Steven Dashiell is an editor for Bankrate.com with expertise in rewards credit cards, financial literacy, and helping consumers build and maintain their credit. He has more than 5 years of experience in personal finance with an affinity for rewards, credit card perks and helping consumers make the most of their card choices.
Steve’s writing and expertise has appeared in outlets, such as U.S. News & World Report, CBS, Fox Business, Time, Forbes and NASDAQ. When not writing about credit cards, Steve nerds out on birds, paints landscapes and life scenes, fiddles around on bass guitar and takes names in Street Fighter.
Steve made the common mistake of accepting a credit card offer he received in the mail right after graduating high school. He promptly maxed it out on a vacation and made only minimum payments on the balance, which is a textbook example of what you shouldn’t do. This, predictably, tanked his credit score. Years later, and after much work, Steve’s credit score now rests squarely in the “excellent” tier.
“I started writing about credit cards, largely due to my horrible experience fresh out of high school. I had no clue what I was doing with my credit card and they don’t exactly come with a best practices guide. I hope to educate people in a similar position to make better decisions about their credit card use and help protect their financial health for the future.”
How to protect yourself from online card fraud
How to build your credit score quickly
Common credit card fees and how to avoid them
I started writing about credit cards largely due to my horrible experience fresh out of high school. I had no clue what I was doing with my credit card and they don’t exactly come with a best practices guide. I aim to educate people in a similar position to make better decisions about their credit card use and help protect their financial health for the future.
— Steve Dashiell
Read reviews, advice, and recommendations from Bankrate credit card experts on the best gas credit cards for 2025.
The best credit cards for high school or college students typically offer cash back, rewards and other perks like low interest rates. See Bankrate's favorite student credit cards for 2025.
The Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit can help users build their credit score while earning a modest amount of cash back rewards.
This top-notch, flat-rate card is more well-rounded and streamlined than rivals, making it a solid standalone or partner rewards card.
These major airlines offer frequent flyer programs, but some are better than others.
It was a solid early option for crypto investors, but others have taken its place.
Fingerhut doesn’t offer any appealing benefits or rates to persuade those with limited credit to shop or build credit with them over another issuer.
Along with high rewards for flights, the stellar travel perks make this the best Southwest card, and an exceptional airline card.
