Approved for first credit card. Next step?

[Anonymous]

I've been lurking around the forums for awhile, and I am trying to learn everything I can. I'm a newly wed and neither my husband or I have credit beynd student loans. Our families basically thought credit was evil, so they didn't educate us about it, nor did they have it themselves. I'm almost a junior in college, and I just got aproved for a Discover It Chrome student credit card with a credit limit of $4,300! My income is around $15,000 and my credit score is low 600s or high 500s. No baddies on the report, just no history beyond the loans and some HPs.

What should be my next step be? I was going garden for about six months, and then maybe try for a store credit card or another regular credit card when my income increases. Any opinions on what to do or what card to get after gardening? 

[Kenny]

PC it to Discover It, just discover it. You can do this via chat or by calling them back. The It is far superior to the Chrome.

Congratulations on your first card, though! It's an exceptional limit and with a great company. The forward wouldn't be my recommendation right now or in 6 months. If you'd like to garden, absolutely. What are your credit goals? Is it to obtain a car? Home? Neither?

This forum can be a treasure trove of information so read, read, read.. and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

[icyhot]

I would focus on fixing whatever is bringing down your profile before applying for anything else. Use your card like a debit card and PIF weekly. OAN don't hold your breath on the Forward cuz it was discontinued 2 years ago

[Anonymous]

Hi! I really want to increase my credit score; that's my main goal right now. Neither one of my parents had credit, so we never had a new car or anything growing up. They paid cash for everything. They even had to have someone co-sigh their home loan for them to be able to get one even though they were 50 when it happened. I would like to raise my credit score to around 700, and I would love to have a car loan with okay interest in about two years.

[OmarGB9]

I would say take good care of that one card you have and maybe in another six months to a year get another one. Unless you want to get your 3 cards now (3 is recommended for maximizing FICO scores) and let them all age together, although the problem with that is your scores seem a bit low as well as your income. Are those your real scores? And when you say "our income" is that between both you and your husband?

[Anonymous]

I said our income, but it's mine. His is seperate. However, it is mostly from scolarships at the moment; I do plan on getting a job come 2016 because I will be transferring to a different university. My income will be above $20,000, then. I'm not sure about my actual scores because I haven't pulled them yet; those are the numbers CK gave me, but I know those aren't usually right. I'm waiting for my Discover statement because it will come with my FICO. I have pulled my credit reports, though. All I have is three HP from a few years ago, my Discover HP, and my student loans.

[Anonymous]

Low 600s/high 500s? I'm a little surprised. I only had student loans to my name before I got my two Chase cards, and with ~40% util, I go about high 600s and low 700s.

[Anonymous]

I  know mine is pretty bad, but my parents never had a credit card. I'm sure being an AU on a card would've helped. When did you get your first Chase, if you don't mind me asking?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I  know mine is pretty bad, but my parents never had a credit card. I'm sure being an AU on a card wouldv'e helped. When did you get your first Chase, if you don't mind me asking?

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Indeed AU definitely helped. When I turned 18, my credit score was ~730. After being approved for three cards on my 18th birthday (July) to now, my credit score has shot up to 792. 

I would definitely say to apply for another credit card in order to let your average age of credit grow along with your Discover card.

This is one reason I chose to app for the three cards in my signature.

Also, make sure you choose cards you actually want. In this case, I would recommend the Journey from Capital One. I got it, and I product changed it into a Quicksilver card. 

[Anonymous]

Congrats on the great score! Do you think I could get the Journey? I don't want it to HP and then get a denial. I already have 4 HP, 3 of them because I didn't have any idea what I was doing. One goes off next month, one in 2016, and two in 2017. One of the ones in 2017 is the Discover.