7 Best Credit Cards Without a Social Security Number (SSN) in 2024

One of the most common misconceptions about credit cards is that you must be a U.S. citizen with a Social Security number (SSN) to qualify for a credit card.

Sure, in the past, it was harder to find a bank willing to offer a credit card to people without a Social Security number, but personal finance has come a very long way since then.

With the advent of technology and the desire to appeal to more individuals, banks have loosened eligibility criteria for credit cards knowing that most people are responsible, even if you don’t have a Social Security number.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best cards (both personal and business) you can open without a Social Security number!

What To Look For in a Credit Card Without a Social Security Number

In general, most major banks and financial institutions allow you to open a credit card without a Social Security number provided you have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

For U.S. citizens, your taxpayer ID number is your Social Security number. But if you’re not a U.S. citizen and have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), you can use your ITIN to apply in lieu of a Social Security number.

However, the catch here is that if you don’t have a Social Security number, chances are your credit history is very limited (or nonexistent entirely).

And with lots of the top credit cards requiring excellent credit, you may find yourself running into issues getting approved for credit cards, even if you are eligible without a Social Security number.

Ideally, the best credit cards without an SSN will also offer the best rewards and benefits possible. That’s exactly what we’ve focused on in this guide; let’s take a look at the best personal cards first!

The 4 Best Personal Cards Without a Social Security Number

Card Summary

Card	Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee	Benefits
Chase Freedom Unlimited®	Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases. Annual fee of $0	5% cash-back on travel booked through Chase Travel 3% cash-back on dining and at drugstores 1.5% cash-back on other purchases 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24%.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services 2x points on other travel purchases 10% anniversary rewards bonus
Capital One Platinum Credit Card	No welcome offer is available. Annual fee of $0 (rates & fees)	Automatic credit line reviews No foreign transaction fees (rates & fees)
Tomo Credit Card	No welcome offer is available Annual fee of $0	No credit history required Up to $10,000 in spending power Statement credits with Lyft, DoorDash, HelloFresh, and ShopRunner

Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

The top personal credit card we recommend for those without an SSN is the Freedom Unlimited card, which happens to be one of the best no-annual-fee credit cards in the business.

In general, we recommend this card for those who want to maximize rewards and can pay off bills in full regularly. Also, this credit card is best suited for those who have good to excellent credit.

Chase allows you to sign up for the Freedom Unlimited card using an ITIN, which is great news for those without an SSN.

The singular best feature of this card, however, is the rewards structure:

• 5% cash-back on travel purchased through Chase Travel
• 5% cash-back on Lyft through March 31, 2025
• 3% cash-back on dining (including takeout) and at drugstores
• 1.5% cash-back on other purchases

The second-best feature of this credit card is that you can convert your cash-back into Ultimate Rewards points if you get an Ultimate Rewards credit card. We’ll expand on that in the section below.

Meanwhile, the Freedom Unlimited card boasts travel insurance (including trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance), purchase protection, extended warranty, zero liability fraud protection, 3 complimentary months of DoorDash DashPass (activate by December 31, 2024), and access to Chase Credit Journey.

Lastly, this credit card has no additional annual fees for authorized users.

Why We Like Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

We alluded to this above, but the rewards earned from the Freedom Unlimited card can be converted at a 1% to 1x ratio if you have an Ultimate Rewards credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® or Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card.

At that point, you’ll essentially double your return on spending, since we value Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents apiece. That’s equivalent to a maximum return on spending of 10% via the Freedom Unlimited card!

You can transfer your points to travel partners for business and first class award travel.

If you don’t have an Ultimate Rewards card, you can redeem your Freedom Unlimited card’s rewards for a fixed value through statement credits, gift cards, travel bookings through Chase Travel, and Amazon.com purchases via Shop with Points.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a legendary credit card for those looking to maximize rewards. In fact, this credit card is one of the best choices for beginners.

Although this card is usually best for those with good to excellent credit, it’s not unheard of for those with a relatively limited credit history (and no SSN) to apply and get approved.

It boasts a leading welcome bonus, as well as one of the best earning structures available:

• 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel
• 5x points on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025
• 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases
• 2x points on other travel purchases
• 1x points on other purchases

But wait, it gets even better because the Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with a 10% anniversary rewards bonus on your total spend on the card in a calendar year!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit every anniversary year, plus a 25% redemption bonus on Chase travel portal bookings and Pay Yourself Back.

Also, it has a free DoorDash DashPass subscription (activate by December 31, 2024), excellent travel insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, and authorized users for no additional annual fees!

Bottom Line:The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of the best credit cards in the business. We ranked this card lower on our list because it’s generally more difficult to get approved for compared to other card options in this guide if you don’t have an SSN and established credit history.

Capital One Platinum Credit Card

The Capital One Platinum card is one of the easiest credit cards to get without an SSN and without an established credit history.

Normally, this card is best suited for those who need to rebuild or establish their credit.

This credit card doesn’t offer any rewards, which makes sense — the card’s focus is on building credit.

With this credit card, you have access to free credit score access through CreditWise, no foreign transaction fees, and contactless payments.

Surprisingly, the Capital One Platinum card has no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees), too! Of course, this card has no annual fee (rates & fees) and no additional annual fees for authorized users (rates & fees).

Bottom Line: The Capital One Platinum card is probably one of the easiest cards to get approved for if you have limited or no credit history and if you don’t have a Social Security number. Temper your expectations, though, because this card doesn’t offer anything in the way of rewards.

Tomo Credit Card

The Tomo card is an attractive credit card for the right demographic, especially for those with no, limited, or poor credit history.

No credit check is required, but you’ll need to link a bank account to your application to determine your eligibility.

You can only apply for this card after being preapproved on the site. After that, you will need to be invited in order to apply for the Tomo card.

Another important feature you’ll need to know is that this card doesn’t allow you to carry a balance.

Beyond that, you can get up to $10,000 in spending power with this card. Also, it gets up to $319 in value from its partners every year:

• Up to $60 in Lyft credits
• Up to $90 in value from DoorDash credits and 3 free months of DashPass
• Up to $90 in HelloFresh credits
• Up to $79 in value from a complimentary ShopRunner membership

Plus, this card earns 1% cash-back on all purchases.

The Tomo card reports to all 3 major credit bureaus and offers expedited weekly payments, which allows you to reduce your credit utilization ratio and maximize your credit score.

This is a World Elite Mastercard, which entitles you to benefits through Priceless Golf, Priceless Cities, World Elite Concierge, and Fandango.

Lastly, this card offers cell phone protection, emergency assistance services, zero fraud liability, theft alerts, and more.

The 3 Best Business Cards Without a Social Security Number

Now that we’ve extensively covered the best personal cards to get without a Social Security number, let’s dive right into the best business cards to get!

Card Summary

Card	Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee	Benefits
Capital One Spark Miles for Business	Earn 50,000 miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months. Annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, $95 after that	5x miles on rental cars and hotels booked through Capital One Travel 2x miles on other purchases Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit Purchase security Zero fraud liability protection No foreign transaction fees
Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business	Earn a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Annual fee of $0	5x miles on rental cars and hotels booked through Capital One Travel 1.5x miles on other purchases Purchase security Zero fraud liability protection No foreign transaction fees
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card	Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months. Annual fee of $0	5% cash-back at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services on the first $25,000 in combined purchases every cardmember year 2% cash-back at gas stations and restaurants on the first $25,000 in combined purchases every cardmember year Travel insurance, including primary rental car coverage Purchase protection Zero liability fraud protection

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

A great business card to apply for if you don’t have an SSN is the Capital One Spark Miles card. Based on what we’ve seen, Capital One business cards are fairly straightforward to get approved for if you don’t have an SSN, as long as you have an EIN and an ITIN.

Currently, the Capital One Spark Miles card earns up to 5x Capital One miles on your purchases:

• 5x miles on rental cars and hotels booked via Capital One Travel
• 2x miles on other purchases

Earning 2x miles on all purchases is an impressive benefit from a business credit card, and those rewards can add up quickly.

In addition, you’ll also enjoy a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, and zero fraud liability for unauthorized purchases.

Lastly, there’s purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, and no-additional-cost employee cards.

Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business

Another great credit card to consider is the less premium version of the Capital One Spark Miles card: the Capital One Spark Miles Select card.

At the moment, there’s a small welcome bonus, plus up to 5x Capital One miles earned on purchases:

• 5x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel
• 1.5x miles on other purchases

You’ll notice that the card also has purchase protection, extended warranty, roadside assistance, zero liability fraud protection, no foreign transaction fees, and no-additional-cost employee cards.

Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card

The very last credit card we’ll discuss is the Ink Business Cash card, which we consider to be one of the best business credit cards available, even though it has no annual fee.

You’ll find up to 5% cash-back rewards on the Ink Business Cash card:

• 5% cash-back at office supply stores and cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services on the first $25,000 in combined purchases every cardmember anniversary year
• 5% cash-back on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025
• 2% cash-back at gas stations and restaurants on the first $25,000 in combined purchases every cardmember anniversary year
• 1% cash-back on other purchases

Your cash-back rewards are convertible to Ultimate Rewards points if you hold an Ultimate Rewards card such as the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

That means you can earn a maximum of 10% return on spending when your rewards are converted to Ultimate Rewards points, based on our valuations of Chase points at 2 cents each.

To close out the card’s features, the Ink Business Cash card has primary car rental coverage, purchase protection, zero liability fraud protection, extended warranty, and no-additional-cost employee cards.

Final Thoughts

Overall, you still have lots of options for credit cards even if you don’t have a Social Security number.

The major financial institutions usually require an ITIN to apply for personal credit cards, while there are a few obscure names like Tomo that don’t require any credit history or Social Security number to qualify for a credit card.

On the business cards front, you’ll need to supply your EIN in addition to your ITIN to qualify for most worthwhile business cards.

That being said, the best issuers to focus on in terms of ease of approval and rewards is Capital One. Chase is always an option, but its credit cards are usually more difficult to get.

All in all, you have all of the top picks for the best cards if you don’t have an SSN, both personal and business.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

The information regarding the Tomo Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.