Best credit card for beginner
 

I am a college student now and got a Citi Forward card in August. I have paid every bill on time and credit sesame estimates my credit score at 740. I am looking to get a "real" rewards card now. What do people recommend for my first real application? Most important factors to me are no foreign transaction fee, decent rewards program, and low minimum spend. Needless to say, it needs to be a card easy to get given my credit history.

Best credit card for beginner
 

If you don't have a preferred airline then just apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred. Meets all your requirements.

Apply for the CSP in a Chase branch and the minimum spend will be 2k instead of 3k. Good luck!

Best credit card for beginner
 

Is the csp easy to get with little credit history? What type of credit line should I expect?

^

The first question to answer is what kind of rewards are you interested in? Do you want flights, hotel points, or cash?

The second question is how much do you spend a month, and on what? Do you spend a lot on travel, or restaurants, or does it just tend to be groceries and gas?

After you answer those questions, we can provide better suggestions.

In my opinion, with the airlines devaluing their points year after year, getting miles from credit cards no longer makes sense for most people. Unless you fly a lot (particularly internationally or in premium cabins) cash back is probably the way to go, but it depends on your habits/goals.

^ +1 on that. I think getting CSP in this case is very dicey for 2 reasons.

#1, CSP is NOT a no annual fee card. We don't know the OP's spending level, so any card with an annual fee may be a bad choice.

#2, UR points were the gold standard at one point, but that was mainly due to their ability to be transferred to UACO. With the huge devaluation Mileageplus just went through, UA miles are worth a lot less, and therefore, UR points are a lot less valuable. I expect the future to see more of the same re: devaluations. :(

Best credit card for beginner
 

freedom card

When the Freedom has a good bonus, it's my favorite beginner card. However, I don't believe it has a good bonus right now.

Best credit card for beginner
 

Mostly spend money on groceries, restaurants, and random transport and Amazon expenses. I typically spend about $300 a month. Looking for flight rewards or hotel rewards. I heard that chase cards are difficult to get with little history.

I think the best single card for you right now is the Amex Blue Preferred. 6% cashback at supermarkets on the first $6000 in spending per 12 months. $75 annual fee (I think). Also gets you some online offers from Amex IIRC.

Buy gift cards for certain restaurants and gasoline and Amazon at supermarkets. For other spending, like insurance, buy $500 Visa/MC/Amex gift cards at supermarket.

Perfect card for you at your stage in life. If you want to get into levels above $6000, Sapphire Preferred is a good choice, especially for 2x travel spend. Club Carlson card is good if you stay at those hotels. 5 points per dollar on all spending, and one night free on redemptions of 2 nights or more; cannot beat certain city Radissons @ 50K for 2 nights.

You'll eventually need a V/MC in addition to the Amex. Some places don't take Amex.

Also, as you are near ORD, you should start coming to our local Chicago gatherings, posted in Community Buzz.

I never recommend them, but what about any of the 4 Hilton HH cards? They provide hotel points, and none are from Chase, two criteria the OP is looking for.

I never recommend them because I have NO faith in Hilton's endless devaluations, but the sign up bonuses are sweet.

There is also a no annual fee version of Barclay Arrival that may suit OP's needs.

There are a bunch of websites comparing Amex Blue Cash to Blue Cash Preferred to Blue Cash Everyday. YMMV, but in general, the cutoff for BCP beating no annual fee BCE is about $3000/year in spending. It takes about $12k for Blue Cash to beat BCP.

I agree that would be a great choice, but OP prefers points to cash back.

If he wants cash back, and wants no annual fee, the Sallie Mae card is another one I'd suggest.

For $300 a month, you really aren't going to get very much by way of flight or hotel rewards. At the most, you'll get 3,600 miles or points a year, and a free domestic trip every 7 years or so. There are some cards that give more than 1 mile/dollar in certain cases, but they tend to have high fees. Due to your low level of spending, I don't think anything besides a no-fee cashback card makes sense for you. I would stick with Chase Freedom, US Bank Cash+, or one of the Amex cards mentioned by others.

Sallie Mae - 5% on gas and groceries up to 250/mo + 5% on amazon up to 750/mo.
As far as AMEX, I'd go for the Blue Cash Everyday. 300 a month won't justify the fee on the BCP.

I don't think your monthly spend would justify an annual fee credit card at this time. I would start with a Freedom and Discover It combo.