With a short credit history, a travel credit card might not be the best fit for your first card. But there are opportunities you can take to build your way to the right travel credit card for you in the future. Getty Images

Maybe you love to travel and the thought of a shiny, metal card that gets you free flights is dazzling. Maybe you’re a pragmatic college student planning to study abroad and searched “best travel credit card.” Or perhaps you’re new to the U.S. and don’t have a credit history, but you want to book international flights to visit family and old friends back home regularly without going broke.

The good news is that it’s never too early to get in the travel rewards game. The bad news is that a travel credit card might not be a smart move if you’ve never had a credit card before.

Regardless, there are some other steps you can take to start building your credit and your cache of points toward almost-free flights and hotel stays. Here’s why your first credit card will likely not be a travel credit card.

Get a cash-back or student card

OK, so your first card won’t be the most popular travel card. It’ll probably be a more pragmatic card that can still teach good credit card management habits – not to mention give you insights as to what you want in your next one. After all, you’ll need to make sure you pay your credit card bill on time, every time, and know what categories you spend the most on to be able to pick the best travel credit card for yourself down the road.

We’ve compiled a list of the best credit cards for college students (including a pick for international students) and for people with no credit.

Pro tip: If you opt for a cash-back card, budget those returns for your travel purchases. It’s essentially getting a free flight or accommodation.

No matter what type of credit card you get, you should pay off your credit card bills every month to avoid high interest rates.