UK credit cards for US citizens
Not one of the 32 issuers checked here refuses you for being American. What stops people is having no UK credit history, and two issuers have a way round that. Everything else on this page is secondary to those two.
A credit card is a debt rather than an account, so an issuer takes on no US reporting duty by giving you one. Citizenship is simply not a question anyone asks. What every issuer asks about instead is your UK credit file, and if you arrived last month you do not have one. Capital One puts it more plainly than anyone: you might have a fantastic credit history in another country, but it cannot be transferred to the UK.
The two ways in with no UK file
American Express runs a global card transfer. If you are the basic cardmember on a US consumer Amex, have held it at least three months and it is open and in good standing, you can apply for a UK card using that account, giving a UK address, a UK phone number and your previous address. Its own wording is the useful part: a UK credit file will be taken into account if you have one, which is what makes the application work when you do not. Corporate and network cards are excluded, no balance moves across, and Amex quotes seven to ten days.
Yonder is the other door, and it needs no American history either. It states that it does not require a UK credit score, and asks you to connect a bank account through open banking to evidence income instead. That suits someone who has arrived without an Amex to bring with them.
After those two it is ordinary UK underwriting. Some issuers are lighter than others: TSB asks only for your current address, Barclaycard for two years of them, and NatWest names a foreign passport and visa among the identity documents it accepts, which few others spell out. Lloyds, HSBC and Halifax all want three years of UK address history.
A pattern worth knowing before you apply anywhere: the cards built for thin credit files are usually the ones you cannot reach first. HSBC's Classic card is its most forgiving and is the single card in its range that requires an HSBC current account. NatWest's credit builder card needs three months of banking with NatWest. Lloyds wants three years of UK residency and a group account held over a year. Nationwide's cards are members only, though a savings account is enough to qualify.
Who actually lends
Brand and lender have come apart badly in this market, and applying to two brands with one lender is one decision rather than two chances. Tesco Bank and the Amazon card are both Barclays. Post Office and Ocean are both Capital One, so they are the same decision as applying to Capital One directly. M&S Bank is HSBC. MBNA sits inside Lloyds Banking Group beside Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland. Virgin Money is now Nationwide. The John Lewis Partnership Card is NewDay, which also lends as aqua.
Four names in this market no longer sell a card at all, and are listed at the bottom so you do not waste an application: Sainsbury's Bank has surrendered its banking permissions and sold its card book to NatWest, Tymit has stopped issuing to consumers, Revolut says it offers no UK credit products, and Starling has only a debit card. Curve is often suggested as a credit card and is not one, it is an e-money card that sits in front of the cards you already hold.
If you still spend in dollars
Read the overseas column before the rate, because roughly 3% on every foreign transaction will cost more across a year than the gap between two headline rates. Barclaycard Rewards, the NatWest card, Santander's Rewards and All in One, Nationwide's member cards, Halifax Clarity, Virgin Money's travel card, the Post Office travel card, Zopa and Chase all charge nothing on foreign spending. Chase goes furthest, charging nothing on cash withdrawals either, at home or abroad, though cash gets no interest free period anywhere.
None of this affects your US tax position, because borrowing is not income. The one place a card can matter is currency: a US dollar card used in Britain or a sterling card used in the States both convert every transaction, and those conversions are what the fee column above is really measuring. If you are moving larger sums rather than spending, the multi-currency account page is the better comparison.
We checked 31 providers. 26 offer a credit card and 5 no longer do. Of those 26, 26 will open an account worth having and 0 will not take you. Last checked 17 August 2026.
The cards you can get
A credit card is a debt rather than an account, so no issuer here refuses you for being American. What stops people is having no UK credit file, which is why the first group matters more than any rate below it. Under each issuer is who actually lends, because several brands share one lender and applying to both is one decision rather than two.
Read the overseas column alongside the rate. If you still spend in dollars, a fee of about 3% on every transaction will cost you more across a year than the difference between two headline rates.
Reachable with no UK credit history
These will look at something other than a UK credit file, which is what you need in your first year here.
| Spending abroad | The catch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express UK (opens in a new tab) American Express · US card history accepted in place of a UK file | Rewards Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 29.1% APR representative | Free | 2.99% | Needs a permanent UK address, a UK bank account and income of at least £15,000. No minimum UK address history is published. |
| American Express UK (opens in a new tab) American Express · US card history accepted in place of a UK file | Platinum Cashback Everyday (opens in a new tab) | 29.1% APR representative | Free | 2.99% | Same criteria. The welcome bonus is closed to anyone who has held a personal Amex in the past 24 months, which includes a card moved across by global transfer. |
| Yonder (opens in a new tab) App only · no UK credit score required | Free credit card (opens in a new tab) | 31.6% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee, at the Mastercard rate. Cash withdrawals abroad are free, capped at £150 a day. | No UK credit score needed, but you must connect a bank account through open banking to prove your income. A soft check runs before the full one. |
| Yonder (opens in a new tab) App only · no UK credit score required | Full credit card (opens in a new tab) | 65.1% APR representative | £15 a month | No foreign transaction fee. Cash withdrawals abroad free, capped at £150 a day. | The headline rate folds in the £15 monthly membership, so the gap between 65.1% and the underlying 28.67% purchase rate is the fee rather than the borrowing. |
Once you have a UK credit file
Ordinary UK underwriting, so these come into reach after a year or two of UK borrowing and a place on the electoral roll.
| Spending abroad | The catch | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Barclaycard (opens in a new tab) Barclays Bank UK, trading as Barclaycard · same lender as Tesco Bank | The Amazon Barclaycard (opens in a new tab) | 28.9% APR representative | Free | 2.99% | App first: you need the Barclays or Barclaycard app to activate and manage the account. |
| Barclaycard (opens in a new tab) Barclays Bank UK · online, app and phone | Barclaycard Rewards (opens in a new tab) | 28.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee, and no fee on cash withdrawals. Currency taken out abroad still gets the interest free period if you repay in full. | Some applicants are offered 31.9% instead. Acceptance depends on your UK credit history. |
| HSBC UK (opens in a new tab) Direct · also the lender behind M&S Bank cards | Rewards Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 26.9% APR representative | Free | 2.99% | Needs £6,800 a year, and you cannot hold an HSBC basic bank account. |
| HSBC UK (opens in a new tab) Direct · also the lender behind M&S Bank cards | Classic Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 29.9% APR representative | Free | 2.99% | Only for holders of an active HSBC current account, with the limit capped at £1,000. |
| M&S Bank (opens in a new tab) HSBC UK Bank, trading as M&S Bank | M&S Rewards Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 23.9% APR representative | Free | 2.99%, minimum £3 | Needs an income or pension of at least £6,800 and an M&S account to apply. |
| M&S Bank (opens in a new tab) HSBC UK Bank, trading as M&S Bank | Purchase Plus (opens in a new tab) | 24.9% APR representative | Free | 2.99%, minimum £3 | No interest on purchases for up to 26 months. |
| MBNA (opens in a new tab) Lloyds Banking Group, trading as MBNA · one group with Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland | MBNA credit cards (opens in a new tab) | — | Free | 2.95% | MBNA publishes no headline rate on its public pages and shows cards only after an eligibility check that does not mark your file. It rules out anyone bankrupt, in an arrangement, or declined by MBNA in the last 30 days. |
| NatWest (opens in a new tab) Direct · no NatWest account needed for most cards | The NatWest Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 12.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee on purchases | The rate offered can come back as high as 18.9%. |
| NatWest (opens in a new tab) Direct · no NatWest account needed for most cards | Credit Builder Card (opens in a new tab) | 34.9% APR representative | Free | Not published | Only for people who have held a NatWest current account for three months or more, so it is not a way in. |
| Post Office Money (opens in a new tab) Capital One is the lender · Post Office is only a broker | Travel Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 34.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee on purchases | Cash advances still cost 3%, minimum £3, except when buying Post Office travel money. |
| Post Office Money (opens in a new tab) Capital One is the lender · Post Office is only a broker | Post Office Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 34.9% APR representative | Free | 2.75% | The rate runs between 26.9% and 34.9% depending on circumstances, on limits up to £8,000. |
| Tesco Bank (opens in a new tab) Barclays Bank UK, trading as Tesco Bank · same lender as the Amazon Barclaycard | Balance Transfer and Purchases Card (opens in a new tab) | 24.9% APR representative | Free | 2.75% | No interest on purchases and balance transfers for 21 months, with a 2.95% transfer fee. |
| Tesco Bank (opens in a new tab) Barclays Bank UK, trading as Tesco Bank · same lender as the Amazon Barclaycard | Everyday Low APR Card (opens in a new tab) | 12.9% APR representative | Free | 2.75% | The lowest headline rate on this page, which means it wants the strongest UK credit file. |
| TSB (opens in a new tab) Direct · no TSB current account needed | Advance Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 12.9% APR representative | Free | 2.95% | The lowest rate here, which means the hardest to be accepted for on a thin file. |
| TSB (opens in a new tab) Direct · no TSB current account needed | Platinum Purchase Card (opens in a new tab) | 24.9% APR representative | Free | 2.95% | No interest on purchases for up to 26 months, then 24.95%. |
| Virgin Money (opens in a new tab) Nationwide Building Society, trading as Virgin Money | Travel Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 27.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign exchange fee worldwide | Cash advances and foreign currency purchases still carry a 3% cash fee. |
| Virgin Money (opens in a new tab) Nationwide Building Society, trading as Virgin Money | All Round Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 27.9% APR representative | Free | 2.99% outside the EEA, nothing on euro transactions inside it | Subject to status, UK residents aged 18 or over. |
| 118 118 Money (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: acceptance rests entirely on a UK credit check 118 118 Money · aimed at thin and impaired files | Travel Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 49.0% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee and no mark up on the exchange rate | Limits up to £2,000, shown before you apply. Cash withdrawals cost 5%, and a missed payment costs £12. |
| aqua (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: no minimum UK address history published, but it is a card to build a file with NewDay · also the lender behind the John Lewis Partnership Card | aqua Classic (opens in a new tab) | 39.9% APR representative | Free | 2.95% | Opening limits of £250 to £1,500 that can grow. Cash costs 5%, minimum £4. Closed to anyone holding an aqua card or who has taken a Marbles, Opus or Fluid card in the past year. |
| Capital One UK (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: needs visible UK credit history and two years of UK addresses Capital One · also the lender behind Post Office and Ocean cards | Classic Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 34.9% APR representative | Free | Not published. Capital One says the non-sterling fee varies by card and to check your agreement; its own worked example uses 2.75%. | Starting limits of £200 to £4,000. Cash abroad carries 3%, minimum £3, on top of the currency fee. |
| Chase UK (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: you need a Chase account first, and must be UK tax resident App only · needs a Chase account and UK tax residence | Chase credit card (opens in a new tab) | 24.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee and no cash withdrawal fee anywhere, though cash gets no interest free period and is charged at 24.9% to 29.9%. | Rates run from 24.9% to 29.9% depending on circumstances, on a minimum £500 limit. |
| Halifax (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: app only for existing Halifax customers, and everyone else is sent to Lloyds Halifax app · one group with Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and MBNA | Cashback Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 23.9% APR representative | Free | A non-sterling purchase fee applies, but the rate is not published | You can only apply through the Halifax app. |
| Halifax (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: app only for existing Halifax customers, and everyone else is sent to Lloyds Halifax app · one group with Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and MBNA | Clarity Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | — | Free | No non-sterling purchase fee | The rate and credit limit are shown only after an eligibility check, so nothing is published in advance. |
| John Lewis Partnership Card (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: twelve months of UK address history NewDay is the lender · John Lewis Finance is only a broker | Partnership Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 29.9% APR representative | Free | — | Needs twelve months of UK address history, a UK mobile number, and no Partnership card in the last year. John Lewis confirms a foreign currency fee applies but does not publish the rate. |
| Lloyds Bank (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: three years of UK address history Direct · one group with Halifax, Bank of Scotland and MBNA | Lloyds Ultra Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 14.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee | The advertised rate goes to at least 51% of accepted applicants, so a thin file may be offered worse. |
| Lloyds Bank (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: three years of UK address history Direct · one group with Halifax, Bank of Scotland and MBNA | Lloyds Advance Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 29.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign exchange fee | Needs three years of UK residency and a group current account held for over a year, so it is not a route in. |
| Monzo (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: you need a Monzo current account first App only · needs a Monzo current account | Monzo Flex (opens in a new tab) | 29% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee, at the Mastercard rate. No cash withdrawals at all, at home or abroad. | Paying in full, or spreading a purchase over three months, carries no interest. |
| Nationwide (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: members only, so you must open a Nationwide account first Direct · members only · also owns Virgin Money | Member Credit Card, purchase (opens in a new tab) | 24.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign currency fee, worldwide | You must already hold a Nationwide current account, savings account or mortgage. |
| Nationwide (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: members only, so you must open a Nationwide account first Direct · members only · also owns Virgin Money | Member Credit Card, balance transfer (opens in a new tab) | 24.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign currency fee, worldwide | The interest free window on purchases runs for only three months. |
| Ocean Credit Card (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: the same Capital One decision as its Classic card, at a higher rate Capital One is the lender · Ocean Finance is only a broker | Ocean Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 39.9% APR representative | Free | Not published. Capital One, the lender, says the fee varies by card; its worked example uses 2.75%. | Limits from £200 to £8,000. A soft search checker runs before you apply. |
| Santander UK (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: it asks for a permanent UK resident, a stiffer test than the others use Direct · no Santander account needed | Santander Rewards Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 24.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign exchange fee on purchases in the local currency | Needs a guaranteed income of £10,500 and permanent UK residency. |
| Santander UK (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: it asks for a permanent UK resident, a stiffer test than the others use Direct · no Santander account needed | All in One Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 29.8% APR representative | £3 a month | No foreign exchange fee on purchases overseas | The £3 monthly fee is charged whether or not you use the card. |
| Vanquis Bank (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: needs three years of UK address history Vanquis Bank · built for thin and impaired files | Credit Builder Card (opens in a new tab) | 37.9% APR representative | Free | 2.99% | Limits of £250 to £2,500. Cash abroad costs £3 or 3% to 5%, whichever is higher, on top. |
| Vanquis Bank (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: needs three years of UK address history Vanquis Bank · built for thin and impaired files | Travel Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 40.9% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee | Limits of £250 to £2,500, same eligibility test. Cash withdrawals still cost up to 5% or £3. |
| Zilch (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: a pay in instalments card rather than a general purpose one App only · open to any UK resident | Zilch Standard (opens in a new tab) | From 14.9% APR representative | Free, or £4.99 for a physical card | 2.99% built into the converted amount on any non-sterling purchase. No cash withdrawals. | Credit lines run from £50 to £4,500. Sign up runs a soft credit check. |
| Zilch (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: a pay in instalments card rather than a general purpose one App only · open to any UK resident | Zilch Extra (opens in a new tab) | From 14.9% APR representative | £2.99 a month | No foreign exchange fee, which is the main thing the subscription buys. No cash withdrawals. | The fee free currency conversion is a membership benefit, so it stops the month you cancel. |
| Zopa (opens in a new tab) With strings US persons: a year of UK address history and two active UK credit lines, so not on arrival Zopa Bank · needs a year here and an existing UK credit footprint | Zopa Credit Card (opens in a new tab) | 34.8% APR representative | Free | No foreign transaction fee | Rates from 29.8%. Needs a year of UK address history, income of at least £10,000, and two active UK credit lines. |
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No longer offering this, or never did
Nothing to do with your citizenship: these are providers that do not offer a credit card to anyone in the UK. Several are still recommended in forums and guides, which is why they are listed rather than left out.
| Provider | Why not | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| Curve(opens in a new tab) | Curve is not a credit card and does not belong on a credit card shortlist, though it is often suggested as one. Its terms describe an e-money card that sits in front of the cards you already hold, so it extends no credit of its own. | 17 August 2026 |
| Revolut(opens in a new tab) | Revolut has no UK credit card. Its own help centre says it does not offer credit products such as loans, credit cards or overdrafts in Great Britain, and although it has signalled that UK cards are coming since winning its banking licence, none is live. | 17 August 2026 |
| Sainsbury's Bank(opens in a new tab) | There is no Sainsbury's Bank credit card to apply for. New lending stopped during its phased exit, NatWest bought the card, loan and savings books in May 2025, and Sainsbury's has given up its banking permissions. A NatWest Nectar card is expected later in 2026 under the NatWest name. | 17 August 2026 |
| Starling Bank(opens in a new tab) | Starling has no consumer credit card, so there is nothing here to apply for whoever you are. The card that comes with the account is a debit card, and its personal borrowing is an arranged overdraft and a loan. | 17 August 2026 |
| Tymit(opens in a new tab) | Tymit no longer issues a consumer credit card in the UK. Its site now sells white label instalment programmes to retail and travel partners, and the consumer link redirects to help articles about accounts being closed. | 17 August 2026 |
Why this is the rule
FATCA
FATCA makes UK banks report accounts held by US persons to the IRS. It is not a tax; it is a reporting trail. Where it bites is access.
AccountsCurrent accounts
Which UK current accounts open for US citizens, which add strings, and which decline. Verdicts by provider, with the FATCA reason behind each one.