Need Help with getting a credit card

[Anonymous]

I am 37 and have no credit history, I have never had any credit cards everything is in my husbands name. Well when my husband retires from the Army in 2 years we want to buy our first house and I want a  credit card to establish some credit. But I tried applying and always got the same response. Sorry due to no credit history we can not offer you a card. Is there any card that will start me out? I don't care if its 200 dollars, I just want a real credit card. Any ideas or suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Usually the best way to start to get a first card is through a lender like Capital One or a credit union. Also USAA may be a good idea for a credit card. They  may approve you since you could be a full member.

[Walt_K]

Have you had your husband add you as an authorized user to his accounts?  If not, I would do that provided they don't have negative history.  After those hit your reports, sign up for a free trial of score watch or something and see what your FICO score is.  Depending on age of his accounts, you might be in good shape with just those AU accounts to then apply for your own card.

[Anonymous]

i recommend any capital 1 starter card. youll have a low limit, and an annual fee probably, but they seem to give out cards to people with no history(me).

otherwise if you have enough money to make a deposit, BoA secured is a good choice. you can deposit between 300-5000 i think and you will be upgraded to an unsecured card after a year of good payment history.

another option could be a store card. amazon seems to give them out pretty easily, and GE gives you good CLIs every few months. 

these are the only cards ive been approved for, so im guessing they would also approve you.

maybe even check out your local credit union. people seem to have good experiences with those.

[GB44]

---

@Walt_K wrote:

Have you had your husband add you as an authorized user to his accounts?  If not, I would do that provided they don't have negative history.  After those hit your reports, sign up for a free trial of score watch or something and see what your FICO score is.  Depending on age of his accounts, you might be in good shape with just those AU accounts to then apply for your own card.

---

+1

I would also sign up with Navy Federal, if not already, and take a look at their products.