Establishing a history of responsible credit usage is one of the best ways to raise and maintain your credit score. However, if you’re unable to qualify for a major credit card or don’t want to risk racking up more debt, a secured or guaranteed credit card is your best option. You can qualify for these cards without any prior credit history, but you will need to post a certain amount of money as collateral. While this amount is usually equal to the card’s limit, these are not prepaid cards. When you use a secured or guaranteed card, your activity will be reported to credit bureaus so you can build your score, just like with any other credit card.