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If you are here reading this forum/thread, you probably have heard, seen or know someone who has been leveraging credit card points for free or very low cost travel and want to get involved. While it may be very tempting to jump right in and apply for a bunch of credit cards, it is advisable to read through the forums before doing so.

For those who have no credit history, building your credit score is strongly recommended and may even be needed before applying for any credit cards.

Step 1 - Try and get added as an Authorized User (AU) on an established credit card. This card should be kept in good standing and preferably have a low credit utilization ratio.
Some have had success with Amex to get your card backdated to the primary cardholders "member since" date. Having this done will increase your credit history to that of  the account holders first Amex card.
UPDATE Amex no longer backdates any cards. Any authorized user card will show up on the AUs report as a new account, opened on the date that the AU was added. Amex is now one of the worse choices to get added as an AU to, for credit building purposes.
Chase, Citi, Bank of America and others are more likely to show the full history of the primary cardholder on the authorized user's report than Amex is.

Additional Option - In conjunction with being added as an AU, you can  sign up for a secure credit card.
A secured credit card works almost like a debit card (you need to lay out your credit limit), but this functions as a regular credit card and will help build your credit score.

Step 2 - Once you are setup as an AU, it is best to wait a few months before applying for your first card.

Your first card should be a store credit card, which are easier to get approved for, especially with very limited credit history.
Some of the store cards people apply for are Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Kohl's, Macy's, Target etc. While these cards will not give you major signup bonuses to travel with, they do give you access to exclusive promotions and other perks when purchasing from the store.

Additional Options - The CapitalOne Journey card seems to be easier to get approved for, though understand they will pull your credit from all three agencies, while most banks only pull from one.

Discover has a student card you can apply for here. This can also be an easier option to getting approved for your first card. Their regular IT card (not student) seems to be pretty easy to get approved for with little to no credit history as well.

Step 3 - Pay your bill before your statement closes (cut off date), but leave a minimal amount remaining to be paid after your statement closes. This will help ensure that you have both a low CC utilization while establishing a good credit payment history. (This applies to new spending from this month.  Anything already 'due' should be paid in full.)

Step 4 - After using your first card for a few months, you will be ready to apply for the cards you will have read and heard so much about. Remember that getting accepted for a credit card is a combination of many factors like credit history and your credit score, but it is also dependent on the income that you claim* you make.  Income is not part of your credit report or score.

Step 5 - This is a brief synopsis of what to do when applying for credit cards. There are additional factors one should understand before applying for credit cards. DDF is a great resource and there are many people willing to answer your questions (which you should ask, albeit after attempting a search) 

*If you are under 21, you are legally only allowed to report personal income. Personal income, however, can include allowances and scholarships.
If you are over 21, you can claim any income which you have reasonable access to in order to pay back the bill, which includes the income of others in the household (spouse/parent), or anyone supporting you. Additionally, while most banks will not have you verify your income, it does happen and you should be prepared to show them. This is particularly prevalent with American Express, and is known as a Financial Review (FR).
« Last edited by S209 on September 09, 2018, 01:45:26 AM »

Author Topic: Credit Card For Beginners  (Read 914669 times)

Offline Cholentfresser

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Re: Secured credit card help
« Reply #100 on: June 10, 2010, 07:11:09 PM »
if ur not a student (& don't want to say u are) go to capitalone.com, they have credit cards for people with no credit, I don't know anyone that applied, so you may or may not get approved, but the card says its for people with no credit, ur credit line probably won't be more than $300.
my brother got approved for a capital one card, he had no credit, it was his first card.
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Offline Crazy tools

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Re: Secured credit card help
« Reply #101 on: June 10, 2010, 07:28:48 PM »
actualy my first cc was with capital one with a limit of $300, but I got an offer in the mail, the card has a $40 a year fee.
but I didn't know that on the web site they offer the same card without the fee,

Offline zalman123

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Re: Secured credit card help
« Reply #102 on: June 10, 2010, 07:45:55 PM »
I know two people who got the capital one card as their first card one with the annual fee one without both with 300 limit after 6 months it went to 500

Offline jack12

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Re: Secured credit card help
« Reply #103 on: July 07, 2010, 09:10:11 AM »
How many months should a person with no precious credit, who is using a secure cc and paying on time monthly, wait to apply for a real cc?

Offline NOOCH

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Credit cards for no credit history
« Reply #104 on: August 16, 2010, 03:16:28 PM »
Does anyone know of a credit card that is easy to get accepted, for someone with no history?

Online AsherO

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Re: Credit cards for no credit history
« Reply #105 on: August 16, 2010, 03:38:31 PM »
Does anyone know of a credit card that is easy to get accepted, for someone with no history?

You don't have a credit history?
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Offline ChAiM'l

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Re: Credit cards for no credit history
« Reply #106 on: August 16, 2010, 03:44:47 PM »
Does anyone know of a credit card that is easy to get accepted, for someone with no history?

First of all, welcome to the forums! Now, a piece of advice. If you take a look toward the top of the screen (to the right of the "Help" link) you'll see "Search". Use it. If you can't find anything that helps you, start a new thread.

As a favor to a new member, I searched for you, and came up with the following threads-

http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=266.msg3515#msg3515

http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/2902

http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=1101

http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=2170.0

Good Luck!

Offline NOOCH

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Re: Credit cards for no credit history
« Reply #107 on: August 17, 2010, 09:13:50 AM »
@ chaim'l - thanx
@ asher, yeah im new to this whole credit card thing, jk, my wife never had any credit
i ended up getting some capitalone card without an annual fee, as i read from what chaim'l suggested to get a card u will keep forever, so no annual fee works, btw capone has instant approval

Offline Emily

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #108 on: August 17, 2010, 09:52:17 AM »
i read somewhere that the first credit card you get you should keep [and use atleast every six months] becouse its importent for your credit that you had a card for a long time, so you should ask yourself if a gap card is a card that you want to keep for the rest of your life? i think you would be better off with someting like the chase or any student card from a good company that has half decent rewards [ i got the "has us-bank student card" ] and then as dan says sign up to something like the starwood
Isn't American Express hard to get without good credit?

Offline Avid Reader

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #109 on: August 17, 2010, 10:39:23 AM »
Isn't American Express hard to get without good credit?
Yes it's hard to get without some pre' established credit. I just so happened to get mine when I had No CC's open and a very brief (3 mo.) credit history from the year before. But that was years ago.

Offline Emily

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #110 on: August 17, 2010, 11:14:51 AM »
Yes it's hard to get without some pre' established credit. I just so happened to get mine when I had No CC's open and a very brief (3 mo.) credit history from the year before. But that was years ago.
no i have a cc for a year... capital one, brooks brothers, macys... but others turned me down... wondering about this one

Offline elikay

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #111 on: August 17, 2010, 12:16:22 PM »
Amex has been giving people a hard time lately.

Offline SuperFlyer

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #112 on: August 17, 2010, 12:31:20 PM »
Amex has been giving people a hard time lately.
on international basis.

Online AsherO

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Re: Credit cards for no credit history
« Reply #113 on: August 17, 2010, 01:05:48 PM »
@ chaim'l - thanx
@ asher, yeah im new to this whole credit card thing, jk, my wife never had any credit
i ended up getting some capitalone card without an annual fee, as i read from what chaim'l suggested to get a card u will keep forever, so no annual fee works, btw capone has instant approval

So Mrs. Nooch was immediately approved?

P.s. The name is AsherO.
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Offline ChAiM'l

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Re: Credit cards for no credit history
« Reply #114 on: August 17, 2010, 02:43:41 PM »
So Mrs. Nooch was immediately approved?

P.s. The name is AsherO.
"The name is O, AsherO....." [insert appropriate Bond music]

Online AsherO

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Re: Credit cards for no credit history
« Reply #115 on: August 17, 2010, 03:48:14 PM »
nullThe name is O, AsherO.....null [insert appropriate Bond music]

Cute, but I'm not that cool.
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Offline txtmax4

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #116 on: August 17, 2010, 04:27:31 PM »
i read somewhere that the first credit card you get you should keep [and use atleast every six months] becouse its importent for your credit that you had a card for a long time, so you should ask yourself if a gap card is a card that you want to keep for the rest of your life?
I got a Macy's card more than ten years ago, used it once.
It's somewhere in a drawer and it's still in my credit report. Doesn't bother me there...
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Offline txtmax4

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #117 on: August 17, 2010, 04:29:00 PM »
i opened a bank of america student card 6 months ago and applied a few times (about 3) for other cards and was denied. Any ideas why? Is it b/c ive been using most of my credit limit?
Remember which cards they were?
And how is that going two years down the line?
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Offline txtmax4

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #118 on: August 17, 2010, 04:31:55 PM »
no i have a cc for a year... capital one, brooks brothers, macys... but others turned me down... wondering about this one
These are though times in the credit world but YMMV.
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Offline NOOCH

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Re: Credit cards for no credit history
« Reply #119 on: August 18, 2010, 09:18:55 AM »
the name is Usher, so when can my wife start playing the credit card game