First credit card advice - no credit history

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amother

Pearl

Thu, Jun 04 2015, 11:14 am

Anyone have advice, guidence what would be the best credit card option - I don't have a credit history. I'm clueless Rolling Eyes

Thanks!!

oliveoil

Thu, Jun 04 2015, 11:58 am

you'll probably need to start with a secured credit card.

that's where you give the bank $200 and they give you a credit card with a $200 limit. After you use that responsibly for a while, you can switch to a basic non-secured card. Only certain banks offer them though - I think Bank of America does.

mfb

Thu, Jun 04 2015, 12:32 pm

oliveoil wrote:

Yup this is what I had to do since I had no credit

wifenmother

Thu, Jun 04 2015, 12:35 pm

Capital One and Wells Fargo also offer it. Get a secured card from one of them, and after 6-9 months or so of timely payments you can apply for a decent card already.

gibberish

Thu, Jun 04 2015, 2:12 pm

If you have a bank account and have been with them for a while, then they may be able to approve you for a card based on your relationship with the bank and the balance history of your account. It's worth stopping into the bank and asking the manager. That's how I got approved for my first card.

amother

Pearl

Thu, Jun 04 2015, 8:19 pm

Taking your advice I applied to the Chase Freedom credit card - I'm hoping since I used this account for a long time they will approve me. If not, I'll open a secured card or one from capital one.

Thanks again!

rofa

Fri, Jun 05 2015, 1:58 am

Best option, find a family member with good credit and an Amex card and have them add you as an authorized user. Even if you don't use the card, their good credit will spill over to yours and you'll have good credit in a few months. (I did it for my brother and he was approved for his own card after 2 or so months)

Chase can be pretty picky- but the main thing is: if they send a rejection letter you MUST call their reconsideration line and speak to real person (most application are first either approved or declined by a computer program). Don't be afraid to call twice or more times! Tell them you're responsible, have a long relationship with chase and you're just trying to build up your credit.

shooting star

Fri, Jun 05 2015, 2:27 am

When I got my first credit card it wasn't secured but only had a limit of $500 and was a student card so the conditions were a bit different. I was 18 and it was from the bank I had my childhood account with. I think their requirement for it not being secured was that I had a job.

Not sure if that's the same with other banks.

amother

Royalblue

Fri, Jun 05 2015, 3:15 am

DONT SPEND MORE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD
I can't state this enough
People don't realize how much they are spending with a card

Iymnok

Fri, Jun 05 2015, 3:19 am

Get a secured card and spend 25-50 a month. They'll see you don't always go to the top and are responsible each month.

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