Signing Up for a First Credit Card at 18

[enharu]

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@darkariel7 wrote:

I made 1,400 off of my odd jobs part time in 2013. can I  somehow use this to report as income? I dont really have any receptis for it or anything... 

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you can try.

if the banks do ask for proof of income, then you can try to explain your situation to them. They may accept it, or they may close the accounts. It really depends on your luck. Banks dont ask for proof of income all the time, but it also happens fairly infrequently. If you get a nice underwriter / analyst, then he might be more understanding with your situation as well.

The safest way to do this is to either get a co-signer, or to apply after you get a new job.

[enharu]

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@darkariel7 wrote:

Know of any good cards with a puny limit that I can likely get? I live in California La by the way. Just in case that helps in any way.

Also my ssn is fairly new so I have no credit score at all.

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would secured cards work for you?

you shouldn't have any issues getting approved for secured cards.

[darkariel7]

Which cards do you think I have good odds of getting? It seems like chase would not be a good idea because of their pretty high standards. Maybe Capitol One?

[SorenX]

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@darkariel7 wrote:

Which cards do you think I have good odds of getting? It seems like chase would not be a good idea because of their pretty high standards. Maybe Capitol One?

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Are you in school at all? If so, I'd probably go after the CapOne Journey Student Rewards. But again, you'd probably need SOME kind of income to qualify.

[darkariel7]

Honestly I want to stay away from secured cards as much as possible just because I really dont want to pay the deposit for them. I am a student But I am still in HS for the next 4 months or so. So I am not a college Student.

[enharu]

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@darkariel7 wrote:

Which cards do you think I have good odds of getting? It seems like chase would not be a good idea because of their pretty high standards. Maybe Capitol One?

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Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and other credit unions are good places to start for secured cards.

I probably will recommend Bank of America the most. As long as the account remains in good standing for 6-12months, they generally will refund you the deposit and unsecure the card. For Wells Fargo, getting the card unsecured is going to be a wild shot. Chances are you will eventually have to close the card after you outgrow it. 

I'm not too sure about CapitalOne. 

[enharu]

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@darkariel7 wrote:

Honestly I want to stay away from secured cards as much as possible just because I really dont want to pay the deposit for them. I am a student But I am still in HS for the next 4 months or so. So I am not a college Student.

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with your current situation, getting an unsecured card is extremely unlikely, unless you have banking relationship with that bank.

For Chase, if you can maintain 10k in average daily balance, they can get you approved for a Freedom card with about 500-1500 CL in most cases.

For WF, Citi and BofA, you generally need around 5-10k average daily balance as well, depending on your credit file and overall financial situation.

Most importantly, find a job first then. Any kind of income, regardless of how low it is, is still a lot better writing 0 for income on a credit app.

[SorenX]

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@darkariel7 wrote:

Honestly I want to stay away from secured cards as much as possible just because I really dont want to pay the deposit for them. I am a student But I am still in HS for the next 4 months or so. So I am not a college Student.

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I may have still been in high school when I got my student card from them, so I'm not positive you actually have to be a COLLEGE student to qualify from that angle. You'd have to look into that. 

[enharu]

For student cards, read the T&C. Some banks require you to be enrolled as a full time student at a 4 year college. Some are more lenient and they don't really care as long as you are in some kind of college, even if its a technical college.

[SorenX]

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@enharu wrote:
For student cards, read the T&C. Some banks require you to be enrolled as a full time student at a 4 year college. Some are more lenient and they don't really care as long as you are in some kind of college, even if its a technical college.

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If I was already in college by the time I got my CapOne student card, it was a technical college.