Can I get a credit card with just an ITIN?

Sometimes. Some issuers accept an ITIN in place of an SSN and some do not — it is set by each issuer rather than by a market-wide rule, and issuers change it. The only reliable answer for a specific card is that issuer’s own stated requirements, which is what the table on this page records, with a source and a date.

Do I need an SSN to get a U.S. credit card?

Not always. An SSN widens your options, but it is not universally required — some issuers will consider an ITIN, and some newcomer-focused products evaluate other documentation. What is required is decided by the issuer, so check the issuer’s own requirements before applying.

Which secured cards accept an ITIN?

Among the researched secured and credit-building cards, the issuer states an ITIN is accepted at application for the Capital One Platinum Secured, Capital One Quicksilver Secured, Firstcard, and Citi Secured cards, and OpenSky recognises an ITIN through its application-status tool. Each of those is an identifier check, not a decision on your application — see the table for the exact source and date on every row.

Does Chime accept an ITIN?

No. Chime’s Credit Builder card requires a Chime Checking account first, and Chime states a valid SSN is required to open that account — so an ITIN alone is not accepted at account opening. The table records this with the issuer source and the date it was verified.

Does Bank of America’s secured card accept an ITIN?

It is not confirmed for this card. The available evidence is third-party and concerns opening a bank account in person, not this secured-card application, and Bank of America publishes no card-specific ITIN statement we could cite. The table marks it “Conditional” and shows that transparency note rather than implying acceptance.

Which cards don’t do a hard credit check?

Where an issuer states on its own page that it does not perform a hard credit pull, that is recorded with its source. Where an issuer does not state it, this page says “Not stated” rather than guessing — an application that adds an unexpected hard inquiry is exactly the outcome this resource exists to help you avoid.

Why was I denied even though I have a good income?

Because income is usually not the gate that failed. Issuers still verify your identity and many still check your credit, and a very new U.S. file can fail both regardless of what you earn. This is common enough among newcomers that it has its own guide: “Denied a secured card even with good income?”

Which Credit Cards Accept an ITIN?

An issuer-neutral, sourced record of what secured and credit-building card issuers actually state about ITIN applicants — with the evidence, source, and verification date shown for every claim.

By Heather Manuel · Co-founder, First Year Credit

Some secured and credit-building card issuers accept an ITIN as an application identifier, while others require an SSN or do not publicly state a policy. The table below covers researched secured and credit-building cards reviewed by First Year Credit. Accepting an ITIN as an application identifier does not indicate approval.

Where a first card sits in the order

A card is not step one. Building credit is a sequence, and applying out of order is how newcomers end up with a run of hard inquiries and nothing to show for it. Roughly, the order is:

Get your SSN or ITIN in place — the identity document issuers verify.
Open a U.S. bank account, which several cards need to fund a deposit or link an account.
Open your first reporting account — often a secured or credit-building card (some need a refundable deposit, a linked U.S. bank account, or an existing account with the same provider) — the step that actually starts your score.
Use it lightly and pay on time, every month.
Later, some cards let you graduate to an unsecured product.

This page is the ITIN and card-compatibility piece of that sequence. For the full first-year plan, see the right order to build U.S. credit and the newcomer credit roadmap.

How we read the evidence

We don’t rank these cards and no issuer can pay to appear here. Each row is taken from an issuer’s own evidence (or, where labelled, aggregated third-party sources), with a link and a verification date — never inferred.

Every row is labelled with one of four states. They describe only what an issuer’s evidence says about accepting an ITIN as an identifier — not whether an application would be approved.

Accepted: The issuer’s own evidence states an ITIN is accepted as an identifier at the stage shown.
Conditional: Accepted only under a stated condition — for example at in-person account opening, or for a specific applicant type.
Not accepted: The issuer’s evidence shows an ITIN alone does not satisfy the requirement (for example, a valid SSN is required).
Not stated: The issuer does not publicly state a product-specific ITIN policy. We record that as-is — we never infer it.

Status and source are two separate things

The status above is the compatibility finding. Separately, each row names the source the finding rests on — its provenance quality, which is a different thing from the finding itself:

Issuer page: The source is owned by the issuer or provider and supports the stated claim.
Aggregated sources: Available third-party evidence is qualified, and is not issuer confirmation.
General guidance / none: An issuer-owned or educational source may exist, but it does not state a product-specific policy for the card.

Accepting an ITIN as an application identifier does not indicate approval.

ITIN compatibility by card

Scope: this covers a researched set of secured and credit-building cards — it is not a complete inventory of the U.S. credit-card market, and it grows as issuer evidence is verified. ITIN, passport, and later-step caveats are shown separately.

ITIN acceptance by card, from the researched secured and credit-building set. Each row shows what the issuer’s evidence states, the stage it applies to, the source, and the date verified.
Card	ITIN accepted?	Stage	What the evidence states	Source	Last verified
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards SecuredBank of America	Conditional	at account opening	Available third-party evidence indicates Bank of America may accept an ITIN for in-person bank account opening. It does not confirm ITIN acceptance for this secured-card application, and no issuer statement specific to this card was found. The evidence concerns account opening, not the secured-card application.	No issuer URL. Recorded from the signed-off compatibility audit (aggregated third-party sources), not from an issuer statement — see Sources & methodology below.	2026-07-17
Capital One Platinum SecuredCapital One	Accepted	at application	Capital One names the Platinum Secured card among cards applicants may seek using an ITIN. This means Capital One accepts an ITIN as an application identifier; it does not indicate approval.	Issuer page	2026-07-17
Capital One Quicksilver SecuredCapital One	Accepted	at application	Capital One names the Quicksilver Secured card among cards applicants may seek using an ITIN. This means Capital One accepts an ITIN as an application identifier; it does not indicate approval.	Issuer page	2026-07-17
Chime Credit Builder VisaChime	Not accepted	at account opening	Chime requires a valid SSN to open the Checking account that the Credit Builder card depends on, so an ITIN is not accepted at account opening.	Issuer page	2026-07-17
Citi Secured MastercardCiti	Accepted	at application	Citi's Secured card application asks for an SSN or ITIN. This means Citi accepts an ITIN as an application identifier; it does not indicate approval.	Issuer page	2026-07-17
Discover it SecuredDiscover · issuer of record: Capital One, N.A.	Not stated	at application	Discover does not publicly state a product-specific ITIN policy for the Discover it Secured card. Its general educational content discusses ITINs for some issuers without committing to this product, so the status is not stated.	Issuer page (general guidance)	2026-07-17
Firstcard SecuredFirstcard	Accepted	at application	Firstcard states that applicants may use an SSN or ITIN when applying. Accepting an ITIN as an identifier does not indicate approval.	Issuer page	2026-07-17
OpenSky Secured VisaOpenSky / Capital Bank	Accepted	via the issuer's application-status tool	OpenSky's application-status tool recognizes an ITIN as an applicant identifier, accepting the last four digits of an SSN or ITIN to locate an application. This is evidence from the application-status tool, not a general application promise. Accepting an identifier does not indicate an application outcome.	Issuer page	2026-07-17

Passport acceptance

A separate identity path, recorded only where an issuer states it — kept apart from ITIN acceptance above.

Card	Passport accepted?	Stage	What the evidence states	Source	Last verified
Firstcard Secured	Conditional	at identity verification	Firstcard's FAQ describes a passport path conditional on being an international student who does not have an SSN; a passport is accepted at identity verification only under that condition.	Issuer page	2026-07-17

Later-step caveats

These apply after the account exists — for example, graduating a secured card to unsecured. They are not application requirements and do not affect whether an ITIN is accepted to apply.

Citi Secured Mastercard — A Social Security number must be on file to graduate the account to an unsecured card. This applies at the graduation stage and is not an application requirement. (at graduation (a later step)) · Issuer page · verified 2026-07-17

Common questions

Can I get a credit card with just an ITIN?: Sometimes. Some issuers accept an ITIN in place of an SSN and some do not — it is set by each issuer rather than by a market-wide rule, and issuers change it. The only reliable answer for a specific card is that issuer’s own stated requirements, which is what the table on this page records, with a source and a date.
Do I need an SSN to get a U.S. credit card?: Not always. An SSN widens your options, but it is not universally required — some issuers will consider an ITIN, and some newcomer-focused products evaluate other documentation. What is required is decided by the issuer, so check the issuer’s own requirements before applying.
Which secured cards accept an ITIN?: Among the researched secured and credit-building cards, the issuer states an ITIN is accepted at application for the Capital One Platinum Secured, Capital One Quicksilver Secured, Firstcard, and Citi Secured cards, and OpenSky recognises an ITIN through its application-status tool. Each of those is an identifier check, not a decision on your application — see the table for the exact source and date on every row.
Does Chime accept an ITIN?: No. Chime’s Credit Builder card requires a Chime Checking account first, and Chime states a valid SSN is required to open that account — so an ITIN alone is not accepted at account opening. The table records this with the issuer source and the date it was verified.
Does Bank of America’s secured card accept an ITIN?: It is not confirmed for this card. The available evidence is third-party and concerns opening a bank account in person, not this secured-card application, and Bank of America publishes no card-specific ITIN statement we could cite. The table marks it “Conditional” and shows that transparency note rather than implying acceptance.
Which cards don’t do a hard credit check?: Where an issuer states on its own page that it does not perform a hard credit pull, that is recorded with its source. Where an issuer does not state it, this page says “Not stated” rather than guessing — an application that adds an unexpected hard inquiry is exactly the outcome this resource exists to help you avoid.
Why was I denied even though I have a good income?: Because income is usually not the gate that failed. Issuers still verify your identity and many still check your credit, and a very new U.S. file can fail both regardless of what you earn. This is common enough among newcomers that it has its own guide: “Denied a secured card even with good income?”

Why you can be denied even with a good income

Finding a card that accepts an ITIN is only half the problem. Newcomers are regularly declined — including for secured cards — despite a strong income, and it is rarely about the money. Issuers still verify your identity, and many still check your credit; when your U.S. file is empty or only weeks old, both of those checks can fail. No U.S. credit history is not bad credit — it means there is no file to read. Read the full explanation of why this happens.

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Sources & methodology

Card-specific rows are sourced to each issuer’s own published evidence, or — where clearly labelled — to aggregated third-party reports that are never presented as issuer policy. Every row carries the date it was last verified against its source. Issuer rules change, so rows are re-verified on a 90-day cycle and the date is shown on each row; always check the issuer’s own page before you apply. We never rank cards, never infer an unstated policy, and never estimate approval odds.

Educational information, not financial advice. ITIN and SSN facts are sourced to the IRS, SSA and CFPB. Identifier acceptance is not approval, and nothing here is a promise that any application will be approved.