It’s important to establish credit and the best way to do that is with a credit card. However, what kind of card should you choose? It depends on how far along you are with your credit history and how you intend to use the card. There are student cards, low interest cards, business cards, and personal credit cards with airline miles and rewards.

Student credit cards are great for students that are 18 years or older just starting to establish their credit history. These type of cards are usually at an interest rate that is not too high, usually around 15%. Some credit card companies even offer a 0% APR for three to six months on purchases as an incentive for the new card member to start using it. There may also be rewards for your purchases that can total up for cash back, or can be redeemed for items such as gas, restaurant, or department store gift cards.

If you aren’t a student or trying to repair your credit, you can also apply for a secured card. You send in a specific amount of money, let’s say $500 and the credit card company sends you a major credit card you can use anywhere with that limit. It’s used like a debit card and whenever the limit is low, you can send more money to build it up. Make sure this type of card actually will help you with your credit rating, otherwise you might as well have bank debit card.

If you are already established with a very good credit rating, you may qualify for a 0% APR on purchases or that could run as long as one year, then goes to the regular APR. Many offer free balance transfers from other personal credit cards. Credit card companies often team up with large businesses such as airlines and department stores for branded credit card offers to receive rewards from that particular company. For instance, if you use a credit card branded by ABC Airlines you receive airline miles for your purchases. However, most of these cards have an annual fee so you need to determine if you will use it enough to gain miles to redeem. Often, the threshold for a free ticket is so high it’s almost impossible to reach.

Getting a simple personal card with basic rewards for cash back or gift cards is usually the best way to go. That way, even if you don’t use it often you will still most likely qualify to receive something back. The point system is usually one point for every one dollar spent. So, if you spend $5000 within a six month period on that card, you’ll have approximately 5000 points to redeem. This will usually get you a gift card or cash back of about $25.

Business cards are available for business owners, directors and business executives. They come with most features of a personal card, but also have features that benefit the user with airline miles and rewards. Some banks and credit card companies can set up specific features on a business card that are beneficial to running a business and not available on a personal card. Business cards usually have airline miles since the balances usually tend to be higher and rewards redeemed faster.