Chances of getting approved for Amazon Visa for first card? - Update: Approved

[Anonymous]

You guys seem pretty awesome, so I figured I'd sign up and ask my questions here. The main question is what my chances are of getting approved for Chase's Amazon Rewards Visa Signature card. I know it's for people with way better credit scores and histories, but from what I've read here and on other forums, it seems like it's relatively easy to get approved for compared to some of the other awesome rewards cards. If it's just impossible and would be a waste of HP (is that the right term?), I'll apply for the Chase Slate or something unless you guys have other recommendations for someone in my situation.

Basically, I don't have much of a credit history and I don't really have an income.

• Back when I was in school I had a student loan that lasted about 6 months and was paid off on time.
• I recently became an authorized user to my dad's new Chase Freedom Unlimited (November 2017). I'm the only one that uses it and I pay the balance as soon as it hits. (So 0% utilization, which I only learned recently isn't great. I'll be leaving a small amount from now on.)
  • His credit score is great. Not sure on specifics because my parents don't keep track, but my mom said their scores are probably 
• I tutor on the side and only made ~$7k in 2017. But,
• I live with my parents. I don't have any real expenses like rent or groceries, and I know that if I ever needed money, they would help out. #pleasedontjudge. 
• According to Experian, my FICO score is 687 as of 1/10/18.
• According to various sources, my VantageScore 3.0 is 745 from TransUnion, 670 from Equifax, and 745 from Experian as of 1/2/18.

My AAoA would be a few months, then, and my FICO score isn't amazing either. But I treat my credit card like a debit (and I'm a member of the Bank of Mom and Dad), so I'll never go into debt. Would it help at all to wait a month or two before applying and then reconning when I inevitably get denied the first round, or should I just give it up and wait until next year? Would it help if my credit score was x, or would it not really make a difference since my AAoA is so small?

[ Edit: So I'm looking at my credit report again, and apparently my AAoA is 2 years, 2 months and length of credit history is 3 years, 4 months. Not quite sure how the former works. It also says there are TWO closed accounts, both for school stuff. One was open and closed Sept 2014, Mar 2015 and the other was open and closed Sept 2014 and Jan 2015. ]

The reason I'm looking at this card in particular is because it's practical (2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and drugstores), you get 3% back on Amazon, there's a 0% FTF, and there's no annual fee.

• Most of my purchases from 2017 were restaurant bills and fast food.
• I'm going to travel for two weeks in April and I'm slowly planning another month-long trip to Colombia later for Septemberish. My friends and I also visit Canada occasionally since the border's pretty close. I hate using cash because it just feels like my money disappears, but even with my Simple debit card, there's a 1% Visa transaction fee. 
• I don't think I make or spend enough to pay for an annual fee.
• APR doesn't matter. I don't ever plan on spending more than I have.

Any recommendations? The only requirement I have is that theres no AF. I'm having fun with my dad's CFU and Shop Through Chase, but I don't think I'd qualify. 

Mod note:  I've updated your subject to reflect your approval; feel free to change/edit if you would like.  --UB

[thornback]

So, the only card you have is the one for which you are an authorized user, correct?

You need some credit in your own name to build a history. AU accounts are fab for building age (though, not in this case), positive activity, and giving a higher overall credit line, but because you are, technically, not responsible for the debt, lenders sometimes ignore it when determining credit worthiness. You may very well be approved for Amazon Sig., but if not, it will likely be due to lack of history and limited income. You cannot use your parents income just because they will come to your rescue if need be, and there is no place on an app to explain your living situation and limited expenses. Talk to your parents about what you should list for income; see if they're willing to agree to an "allowance" that can be listed, in addition to your tutoring income, as an additional asset. In the event a lender wants to verify, your parents could write / sign a letter stating you have access to these additional funds (I did this for my first card with Chase while I was a student - same situation).

A signature card may be just a little out of your reach...not so much because of your scores, but because of your thin profile. You may need to start with a Cap One or Discover, treat it right for a few (six) months, then go big.

[Anonymous]

Good advice @tmr.

I would also like to know if the OP has their own card or if the generated score is based solely off of the student loan and AU account.

Regarding the signature status of the Chase Amazon card, it seems to be one of the few signature cards that are approved with limits below $5K. I’ve seen approvals for as low as $500.

[thornback]

If that's the case (<5K limits), then OP may have a decent chance at approval, though the limit may be low to start.

[Anonymous]

I just apped for that card today. My scores are the exact same as yours and I was approved for 4k SL. Ive been denied in the past for this card but it may help I am employed by amazon so I dont know.

[Anonymous]

I know someone that had 550 credit score and their starting limit was $4,000. It was an instant approval.

Credit Karma has iffy reviews Amazon Rewards card and I just found out that with my CC I can select the bookstore category as one of my 5% categories and it should apply to my Amazon purchases so I will be trying that before applying for the Amazon Card.

[Anonymous]

If you're interested in cashback for gas and restaurants, want no AF and no FTF, I'd recommend the Discover it Chrome. Same 2% back for gas and restaurants (4%) in the first year, no AF, and no FTF. Although Discover isn't as widely accepted as Visa. I don't think your chances at the Amazon Visa are that good, but who knows. However, I do think your chances at the Discover it Chrome are very good.

[Anonymous]

Piggybacking on what @ALK11 said, you can also check the Discover prequalify link to see if you have any offers.

[Anonymous]

Not sure how to reply to everyone so I hope I'm doing this right.

@tmr, @4theLoveofPoints

Yes, the only card I have is one for an AU. The Amazon Rewards Visa would be my first card, and my score is based only on the student loan(s) and the AU account. I didn't even know about the student loan until I checked my credit report. I'll definitely ask my parents today and about the allowance. If they agree to $x, though, would they actually have to give it to me, or just be willing to give it to me? I try not to directly take money from them since I'm living worry-free. So I didn't have the money sitting in my account, would it still count if I don't have direct access to that money?

@Morphine

Awesome! Definitely getting my hopes up now haha. Were your scores different in the past or is the main difference that you work for Amazon now?

@ch3cker

Thattt is great haha. For me. I would love an instant approval...

And yeah, I saw. But the negative reviews seem to be about interest rates and late fees, so I'm not too worried about what my experience would be. The only one that alarms me is the one where the person was approved for the card, but then wasn't notified that the account was closed two weeks later because he didn't have enough personal credit history (which I don't really have either).

@ALK11, @4theLoveofPoints

Unforunately, I wasn't prequalified for anything but their secured card, so I assumed that I wouldn't get approved for anything else. Are my chances still okay if I don't prequalify?

[Anonymous]

Not sure about your chances if you aren't pre-qualified with Discover. But I'm sure your chances are still better than with Chase. If you're interested, you could get the secured version of the card. It still earns the same cashback on gas and restaurants as the unsecured card. From reading this forum, it seems that it also typically unsecures at around 7 months or so.