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Great! Thanks bluesnowman! I would love to have the gold premier, but I think that I'm just going to wait till I have a full time job and I am done with school for that lol for some reason having a card like that scares me. Anyways why are you waiting only 6 months to do more inquiries? I was advised to wait more. Lastly how much is to many inquiries in one bureau? Thanks!
Sorry I forgot to ask: NFCU only gave me a $500 cl when do you think I should ask for a cli?
6 months.....the amount inquries deemed too much are very subjetive and it varies by creditor. I would say at most 6 to get established....but that might be pushing it with some creditors. Also, as you gain credit history creditors become less concerned about inquires.
Goal, why does it scare you? I'm only a year older then you and only with 7 1/2-8 months of credit history. As long as your credit is decent, you should not have a problem getting approved for it. It's a charge card, I use it to charge small stuff, and for the larger things, I would call in and let them know. I always pay on time and before the statement cuts, so I have really no debt whatsoever. I only carry a small balance (3-7%) when applying because it maximizes my fico scores, and it imporves my chances of getting approved. I am waiting because I have a total 3 on EX and 2 on TU and EQ. The more you limit the inquires, the less your scores get dinged. And If I apply now, I probably would get approved, but for a low limit. Also, it gives time for the inquires and the accounts to age a little bit, because it shows my creditors I am not desperate for credit. I use small amounts on my cards, and in turn it is very easy for me to pay them off. Just be responsible and stay under the radar, and getting credit will be easier, you could wait more, and that is your decision, personally when I have all the cards that I really want, then I am going to stop applying until I need a car loan or mortgage. Inquiry wise, If you have less then one year of history Amex will pull all 3 bureaus (from general reading around the boards.), other then that they are a known EX puller. Chase varies between all 3, but usually EQ or EX (EX with me.) Chase and AMEX and especially Barclay's are extremely inquiry sensitive. They can deny you if you have too many inquires (again, it shows desperation to the potential creditors.) I would say have a max of 2-5 on each bureau, because each HP is going to be on there for 2 years.
Good luck!
Don't get overly enamored with the color of the card just yet. As a student with a part time job it would be very difficult to spend enough to justify the 175.00 annual fee. Focus on budgeting and paying your bills in full every month for awhile first before worrying about prime cards.
@Anonymous wrote:Oh wow! That's awesome information! Thanks! I'm not really sure if the pulls are spread throughout because I can only see my trans union score so far and it says that I have three inquiries so far, not including my first hard pull for chase when I was just 18 that I can't seem to find. Do you think I should apply (in a year or so) for the citi forward or discover more student versions or the real thing? And also what kind of cards can I put just anual income and not personal income? I mean I can back it all up with account statements were I am in their as a joint acct. Again Thanks!
I think in a year it's best to apply for the student versions. It makes approval a lot easier, since the main requirement to get the card is being a student, and your scores will hopefully rise and enable you to get the low APRs and high limits! I believe both the Discover app and the Citi app will ask for annual income. So far, I've only seen Capital One ask for personal income. Hope that helps!
Also, before you apply I would add yourself as an AU on your parents or trustworthy relative and or friend. Just make sure their account has perfect payment history and no negative reporting.
@Anonymous wrote:Oh wow! That's awesome information! Thanks! I'm not really sure if the pulls are spread throughout because I can only see my trans union score so far and it says that I have three inquiries so far, not including my first hard pull for chase when I was just 18 that I can't seem to find. Do you think I should apply (in a year or so) for the citi forward or discover more student versions or the real thing? And also what kind of cards can I put just anual income and not personal income? I mean I can back it all up with account statements were I am in their as a joint acct. Again Thanks!
Welcome to the forums; generally speaking when starting out, if you can qualify for the student versions of the card, I highly recomnend them.
The biggest thing when establishing credit is simply number of tradelines, and never, ever missing a payment. 2-3 revolving cards is fine (personally I recommend 3 but it's not necessary), and student cards are still easier from an underwriting perspective though in your case with documentable income from a part-time job, you can take either route and be fine. Longer term non-student cards have some advantages in terms of growth; however, if you're responsible with your usage and payments, frankly by the time you graduate you'll be qualified for just about anything and the starter cards are unlikely to receive much use at that point.
As another thing, since you have some discretionary income from the sounds of it, look into doing a secured loan; I'm 99% confident NFCU offers these, and they're a cheap way of establishing an installment tradeline on your reports. If you can afford to part with 1K (think that's NFCU's limit, USAA I know is 2500) and put it in an account for a year or more, it's a solid method of improving your credit profile as well (mix of credit, additional payment history). Also plays well for auto loans these days as well with the way the auto-enhanced score appears to work according to several underwriters.
Hi and welcome to the forums! I think you are off to a great start! I would wait until you hit the 6 month mark with NFCU before asking for a CLI. You can ask for one online with no issues. I agree with others that it would be best to gain another 6 months - 1 year of credit history before you apply for anything else... Also, look into a secured loan with NFCU... its a great way to build installment history.