How do I get a credit card?

[irwin]

I keep getting rejected from every CC I apply for. That Amazon one, the CitiBank one Apex posts on the deals page, and some Amex one. I don't want one of those wacky "student" cards with a $500 limit. Can anyone recommend one (preferably with rewards)? :P

[zenbooty]

I keep getting rejected from every CC I apply for. That Amazon one, the CitiBank one Apex posts on the deals page, and some Amex one. I don't want one of those wacky "student" cards with a $500 limit. Can anyone recommend one (preferably with rewards)? :PEasiest way is to get that wacky student card. Next fastest way is to graduate. Otherwise, its surprising how tough getting credit can be. Get the ticky tack card, use it for awhile, pay it back like you should, and soon if you ask them for more credit they'll more than likely bump you. Until you've got a decent reported income, don't expect to get any $10,000 cards.

[redcolours]

i started off with an unsecured Providian visa (providian.com, i think). thats coming from having NO credit at all (not having to get a sears card, or any non-major card). they dont check your past history, just your job/income (if any), but they do report to credit bureaus. a lot of banks are doing this now, you might wanna check around.

high APR, monthly and annual charges up the yin-yang, some rewards/benefits. they start you off with maybe $300 credit line. which of course gets deducted from it the application fee, 1st monthly charge, etc. you probably will get back something like $180 in "spendable" credit, maybe less.
thats how i got started, from there its all downhill. within 3 months time of timely payments, the credit line increased to $800 i think, then within 6 months it got up to $1200 or so. by the time i cut up the card (i cut up ALL of my credit cards up 2 years ago), the credit limit was up to 5 grand, i think. during the time i had the card, it got better benefits/rewards. also, i got a lot more pre-approved applications for much lower APRs.

if you wanna go that route, you can, just be wise about it - when you get more pre-approved applications with lower APR, finish off the higher-APR card, and go to the lower one. or transfer the balance to the lower APR card. or easier - call the higher APR card, and see if they can match the rate. if youre in good standing with them, it will be ok'd.

one tip with credit cards: have em, but dont use em much, if at all.

its great for reserving hotel rooms and rental cars, and for purchase protection plans, but those the only reasons why you would want to carry one. one missed payment, one late payment can damage your credit history, and may ruin the chances of getting a car or a house with low interest, if at all.

[revil]

I easily got a credit card through providian my freshman year through college. It was $1000 max limit. 1 year before graduating it was bumped up to $2500. Graduated, it soon after became $4000, then $6000. so in the last 3 months it went from 2500 to 6000.

[Cheesypuff]

I got that citi card on the deals page awhile ago. Though...it wasn't through the deals page.

I went straight to citi bank and applied! I sort of fibbed...I sort of told them my household (me and my brothers) combined yearly amount...and thats what I wrote down!

Because I think...previous, I only put down my yearly amount...and they would reject it. But this time, I put down the household amount...and I got accepted! So...as long as you have a high enough capital...they won't reject :)

i buy and pay off the credit card all the time...I have great credit...now, I have like 3 credit cards. they all give good points and money back!

[Jeffbx]

Yup - get the 'starter' student card. After you use that for a year or so (and paying it off every month!) you'll get so many companies asking you to sign up for their cards it'll make your head spin.

As long as you're smart about paying the balance on time and in full every month, the limit will go up very quickly.

[Kevster]

i started off with an unsecured Providian visa (providian.com, i think). thats coming from having NO credit at all (not having to get a sears card, or any non-major card). they dont check your past history, just your job/income (if any), but they do report to credit bureaus. a lot of banks are doing this now, you might wanna check around.


Avoid Providian at all costs! They were sued by the State of California for deliberately manipulating when they would post when payment was received to rack up late charges. They would post when your check cleared, not when they actually received it. I was one of the victims of this and was getting extremely frustrated with them when I would send in my payment 5-7 days before it was due and they still marked it as "late". They fcuk'd with my credit badly this way. They settled out of court and had to pay a large sum of money back to cardholders. For everything I incurred I only got a couple hundred dollars.

That said, Providian was still showing up on my credit report years later after I closed my account and ran as far away from them as possible. It took 3 notifications and a complaint to the State Attorney's office to get them to finally remove their incorrect information from my credit report.

Do yourself a huge favor and STAY AWAY FROM PROVIDIAN.

[Merlin]

Try Discover Card. They'll give one to anybody.

[brain]

Sign up with MBNA. I started with a $1000 limit. I'm at $35k 3 years later.

[Cheesypuff]

they are way more stict about who they give cedit out to now...

my parents were telling me, thier first credit card, the company offered them a 100,000 limit! thats so crazy.

[(~Freik~)]

who would be the easiest to get a card from if you have bad credit?

[Merlin]

What about your own bank? If you have a checking or savings account they might be more apt to provide you with a credit card.

[revil]

Avoid Providian at all costs!
Who would you recommend?

[Kevster]

Who would you recommend?

I have one with my own bank, Wells Fargo. They wanted to give me a platinum card but I requested the limit be restricted to $2k so it's a regular visa. I use it for monthly visa purchases and it's paid off every month.

I have an American Express card that I use all the time. My wife has her own visa card. I have a couple merchant credit cards with small limits on them. Aside from that, I don't need that much credit. My wife and I try to live within our means and that has worked out well for us.

[pain2010]

Ok go and check this out it will help you. In the middle of it the page is what you are looking for. It tells you haow to build up your credit fast.
http://www.nobankredtape.com/free.php

[ufcrusher]

Just a heads up, if you pay off your card in full every month, you really dont build up your credit. I did that for over a year with a card paying off the full balance each month and never carrying anything over and the credit was never increased by any large amount. I finally started asking around and was told by numerous individuals that you need to carry over some balance each month to show that you are capable of doing so. I was told to pay off everything but $20 each month, thus carrying that over. The finance charge you will get charged will be small since the carried over balance is small, but the company will see that you are actually managing the accoung. I know it sounds funny, but for some reason that is how I was repeatedly told it worked.

As for companies, ATT Universal Card is generally offered to students, has competitive rates, and is probably a good place to start. Most people I know who have it have never had an issue with them.

[revil]

Just a heads up, if you pay off your card in full every month, you really dont build up your credit. I did that for over a year with a card paying off the full balance each month and never carrying anything over and the credit was never increased by any large amount. I finally started asking around and was told by numerous individuals that you need to carry over some balance each month to show that you are capable of doing so. I was told to pay off everything but $20 each month, thus carrying that over. The finance charge you will get charged will be small since the carried over balance is small, but the company will see that you are actually managing the accoung. I know it sounds funny, but for some reason that is how I was repeatedly told it worked.
Worked for me. I always payed it off, then I was sort like $5 one month, let it roll over, and the next month i was like, "woah, don't pay it off and they give me more money"

[ray]

Citibank
Fleet
Chase

[slaus]

Citibank has always treated me well

[LPMiller]

Stand in front of a major bank. Strip off your clothes. Bend over. Eventually, you'll get it in the end. Enjoy your new credit card.

[ufcrusher]

Stand in front of a major bank. Strip off your clothes. Bend over. Eventually, you'll get it in the end. Enjoy your new credit card.

Come on now...you know thats the way to get STDs not credit cards. :hihi:

[Jihforce]

just start with a low limit card and build your way up. You're still young. Remember that the more you apply, the lower your rating gets. I started off with a Citi MC in college and it was like $700. That's plenty. Also, if you have an autoloan, that's an easy way to establish your credit. That is why, you shouldn't always pay cash for everything. :) Good credit is essential in this country, don't take it for granted.

[irwin]

Noesssss...I applied for a Citibank Student card just right now. :(

Confirmation

Your application has been received, but further processing is required at this time. We will contact you within 30 days via U.S. mail regarding our decision. If approved, be sure to visit citicards.com to register for free online services. Thank you for requesting a Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® Card!

[speedracer120]

Citibank is pretty good for starters. It doesn't take too long to get their platinum with 5~10G limits.

But I must admit getting the Amex Blue card when it first came out had a lot of wow value. But alas no longer, even my Sony Card from BankOne is translucent, but of course no smart chip.

[ShawnLee]

G'luck Pwird. I find it amusing that you can't get anything. If all else fails, I'd go with the two points of adivce given so far 1) cheesy student card and 2) your own bank.

I got my first credit card through my credit union when I started college and they gave me a sweet credit limit. I found out later that my brother and I have our credit histories mixed up and reported to each other's names, so it looks like I banked off of his two-year head start in credit. The funny thing is that I still had a higher limit than him for a while after that too.

[slaus]

G'luck Pwird. I find it amusing that you can't get anything. If all else fails, I'd go with the two points of adivce given so far 1) cheesy student card and 2) your own bank.

I got my first credit card through my credit union when I started college and they gave me a sweet credit limit. I found out later that my brother and I have our credit histories mixed up and reported to each other's names, so it looks like I banked off of his two-year head start in credit. The funny thing is that I still had a higher limit than him for a while after that too.

That happened to my gf's brother in law. His credit history got mixed up with his brothers, whos credit is lousy, and my gf's father. All three share very similar names so I guess it was easy to confuse the 3 credit histories together.

Was it easy to resolve the mixup?

[ShawnLee]

No, it wasn't easy to resolve as we're still dealing with it. Shoot, I wouldn't be surprised if his aforementioned Sony Card is listed under my name too.

[Maarchk]

Kind of a followup question. I got a credit card, and of course have paid it off and should let a little roll over to improve credit. But i was wondering, what cards give the best perks? I know discover gives you alittle money back but not many places take it. I am about to start grad school and i can charge tuition. i was wondering if you guys really enjoyed the perks from certain cards?

[Jihforce]

citibank started a new rewards program that is supposed to be pretty good...seen any of those "thank you" commercials laterly? that's the one.

[ShawnLee]

Grad school? You can go the route I took for my tuition... I charged a semester's worth of schooling on my Starbucks card and at 1% back? I get $50 in free coffee! Of course that only lasts about a week and a half so...

[p3rsian]

ur ruining your credit by applying and getting rejected

[speedracer120]

Yeah, but the thing is he has no credit to ruin yet.