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Credit card for international students

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Mythreya
Member

Credit card for international students

Hi i am an international student here in us. I got my social security just 5 months ago and i have applied for BOFA partial secured credit card right after 2 weeks that i received my SSN. I have checked my credit Karma and its 672. I have recently applied for new Phone contract from T-mobile but they have rejected me saying that i have no credit history and i am not qualified any of their products. They have sent me a mail saying that i have been rejected due to no-score from Equifax credit union.


I want to build my credit history well as i am going to stay here for long time. I want to apply for FIRST PROGRESS SECURED CREDIT CARD as it reports to 3 credit Bureaus every month.

But theres one problem here, when i was checking their application requirements it said i should be US RESIDENT to apply but i am a Alien Resident. Can
I still apply for this card? Is there any other credit card which is better than this ?

Additional Information: i have never paid my credit card in full. I pay my bills on time.

Thanks in Advance
Mythreya
Message 1 of 53
52 REPLIES 52
NewtoCredit80
Frequent Contributor

Re: Credit card for international students

If you already have BOFA secured credit card then your socre would be generated after 6 months of credit history. Wait for another 6 months and as mentioned by many  user on the forum that your secured credit card would graduate to unsecured on 1 year anniversary. I would apply for CapOne newcomer card after 1 month because the card is for people with limited credit history. I also got approved for the same last month after recon.

 



PNC Secured 2000 (Dec12), Chase Amazon 2000 (Apr13), CapOne Newcomer 2500 (May13), Citi dividend 3000 (May13), Discover IT 1000 (Jul13), Amex BCP 6000 (Jul13), Chase Southwest 10000 (Jul13), Chase Marriott 12000 (Oct 13), BofA Travel Rewards 5000 (Dec13)

- In garden till Dec 2014
Message 2 of 53
broseph23
Regular Contributor

Re: Credit card for international students

T-mobile does not do contracts anymore for any of their products so I'm not sure how they can reject you... Unless they still do a credit check for their new Contract-Free services.

Age: 25 | FICO: TU 802, EQ 782, EX 801 | FAKO: TU 778, EX 769 | Garden: 6/2015 | Total History: 7yr 6mo | AAoA: 4yr 2mo | Util: 4%
........24000...............10000.....................6000................7000................500..................5000................18000...............10000
Message 3 of 53
NewtoCredit80
Frequent Contributor

Re: Credit card for international students

T-mobile new plan offer phone on monthly $20 installment in most cases. So it is contract without actually saying it is a contract.

 



PNC Secured 2000 (Dec12), Chase Amazon 2000 (Apr13), CapOne Newcomer 2500 (May13), Citi dividend 3000 (May13), Discover IT 1000 (Jul13), Amex BCP 6000 (Jul13), Chase Southwest 10000 (Jul13), Chase Marriott 12000 (Oct 13), BofA Travel Rewards 5000 (Dec13)

- In garden till Dec 2014
Message 4 of 53
Mythreya
Member

Re: Credit card for international students

I am sorry it was not for Contract it was for Financing Mobile

Mythreya
Message 5 of 53
longtermgardener
New Contributor

Re: Credit card for international students

Don't get First Premier and pay your hard earned money to those loan sharks. Try and get Cap1 newcomers or just give it some time say 6 months and then apply for GECRB store cards. Getting another secured card is anyday better than First Premier. Just look at that insane fees charged by FP.

Wallet : AMEX Costco TE 23k, BoFA 123 Visa Signature $12.5k, Marriott rewards $5k, Discover IT $1.7k, Walmart Discover $5.5k, Cap 1 Platinum $1500, Amazon $2000

Scores: EQ 712(9/28/13), EX 728 (9/28/13), TU 717 (Credit Karma 10/26/13), TU 753 Walmart (9/03/13)
Last app : 9/28/2013
Message 6 of 53
09Lexie
Moderator Emerita

Re: Credit card for international students

Welcome to the forum!

As others have stated, do not apply for First Progress Secured. Allow your BoA to generate a CS on all 3 for a few months before applying for Cap1 Newcomers ( inq and new acct will wipe out your new CS if you apply too soon IMO)
Message 7 of 53
zerobacan
Established Contributor

Re: Credit card for international students

Us resident is the same thing as alien resident
Amex PRG NPSL, Amex Delta 2k (AU) Discover iT 5k, BOFA Siggy $5k, BOFA AlaskaAir Siggy 5k, BBVA Compass $5k! Macy's $4.5k, C1 $2.5, SFCU $2.5k, SFCU LOC $2k, Paypal SmartC $4k, Sam's 5.5k Victoria Secret $2k, Kay's $1.7k.,76/Citi $1.5k Amazon $5k, Walmart Disco $3k JC Penny $4k, C1 $2.5, BBRZ 700.
Starting:TU:536 EXP:561 : EQ:552 Current:TU:680 Walmart (2-15-14)EXP:712 FICO!! (12-4-13):EQ:622 (FICO 2-6-14) Uti 27% Goal: 720 By 12-13.
Message 8 of 53
enharu
Super Contributor

Re: Credit card for international students

Because you have a non-immigrant visa, you are not considered as a us resident. US resident refers to people whom are citizens, and people who have immigrant type visas (green card for example).

BofA, Citi, Wells Fargo and chase offer credit cards to F-1 visas, but you have to apply in a branch. You cannot do it online or over the phone. Other than the application process everything else is the same.

From what i remember, Barclays and American Express requires you to be at least permanent resident status to apply.
JPMorgan Palladium (100k), AmEx Platinum (NPSL), AmEx SPG (46k), AmEx BCP (42k), Chase Sapphire Preferred (47k), Citi Prestige (31k), Citi Thank You Preferred (27k), Citi Executive AAdvantage (25k), JPMorgan Ritz-Carlton (21k), Merrill+ (15k), US Bank Cash+ (22.5k), Wells Fargo (12k), Bloomingdale’s (12.4k), Chase Freedom (5k), Discover IT (5k).
Message 9 of 53
longtermgardener
New Contributor

Re: Credit card for international students


@enharu wrote:
From what i remember, Barclays and American Express requires you to be at least permanent resident status to apply.

This is not true. I am on visa and I have AMEX. I am considered as an US resident for tax purpose. Whoever has Social Security Number(SSN) can get AMEX. I didn't had AMEX in my home country. One good thing with AMEX is that if you have AMEX in your home country and if it is in good standing, you can get AMEX in US quite easily. You need to get SSN for that.

 

However it is true that for BoFA  you need to apply in branch as while applying online, in the form it is clearly mentioned that if you or not a citizen or permanant resident, you have to apply in branch. I applied for Chase Freedom online but I didn't see this message. My application got rejected not because of immigration status but short history(just 8 months).

Wallet : AMEX Costco TE 23k, BoFA 123 Visa Signature $12.5k, Marriott rewards $5k, Discover IT $1.7k, Walmart Discover $5.5k, Cap 1 Platinum $1500, Amazon $2000

Scores: EQ 712(9/28/13), EX 728 (9/28/13), TU 717 (Credit Karma 10/26/13), TU 753 Walmart (9/03/13)
Last app : 9/28/2013
Message 10 of 53
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