The joys of hunting for a credit card with no credit history (Yikes!)

[MarineVietVet]

Sorry to hear about your dad's troubles. That definitely rules out using his credit to help you.The account your mom has can help you IF the account is older than any of yours, IF the payment history is long and clean, IF the utilization is very low, and IF it will report to the CRA's. Not all cards will do this. You need to ask the company first. You will inherit the entire history of this account. One caveat however; if this account starts to go south (as what happened to your dad) your credit will be affected as well. Keep that in mind.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Marinevietvet,

Yeah, its been a tough few years, i think we are just finally rebounding now.  You're right, his credit will not help mine.  With my parents knowledge of how to manage a credit card (years of success) plus a little bit of experential failure to remind of dangers of abusing good credit in any shape or form, you can bet good credit is the goal here.  Ergo, in their case and in mine, reporting to the CRA's is absolutely necessary as you pointed out.  Frankly, i don't know if i'd be after a credit card at this point if it wasn't for my basic understanding of the importance of accruing good credit.

On another note, do most cards allow for several AU's or just one other? And also, does an AU always experience the bad effects of poor credit choices, surely an AU can get out of that situation right?

Thanks for your help again!

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks Marinevietvet,

Yeah, its been a tough few years, i think we are just finally rebounding now.  You're right, his credit will not help mine.  With my parents knowledge of how to manage a credit card (years of success) plus a little bit of experential failure to remind of dangers of abusing good credit in any shape or form, you can bet good credit is the goal here.  Ergo, in their case and in mine, reporting to the CRA's is absolutely necessary as you pointed out.  Frankly, i don't know if i'd be after a credit card at this point if it wasn't for my basic understanding of the importance of accruing good credit.

On another note, do most cards allow for several AU's or just one other? And also, does an AU always experience the bad effects of poor credit choices, surely an AU can get out of that situation right?

Thanks for your help again!

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I know that Citi allows more than one AU but that's the only one I'm sure about.

An AU can experience both the benefits and the hazards of being on another account but they can also remove themselves from the account at any time.

Good luck to you.

[UpNUp]

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@MarineVietVet wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks Marinevietvet,

Yeah, its been a tough few years, i think we are just finally rebounding now.  You're right, his credit will not help mine.  With my parents knowledge of how to manage a credit card (years of success) plus a little bit of experential failure to remind of dangers of abusing good credit in any shape or form, you can bet good credit is the goal here.  Ergo, in their case and in mine, reporting to the CRA's is absolutely necessary as you pointed out.  Frankly, i don't know if i'd be after a credit card at this point if it wasn't for my basic understanding of the importance of accruing good credit.

On another note, do most cards allow for several AU's or just one other? And also, does an AU always experience the bad effects of poor credit choices, surely an AU can get out of that situation right?

Thanks for your help again!

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I know that Citi allows more than one AU but that's the only one I'm sure about.

My husband is an AU on two of my Chase accounts

An AU can experience both the benefits and the hazards of being on another account but they can also remove themselves from the account at any time.

Good luck to you.

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[haulingthescoreup]

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Dunadan wrote:

Thanks Marinevietvet,

With my parents knowledge of how to manage a credit card (years of success) plus a little bit of experential failure to remind of dangers of abusing good credit in any shape or form, you can bet good credit is the goal here...

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What a great term for it! I call my past habits being in a credit coma, but I think I like "experiential failure" a whole lot more.

American Express allows multiple AU's, as does USAA. (Just to add to the Citi and Chase mentions.)

Good luck and congrats on your comeback!

[elaine829]

I live in missouri. you should try your bank for a credit card. My daughters had accounts at commece bank and when they turn 18 they apply for the banks credit card and each of them got a credit card for 2,000. They didnt even have a credit score because you have to have a account for 6 months before you have a credit score.Also if u live in missouri theres community america they pull transunion and they want to see check stubs to prove income.

[moondog7324]

In the original post he says 'nothing seems to work'- So I assume you have gotten some recent inquiries- do you know how many you have? That is one reason  prefer the save to secured method, you create good habits and you eliminate wasting time and valuable inquiries applying multiple times.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help elaine and haulingthescoreup,

Moondog, I've made three credit card inquiries (student cards at Capital One, Discover, and Citi, all three denied me for lack of credit history.)

It was frustrating that even when the terms required little or no credit, i still got turned down for lack of credit.  I hope three inquiries isn't going to be a nasty ding.  In regards to  the save to secured method you had mentioned, what does that entail?  I think you might be talking about joining a local credit union, opening a savings account and making monthly deposits...   Is my assumption correct?

-Jordan

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the help elaine and haulingthescoreup,

Moondog, I've made three credit card inquiries (student cards at Capital One, Discover, and Citi, all three denied me for lack of credit history.)

It was frustrating that even when the terms required little or no credit, i still got turned down for lack of credit.  I hope three inquiries isn't going to be a nasty ding.  In regards to  the save to secured method you had mentioned, what does that entail?  I think you might be talking about joining a local credit union, opening a savings account and making monthly deposits...   Is my assumption correct?

-Jordan

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Yes.  If you don't have a lump of cash to put into savings, then open the account and make regular deposits until you have enough (the minimum requirment) and then apply for the secured card.  You keep earning interest on the savings, you get a credit card for use and to report to your CR, and if you PIF each month it costs you nothing.

[Anonymous]

Well that sounds full of win!