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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 918153 times)

Offline hocker

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #140 on: November 10, 2010, 12:49:12 AM »
i personally got the Citi Forward student card as my first and got approved immediately for $2500. I have many friends who also got approved by Citi Forward as their first card.

Offline smurf

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #141 on: December 28, 2010, 06:23:54 PM »
The chase amazon was my first too. I got approved when I was about 18 with almost no credit history.I asked chase if they could switch it but they said no.
The rewards are pretty lousy 1 ppd and each point being worth $.01 with occasional categorized ppd bonuses.
Although with all the great deals on amazon(pampers...) i find myself shopping there more and more and the cards  3 ppd is not so bad its like getting an additional %3 percent off.

Offline zakdude

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Re: First Credit Card
« Reply #142 on: December 29, 2010, 05:06:39 AM »
bank of america student

Offline Monsey

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #143 on: January 02, 2011, 10:47:32 PM »
Yup do that and try to get a store card, like at Gap, to build up your credit before applying for a real credit card.
An old topic but a friend of mine asked me to find out if he applies for the macys visa card or the macys charge card which can only be used in macys? In other words is the macys visa also easy to get with just a good credit score but no real history?

Offline AsherO

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #144 on: January 02, 2011, 10:48:58 PM »
An old topic but a friend of mine asked me to find out if he applies for the macys visa card or the macys charge card which can only be used in macys? In other words is the macys visa also easy to get with just a good credit score but no real history?

I'd say the charge card is definitely easier than the regular visa card.
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Offline Monsey

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #145 on: January 03, 2011, 01:28:19 AM »
Its definately easier to get then the visa but do you know if when dan writes to get a store card does he mean the store charge card or the store branded major credit card (visa,mc)

Offline Dan

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #146 on: January 03, 2011, 05:51:26 AM »
Its definately easier to get then the visa but do you know if when dan writes to get a store card does he mean the store charge card or the store branded major credit card (visa,mc)
Charge card.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline MnM1130

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #147 on: January 03, 2011, 05:55:13 AM »
My husband had a hard time getting any credit cards becuase hes from out of the country and never had and any credit cards here to had no credit. I had tried applying for cards for him but noone would accept him. so we tried a student card i think by citi- where you need no credit to get. anyhow long sotry short he never used that card but the next thing i did a yr later was add him to my starwood amex card- and after spending money on there and paying and so on a few months later (like 4 months) he pretty much gets approved for every card. so i guess as a second card holder theres some benefits regardless of the ss number.

Offline yare

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #148 on: January 03, 2011, 06:06:38 AM »
even without ss number they find you (somehow or another) and put it on your credit report as a "new account opened".   if you can you should try adding yourself to an amex of your parents, i believe amex looks at all accounts from the time of the earliest account opened with them, so if you open future cards with them the credit history on the new card will reflect that of your oldest account with them ie the au account

Offline mancunian

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #149 on: January 17, 2011, 10:09:28 PM »
the kuntz is finding out which applications & which cards will apply you for both the branded and the store cards in one app. i remember theres a difference in store or online for some cards. meaning, you apply once and either get approved for the visa/mc or just the charge card, but your not ONLY applying for the charge card

Offline AsherO

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #150 on: January 18, 2011, 12:23:38 AM »
the kuntz is finding out which applications & which cards will apply you for both the branded and the store cards in one app. i remember theres a difference in store or online for some cards. meaning, you apply once and either get approved for the visa/mc or just the charge card, but your not ONLY applying for the charge card

That's actually a great idea.
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Offline smurf

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #151 on: January 18, 2011, 12:31:15 AM »
the kuntz is finding out which applications & which cards will apply you for both the branded and the store cards in one app. i remember theres a difference in store or online for some cards. meaning, you apply once and either get approved for the visa/mc or just the charge card, but your not ONLY applying for the charge card
With the bloomingdales card you actually get both accounts.the store charge for when you shop in bloomingdales and the amex for everywhere else.

Offline AsherO

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #152 on: January 18, 2011, 12:33:47 AM »
With the bloomingdales card you actually get both accounts.the store charge for when you shop in bloomingdales and the amex for everywhere else.

Can you get approved for just the charge card or is it all or nothing? Mancunian's whole point is that you get two chances with one application.
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Offline Yellow

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #153 on: January 18, 2011, 01:11:04 AM »
Hey, dont worry
I was just in your shoes not long ago, and the KEY is paying off the credit cards that you have on time, and using less than 10% of the balance.
Also credit history is important, so just wait a few months and you will prbably be in better shape.
If you dont already have a card than as dan says get yourself a GAP card, and just keep consistently paying it off on time.
I was in your shoes a year ago, and now i have such good credit (and i got approved for some awesome cards: amex plat, starwoods, citi cards etc.)

Offline AsherO

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #154 on: January 18, 2011, 01:14:22 AM »
Hey, dont worry
I was just in your shoes not long ago, and the KEY is paying off the credit cards that you have on time, and using less than 10% of the balance.
Also credit history is important, so just wait a few months and you will prbably be in better shape.
If you dont already have a card than as dan says get yourself a GAP card, and just keep consistently paying it off on time.
I was in your shoes a year ago, and now i have such good credit (and i got approved for some awesome cards: amex plat, starwoods, citi cards etc.)



« Last Edit: January 18, 2011, 01:17:35 AM by AsherO »
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Offline Yellow

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #155 on: January 18, 2011, 01:29:33 AM »



cool i got a thumbs up from AsherO
:)

Offline AsherO

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #156 on: January 18, 2011, 01:33:15 AM »
cool i got a thumbs up from AsherO
:)

Finally someone attesting to what I always tell people, if you are patient and you play your cards right (no pun intended :D ) then you can build your credit up pretty quickly.
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Offline Dan

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #157 on: January 18, 2011, 09:28:59 AM »
Finally someone attesting to what I always tell people, if you are patient and you play your cards right (no pun intended :D ) then you can build your credit up pretty quickly.
+1,000.
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Offline Avid Reader

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #158 on: January 18, 2011, 11:12:36 AM »
the kuntz is finding out which applications & which cards will apply you for both the branded and the store cards in one app. i remember theres a difference in store or online for some cards. meaning, you apply once and either get approved for the visa/mc or just the charge card, but your not ONLY applying for the charge card

Macy's application are one for both.

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Re: HELP!!! HOW DO U BUILD UP UR CREDIT??!!
« Reply #159 on: January 18, 2011, 11:14:11 AM »
Can you get approved for just the charge card or is it all or nothing? Mancunian's whole point is that you get two chances with one application.

Either just the charge card or if you qualify you get both.