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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 918258 times)

Offline shimino1

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #860 on: April 14, 2013, 08:46:46 AM »
I stated how either way it can work to your advantage. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
So you can swing it either way. im not yet an expert  :)

Offline ckmk47

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #861 on: April 17, 2013, 12:15:43 AM »

I HUCA'd and SM'd no luck

New development: got denial letter in mail today reason for denial was: too many requests for credit...I filled out the forms and clicked submit all within 10 seconds of each other... Did 3 BM with freedom sapphire and ink bold. Either 2 is too much or they registered it as 3....

How much does age play a role in this?

If you're doing a 3bm with Chase, mixing business and consumer cards will usually cause 2 pulls.  Ink is a business card.
My favorite cause: cssy.org

Offline shimino1

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #862 on: April 17, 2013, 08:57:45 AM »
If you're doing a 3bm with Chase, mixing business and consumer cards will usually cause 2 pulls.  Ink is a business card.

+1

Offline meshugener

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #863 on: April 17, 2013, 11:21:01 AM »
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Offline davidch

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #864 on: April 21, 2013, 10:48:01 PM »
Hey I just received my first cc which is a banana republic store card. and I wanna have great credit score so I just wanted to know what you meant by this  "Pay your credit card bill before your statement
closes but leave over a few dollars to be paid after
your statement closes".

Offline Shmulyg

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #865 on: April 21, 2013, 10:51:31 PM »
Hey I just received my first cc which is a banana republic store card. and I wanna have great credit score so I just wanted to know what you meant by this  "Pay your credit card bill before your statement
closes but leave over a few dollars to be paid after
your statement closes".
Basically you want to keep your utilization ratio down. So if you're spending more than 10-30 percent of your available credit, you don't want that reported to the credit bureaus. One way to do that is by paying before the statement closes (as that's when they usually report to the bureaus),

Offline Saver2000

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #866 on: April 21, 2013, 10:52:09 PM »
Hey I just received my first cc which is a banana republic store card. and I wanna have great credit score so I just wanted to know what you meant by this  "Pay your credit card bill before your statement
closes but leave over a few dollars to be paid after
your statement closes".
Your statement closing is the end of the monthly billing cycle.
The balance on your card when the statement closes is whats reported to the credit bureau.

Its best to only have a small balance at that time.
In order to do that, you need to either
A) not spend alot on the card during the monthly billing cycle
B) Pay off the high balance before it closes so it doesnt get reported.

Offline nobiggy

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #867 on: May 04, 2013, 11:55:40 PM »
I had my own discover card for 3 billing cycles. I am an AU on 2 AMEX cards for 8 months.
any ideas what's good for me now with good sighn up bonus and easy to get aprooved?

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #868 on: May 05, 2013, 01:46:53 AM »
2bm for a chase freedom , and a sapphire prefferd

Offline Shmulyg

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #869 on: May 05, 2013, 02:57:26 AM »
2bm for a chase freedom , and a sapphire prefferd
SP is not known to be for beginners, though i guess it can't hurt if part of a 2BM.

EMES

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #870 on: May 05, 2013, 04:49:57 AM »
Was told so too,
However myself and a friend did the 2 bm , instant approval on the freedom and reconsiderd for the sapphire

Offline nobiggy

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #871 on: May 05, 2013, 09:01:25 AM »
SP is not known to be for beginners, though i guess it can't hurt if part of a 2BM.
so is chase good or amex? And which cards are easiest and good sighn up??

Offline meshugener

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #872 on: May 05, 2013, 09:21:53 AM »
As a beginner, I'd rather do a UA instead of the SP.
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Offline nobiggy

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #873 on: May 05, 2013, 11:35:31 AM »
As a beginner, I'd rather do a UA instead of the SP.
I've been an AU for almost 1yr and my own CC for 4months. Now what?

Offline Shmulyg

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #874 on: May 05, 2013, 12:59:13 PM »
I've been an AU for almost 1yr and my own CC for 4months. Now what?
UA, not AU. UA=United Airlines :)

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #875 on: May 05, 2013, 01:09:30 PM »
If u have charged a sufficient amount on your card , and paid in Full each statement , u can apply for practically any chase card, and should for sure be approved through the reconsideration department .
As they Monitor payment history to their cards

Offline nobiggy

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #876 on: May 05, 2013, 01:45:38 PM »
If u have charged a sufficient amount on your card , and paid in Full each statement , u can apply for practically any chase card, and should for sure be approved through the reconsideration department .
As they Monitor payment history to their cards
I was thinking 1. BA 2.UA reg and business 3. Freedom

Offline Shmulyg

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #877 on: May 05, 2013, 02:10:41 PM »
I was thinking 1. BA 2.UA reg and business 3. Freedom
A 4BM with only 4 months of credit history? Take it easy man.

Offline Moshe123

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #878 on: May 05, 2013, 02:12:24 PM »
I was thinking 1. BA 2.UA reg and business 3. Freedom

 You quite possibly won't get a single approval from Chase. Way too little credit history.

Offline Shmulyg

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #879 on: May 05, 2013, 02:18:55 PM »
You quite possibly won't get a single approval from Chase. Way too little credit history.
Mr. EMES promised him acceptance. He must work for Chase... :)