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Can't get a credit card
bumblebeetuna
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Here's the deal.
I'm 26, a college grad with a full time job. No debt. No loans or mortgage or anything like that. Basically, no credit history. Sometime in the (distant) future, I figure I will probably want to buy a house or take out a loan on a nicer car. So I'll need credit. And I'd like to start building credit with a credit card.
I never got a credit card in college because I paid for everything with debit. In retrospect, I regret not getting one, but nothing I can do about that now.
About 2 months ago, I tried to apply for a store card at Kohl's after hearing that store cards are generally easier to get (plus I was buying stuff there anyway and got a discount just for applying). Rejected for that one. A few weeks later, I tried to apply for the simplest, no-frills, high interest rate card from Chase, where I've had a checking account for something like 6 or 7 years. Again, no dice. My brother and his wife suggested the simplest card from American Express (I think it was the "Green card") but again, rejected.
Finally, I started looking into secured credit cards. The ones where you have to make an initial deposit which becomes your credit limit and you also have to pay a monthly or yearly fee. I applied for Citibank's card because they put the initial deposit into a CD with a 4% rate that would basically pay for the $29 yearly fee twice over if I left it in there for 18 months. I thought I would be basically guaranteed to get this card... but nope. Just found out I was rejected.
So wtf. Where do I go from here? Try another bank's secured card? Does anyone know of banks that allow for cosigners on card applications? Or am I doomed to rent apartments and drive shitty cars forever?
tl;dr - Couldn't even get a secured credit card. No credit history, full time job, college degree.
I'm 26, a college grad with a full time job. No debt. No loans or mortgage or anything like that. Basically, no credit history. Sometime in the (distant) future, I figure I will probably want to buy a house or take out a loan on a nicer car. So I'll need credit. And I'd like to start building credit with a credit card.
I never got a credit card in college because I paid for everything with debit. In retrospect, I regret not getting one, but nothing I can do about that now.
About 2 months ago, I tried to apply for a store card at Kohl's after hearing that store cards are generally easier to get (plus I was buying stuff there anyway and got a discount just for applying). Rejected for that one. A few weeks later, I tried to apply for the simplest, no-frills, high interest rate card from Chase, where I've had a checking account for something like 6 or 7 years. Again, no dice. My brother and his wife suggested the simplest card from American Express (I think it was the "Green card") but again, rejected.
Finally, I started looking into secured credit cards. The ones where you have to make an initial deposit which becomes your credit limit and you also have to pay a monthly or yearly fee. I applied for Citibank's card because they put the initial deposit into a CD with a 4% rate that would basically pay for the $29 yearly fee twice over if I left it in there for 18 months. I thought I would be basically guaranteed to get this card... but nope. Just found out I was rejected.
So wtf. Where do I go from here? Try another bank's secured card? Does anyone know of banks that allow for cosigners on card applications? Or am I doomed to rent apartments and drive shitty cars forever?
tl;dr - Couldn't even get a secured credit card. No credit history, full time job, college degree.
bumblebeetuna on
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Could be some mistaken identity things that are showing up on your report.... maybe.
But not having a credit history in this economy is a kiss of death.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
I was on my Dad's account for a few years while in college, so I had a card with my name on it but it was his account. For emergencies and what not. But that didn't build my credit since, again, it was his account. You're sure that your boyfriend was building credit that way?
could be that there's a mistake on your credit report somewhere, or someone else has gotten ahold of your SSN and has used it to take out some bad loans, in which case you'll be up to your eyebrows in paperwork trying to get it cleared up. Again, there are agencies that will do the work for you, for a fee, but they're as likely (or moreso) to miss something as you are.
if that isn't the problem, a consumer loan from your bank might be a good way to start a credit history, I guess... although I can't imagine not being able to get a credit card through your OWN bank, so I don't know if you could get that either. The lending environment right now sucks big-time.
Every rejection I've gotten has come with a letter that said something to the effect of "No credit history." So I don't think there's anything on my report, plus I checked it over the summer and there was nothing on it.
My husband and I ended up getting a Chase card, but it sounds like that didn't go for you. Unfortunately, every rejection is actually hurting your credit, even though they're rejecting you for... not having credit. This system seriously sucks, but that's another discussion. The more you apply for one after another, the worse it's going to get.
Piggybacking on another person is a good idea. Would a parent or sibling be willing to get a card with you just to help you get one?
JCPenneys also doesn't seem to run a major check at all. I was able to sign up for a Penneys card like 3 months ago with no rigamarole just to pick up a store discount. I did have a credit rating by then, but it didn't seem like the major project Kohl's was. You could try there.
You could also try a gas card or something? A lot of gas station chains have their own card that you can apply for, which might be a good starter place also.
If you can get a person to piggyback with, that's probably your best option, then get your own card after you've built up your rating a little, but if that's not an option, look around for stores that are a little less rigorous than Kohl's.
Edit: If you're piggybacking, make sure you're a "joint user" and not just a person with a card on someone else's account. You need to be a joint user for it to help your credit.
It's one of the most common ways to build credit especially for people under 18 or who otherwise could not get a card.
You could try getting a card through a site you shop on a lot, if they offer one. I used to have a Musician's Friend card, just for shits. I know the banking industry is tight now, but if I can get a car loan with the assload of debt I'm buried in, there's definitely a bank who will give you a card.
this is also good... I don't shop at Kohl's, so I didn't know about their card being hard to get, but JCPenney's and Sears cards are pretty easy, and I think Wal-Mart has their own card these days, I suspect that's probalby not too hard to get either.
I did the exact same thing, but in my case it did build my credit. I have perfect credit because I piggybacked on my Dad's card for so long.
Well I would recommend strongly against trying too many more times in the near future. I'm an ex-student too but with some debt, and you'll eventually dig into the opposite hole which is too many hard credit inquiries.
It takes a long time for those to vanish from your report and they can be just as bad as no history. That's what's killing me right now thanks to a rough car financing stint.
Talk to someone at your bank and see if they have any insight.. but I'm guessing you'll need a healthy savings account going to get anything in this economy. Or wait 2 more years.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
That's what's happened to me. A whole mess of rejections for a car loan (on the heels of another car loan), and now my credit isn't looking so hot.
Meaning credit card companies don't like to give credit cards out to people with really good credit because are unlikely to build much, if any, debt on the card.
When Chase rejected me, I called the number that was printed on the letter for inquiring about your application. I politely explained to them that I was gainfully and profitably employed, and the only reason that I didn't have a credit history was that I never needed one, but that I was applying for the card for the sole purpose of spending money on it to build one. It took about five minutes and the representative approved me for the card right there.
Now, I'm not going to guarantee the same approach will work, but there's a reason they print a phone number on those letters. Give it a shot.
A credit card is a credit card, at the end of the day they all trace back to one of a handful of banks.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Experian and the other one are easier. They don't give you your credit score for free, but they do give you any negative items on your account, accounts you have opened, your current standing with those accounts, and which people/companies have peeped at your credit.
I have had a good job history for a couple years, have had just one visa card through BoFA in addition to my debit. And a Macy's card. It was enough to get me a home loan for $145k. The days of easy credit are over though, if you haven't built a history from the past three years or so, you have to go the hard way and put a couple thousand dollars into an account.
Nope, toolbert is right. For the record, I work for a credit union, and I had meeting with a representative from Experian a few weeks ago, explaining all about the credit reports and scoring. They keep track of who the cards (and any credit) is from. Basically, any credit you get from somewhere other than a bank/credit union is looked upon less favorably, and in some cases outright negatively.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
My god this is a stupid system.
The reason is a lot of people get department store cards to take advantage of the deals when you sign up and then cancel them. You shouldn't have any problems as long as you don't cancel it. However I do not recommend getting a department store card to build credit.
Go to the bank, get a parent to cosign on a credit card with you. This is the most effective way to build credit.
But if it has a visa logo? REALLY? I mean, does that shit not just run right through JPMC most of the time?
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
If it's a Visa card it's not considered a department store card.
What...the...fuck. So there's no way that citi CANT make money off your account and they denied you. I hate finance.
Try CapitalOne. They have secured credit cards and actually act like a bank.
I limed this so hard, my notification of the liming turned lime.
Maybe... It's still a store card and it's weighted negatively. Having a visa logo just means it uses the visa network. The same way my debit card is a visa...
Yes, it's a fairly retarded system, and no one can say exactly how it works since FICO doesn't tell how they calculate they scores, just what factors they use. (But really... make your payments on time and you'll never really have a problem.)
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
not really. Credit card companies still get money for every transaction.
Be that as it may, it some banks/credit cards still do this.
It would be retarded to do so though.
Free money? We don't need that.
Pay it off each month. In 6 months, you'll have a decent credit history. Get a real card.
The bank told me to get my dad (who had great credit history) to cosign on the first loan I ever took out, then afterward if I paid it off and they never had to contact the co signer they would let me take out a private loan. This built my credit up. I took out a small amount that I knew I could pay back the next week if I wanted to, but I DIDN'T pay it back at once, pay it monthly make normal payments at the time they are due and build your credit score.
This worked perfectly for me, as I was easily accepted for a credit card shortly after.
He tried. He got rejected for that too.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Don't even bother trying to get the interest on the CD to cover the annual fee. If you get out of there with under $100 annual, it's small price to pay.
Same boat, bro.
I had no issues getting a credit card. I actually received a lot of offers. I didn't attempt to contact anyone.
In fact, I had kinda crappy credit in early adulthood. I shared a card with my mother (ironically, to build credit history), which actually went into collection (I used it once, for gasoline in my car while at University, and was saddled with the entire debt limit on the card because my name was also on it, be wary of this if your parents cannot handle credit.)
But hey, it's a history right?! :rotate:
Now that my credit is better, I get LESS offers!
Which is actually good, because the offers that come to you are usually awful in terms of interest rates.
It's not anything to do with you, it's the market. Way back when (2002 - 2008) credit card companies figured out that they could make $TEXAS by securitizing your debt and selling it to investors. This made credit cheap.
There is no longer much of a market for asset backed securities, so banks finally give a shit about who they extend credit to, because they have to use real money.