards can still be applied for later if you skip them now; for some opportunities, once you get the order wrong, you may have to wait a very long time.

Premium cards with high annual fees may look great, but may not actually be worth it

Many premium credit cards now give a pile of credits for hotels, dining, airfare, airport lounges, memberships, and more. If you add up all the value the bank advertises, it can sometimes look far higher than the annual fee. But when I do the math, I always ask one question: If the card did not give me this perk, would I have paid for it myself? If the answer is no, then the real value of that perk to you is not as high as the bank makes it sound.

You should also recalculate when the second-year annual fee comes due. If it is no longer worth keeping, see whether there is a Retention Offer; some banks may be willing to give existing customers extra rewards. You can also see whether you can use a Product Change to switch to another card that fits you better, instead of simply closing the card as soon as you see the annual fee.

6. Will applying for a credit card affect your credit score?

Yes, but it does not mean "apply for one card and your credit is ruined."

Applying for a new card may trigger a Hard Inquiry, and a new account will also change your credit file, so a little short-term fluctuation is normal. But your credit score is also affected by many other factors, such as paying on time, the length of your credit history, and Credit Utilization. If you do not know what FICO, Credit Report, or Utilization means at all, you can start with An overview of credit history and credit scores. This is a good beginner introduction to the U.S. credit system. If you are more interested in "what exactly happens to my credit score after I apply for a new card," you can continue with How a new credit card affects your credit history and score.

For the average beginner, instead of watching your score every day and wondering why it is 782 today and 776 tomorrow, it is better to focus on the most important things: pay on time, do not keep your utilization too high for long periods, and do not apply for a lot of accounts in a short time without a plan. Also, if you are planning to buy a house, apply for a mortgage, or take out another important loan in the next few months, I would be more conservative. At times like that, there is no need to add extra variables just for a few hundred dollars in sign-up bonus.

Here is how my credit score changed. I have kept applying for cards here and there, and it basically has not affected my score much. A score above 780 generally gets you the bank's best loan rates. The dip in April was because my balance was a bit higher; that kind of drop usually comes back once you pay it off. And the more credit cards you have and the higher your limits are, the more confidence the bank has in your ability to repay, which can also be beneficial when you apply for loans.

7. Besides cash back, what other perks do credit cards offer?

The value of U.S. credit cards goes far beyond sign-up bonuses and everyday cash back. Different types of credit cards may also offer a lot of other benefits, such as:
  • Free checked bags on airlines;
  • Priority boarding;
  • Airport lounges;
  • Hotel elite status;
  • Free hotel night certificates;
  • Rental car insurance;
  • Travel protections for flights, baggage, and more;
  • Various merchant spending Credit.

How much all of this is really worth varies a lot from person to person. For example, if you fly more than a dozen times a year, free checked bags and airport lounges may genuinely be very useful. If you almost never fly, then there is no need to pay a high annual fee just for these perks. So the “best credit card” is never one fixed card. It is the card that best fits your spending habits and lifestyle. If you travel often, you can also keep reading Best Premium Credit Cards in the U.S.. It compares several mainstream premium travel cards side by side, which makes it easier to judge whether one fits you than simply looking at how many benefits a card lists on its website.

These are the reimbursement benefits on the AMEX Platinum card. Not exaggerating, the reimbursement benefits I get every year are greater than the $895 annual fee. In other words, AMEX is effectively paying me to hold this premium card.

8. Should you learn about points, airline miles, and hotel points now?

No.

If you just want to save money in a simple way, cash back is more than enough. After you build your credit history and start using more credit cards, you can slowly learn about bank points, airline miles, and hotel points.

At the beginning, you only need to know one thing: Some bank points can be transferred into airline miles or hotel points, and in the right redemption situations, they may be worth more than redeeming for cash directly.

For example, the U.S.-China business-class and first-class flights our family later booked with points were learned step by step along this path. But this involves many new concepts such as transfer partners, airline alliances, and award seat inventory. Beginners do not need to understand everything on day one.

If you are really interested, you can read in this order:

When you first start getting into credit cards, you do not need to read everything at once. Just know that the first-class and business-class tickets below can all be earned through credit cards for free!

9. Don’t want to miss updates? Here’s how to follow US Cards 101

US Cards 101 has been publishing since 2015. In addition to credit cards, it has also kept updating bank account bonuses, points and miles, hotels, brokerages, and all kinds of deals in U.S. life. Content like this has one feature: it changes quickly. A sign-up bonus, a bank bonus, or a points rule may be different after just a few months. If you do not want to check the site yourself every time, you can choose whichever method fits your habits:

  • WeChat Official Account: the latest site articles are updated almost every day, ideal for people who mainly use WeChat and just want to read the articles; search for US Cards 101 to follow
  • Email subscription: the site offers email subscriptions, so even if you do not use WeChat often, you can still receive updates by email; you can subscribe in the lower-right corner of the site
  • US Cards 101 WeChat group: articles are synced every day, and it is also a place to discuss credit cards, bank bonuses, points and miles, and various deals; you can add the assistant uscars101 to be invited into the reader group
  • US Cards 101 Knowledge Planet: a more active advanced discussion community, where people often share their own real data points, the latest offers, and new ideas for using points.

One thing I also find interesting about the WeChat group and Knowledge Planet is that many of the topics and updates on the site come from people chatting about them. Sometimes one person notices something, others add their own real-world data, and little by little a question worth studying on its own comes together.

10. What should beginners read next?

If you still do not know what to read next after getting this far, you can choose based on your situation:

You do not need to read everything at once. Just find the stage you are in now and read one or two articles from there.

Summary

If I were starting from zero and playing the U.S. credit card game again, I would not begin by researching dozens of cards.

I would do three things first: First, build credit history as early as possible; second, develop the habit of paying in full and on time every month; third, before applying for your second and third cards, think through the order in which you will apply for them.

Once those three things are done right, the sign-up bonuses, everyday cash back, bank points, airline miles, and hotel perks can all be added gradually over time.

U.S. credit cards really can save us a lot of money every year. If you go deeper, you really can use points to fly business class or first class that you might not have been willing to pay cash for before, or to cover flights and hotels for a family trip.

But I think the best mindset has never been: spending just to chase rewards.

It is: Since this money was going to be spent anyway, then do not waste the rewards that credit cards are giving us for free.

Beginner's Guide Series

Read these posts, and you'll be ahead of 90% of Chinese Americans in the U.S.