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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 918638 times)

Offline CountValentine

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1180 on: July 03, 2013, 10:06:48 AM »
Are they reliable at all, just to have an estimate at where I'm holding?
No.
Only on DDF does 24/6 mean 24/5/half/half

Offline smaxber

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1181 on: July 03, 2013, 11:03:56 AM »
Looking to open a few cards (amex and Barclay) was wondering if there is anything I should watch out for regarding them. For example to reavh spend thresholds, how is using them with AP (I know amex could be a problem idk about Barclay) what about VR?

Offline avadah

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1182 on: July 06, 2013, 04:11:40 PM »
Are you able to transfer credit from a Chase biz card to a personal card? What about personal to biz?

Offline MEIR613

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1183 on: July 07, 2013, 12:31:29 PM »
Are you able to transfer credit from a Chase biz card to a personal card? What about personal to biz?
Personal to business, yes.
Business to personal, no, but YMMV. 


Offline avadah

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1184 on: July 07, 2013, 01:10:01 PM »
Personal to business, yes.
Business to personal, no, but YMMV. 


So if I move some credit from personal to biz I can never move it back or after I close the biz card I can request they raise my CL?

Offline htg123

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1185 on: July 07, 2013, 11:10:22 PM »
I'm using credit inform by capital one... I've just started building credit. I've been an AU for 6 months on amex and primary holder for a month cap1 secured. Does a score 702 make sense...or is it FAKO

Offline yitzf

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1186 on: July 07, 2013, 11:34:19 PM »
So if I move some credit from personal to biz I can never move it back or after I close the biz card I can request they raise my CL?

You can never move it back.

Regarding a credit increase, you can always request one, but if they don't want to give it to you, it won't help to tell them that you originally had more credit on this account but transferred it to another account and subsequently closed that account so you want it back.

Offline Barryg

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1187 on: July 07, 2013, 11:54:30 PM »
I'm using credit inform by capital one... I've just started building credit. I've been an AU for 6 months on amex and primary holder for a month cap1 secured. Does a score 702 make sense...or is it FAKO
It's FAKO, but may still make sense. Sometimes the AU will backdate, and if so you may have more than six months of credit.

Offline Cbs

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1188 on: July 08, 2013, 05:41:42 AM »
Looking to open a few cards (amex and Barclay) was wondering if there is anything I should watch out for regarding them. For example to reavh spend thresholds, how is using them with AP (I know amex could be a problem idk about Barclay) what about VR?
shouldnt be a problem if you dont abuse it and if u have other spending on ur cc besides VR or AP

Offline avadah

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1189 on: July 10, 2013, 02:07:42 AM »
Does asking Chase to raise a CL require a hard pull?

Offline CountValentine

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1190 on: July 10, 2013, 02:10:21 AM »
Does asking Chase to raise a CL require a hard pull?
Sometimes.
Only on DDF does 24/6 mean 24/5/half/half

Offline YT

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1191 on: July 10, 2013, 05:05:28 AM »
Does asking Chase to raise a CL require a hard pull?

Sometimes.

I got a Chase United about a month ago. If I apply for a biz card and dont get approved is it possible to ask to transfer the United CL onto the biz card as leverage thereby closing the United?

Offline mmermss

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1192 on: July 10, 2013, 05:42:01 AM »
I got a Chase United about a month ago. If I apply for a biz card and dont get approved is it possible to ask to transfer the United CL onto the biz card as leverage thereby closing the United?
Yes. May be hard but possible.
It's not about the quantity of your posts.  It's about the quality.

Offline chucksterace

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1193 on: July 10, 2013, 05:09:47 PM »
Can someone please advice me on how to see my EX credit report? Never done it before and very clueless on how to see the EX and the others.

I did the myfico trial and saw thay score but was wondering how I can get the EX score.

I also just signed up for the SPG so how can I get my free credit report from that? TIA
You may not hold me responsible for any actions taken that were recommended from my account or username.

Offline jaywhy

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1194 on: July 10, 2013, 05:29:37 PM »
Can someone please advice me on how to see my EX credit report? Never done it before and very clueless on how to see the EX and the others.

I did the myfico trial and saw thay score but was wondering how I can get the EX score.

I also just signed up for the SPG so how can I get my free credit report from that? TIA
You can use $1 Citi ID Monitor trial to get the full 3 bureau report. The scores are FAKO though.
The approval letter for the SPG card should have your FICO score on it.

Offline mnscout

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1195 on: July 11, 2013, 02:33:42 AM »
Personal to business, yes.
Business to personal, no, but YMMV.

Was not my experience. Iv'e tried to move personal to business twice before and got denied. Was told only between personal accounts. Have you personally been able to do that?

Offline mnscout

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1196 on: July 11, 2013, 02:38:41 AM »
I got a Chase United about a month ago. If I apply for a biz card and dont get approved is it possible to ask to transfer the United CL onto the biz card as leverage thereby closing the United?

Only if you want to risk losing the bonus. Even if you've met the spend already they can still claw it back within 6 months after the account opening. If they allow you to transfer some credit onto the business, there is no incentive for you to close the card. Keep it.

Offline YT

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1197 on: July 11, 2013, 10:52:01 PM »
Only if you want to risk losing the bonus. Even if you've met the spend already they can still claw it back within 6 months after the account opening. If they allow you to transfer some credit onto the business, there is no incentive for you to close the card. Keep it.

Isn't there a way to transfer those points into UR points tho? I have  a Freedom and United how would I combine them? and If you cant combine them then whats the point of churning United if your just going to have 50,000 points in 5 different FFN's?

Offline bubbles

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1198 on: July 11, 2013, 11:15:13 PM »
Do you really not see an advantage if having 5 X 50k UA accounts over 1 X 50k ???

Offline Shreknit

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Re: Credit Card For Beginners
« Reply #1199 on: July 12, 2013, 12:25:51 AM »

I also just signed up for the SPG so how can I get my free credit report from that? TIA

They will send you a letter in the mail with score and how to get the report