topic Re: navy federal for first card? in Credit Card Applications

navy federal for first card?

longclimbback — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 11:16:33 GMT

Hi I'm trying to help my stepdaughter get some tradelines established. She was just able to join navy federal through her father. She is 21 with no credit history. She just tried apping for a capital one card and got denied for no history. She has no history even though i added her to 2 of my accounts a couple years ago. Now that she's in with navy I think she should start her journey there. My question is should she app for a unsecured card? How are they on approving members with no credit history? She has a good income and no debt. Just wondering if she should go for it or not bother and get a secured card to start. Thanks.

Re: navy federal for first card?

Septrosh — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:16:42 GMT

My advice is probably going to vary a bit from others.

Starting out with NFCU I would advise to get a very small personal loan for 6mo and pay the proper payment for the 6mo. It helps show NFCU you can pay on time and be trusted with their money. Then I would start off with a nrewards or Gorewards and just PC it down the road if not the best product for the type of spending.

Some don't like this route because it's slower - As some people have been known to get approved with a BK or low/no credit. But in my opinion when you don't really have the credit, it isn't worth the pull to not get possibly approved.

Obviously the secured card is the other option.

Re: navy federal for first card?

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:32:49 GMT

Good luck!

Re: navy federal for first card?

longclimbback — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:36:56 GMT

Yes it's worth the hp as right now it won't matter to her. I just didn't know if anyone has had success getting a toy limit unsecured card with them if there is no credit file on the person. Thanks

Re: navy federal for first card?

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:09:09 GMT

I did same for my kid, She got a $500.00 cl with a 8k income. but we had to send paystubs in

Re: navy federal for first card?

creditguy — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 16:34:47 GMT

I would say apply and see what happens, no one can say for sure what the outcome will be so the only way to find out is to apply. If declined she can always do a recon and plead her case, unlike CapOne Navy will hear you out and possibly reverse their decision, Good Luck to her.

Re: navy federal for first card?

longclimbback — Thu, 19 May 2016 15:55:49 GMT

As an update my stepdaughter was approved almost instantly with a $1500 limit. Really awesome as her membership took almost a month to get verified and she just got her access number yesterday. She has no credit file. So this was a great first approval for her. Hope the info helps someone else trying for their 1st card.

Re: navy federal for first card?

Appleman — Thu, 19 May 2016 16:46:52 GMT

Thanks for sharing her/your success story here. I am sure you are talking to her about both the powers and potential dangers in having a credit card. At here age I knew nothing about utilization (except how much free credit I had available) and credit in general.

Ideally, talk with her about budgeting and help her learn about handling her money.

Re: navy federal for first card?

longclimbback — Thu, 19 May 2016 17:11:44 GMT

Yes. I'm trying to teach her that the card will be like a tool. Use it correctly and it won't ever fail you. Hopefully in 6 months she can get a couple more. Should have excellent credit and solid tradelines by the time she's ready to buy a house in 10 years.

Re: navy federal for first card?

UncleB — Sat, 21 May 2016 15:30:47 GMT

@longclimbback wrote:
As an update my stepdaughter was approved almost instantly with a $1500 limit. Really awesome as her membership took almost a month to get verified and she just got her access number yesterday. She has no credit file. So this was a great first approval for her. Hope the info helps someone else trying for their 1st card.

Congrats on the approval! Navy Fed is indeed quite awesome!

Thanks for letting us know how it all turned out as well!

Re: navy federal for first card?

Creditplz — Sat, 21 May 2016 15:55:37 GMT

If you apply for a unsecured card and are denied they usually send a letter stating if you're interested in a secured card and talk about a $500 deposit. So it can't hurt

Re: navy federal for first card?

UncleB — Sat, 21 May 2016 16:22:17 GMT

@Creditplz wrote:
If you apply for a unsecured card and are denied they usually send a letter stating if you're interested in a secured card and talk about a $500 deposit. So it can't hurt

The OP's stepdaughter was approved.

Re: navy federal for first card?

longclimbback — Sat, 21 May 2016 18:28:48 GMT

Yes she was approved for $1500. Zero credit file. 20 years old with a decent job after 2 years of college. Was denied recently from capital one and her regional bank that she deposits her money into. No more apps for now. She's going to put about $500 of general spend a month on it and then pif. Hopefully navy will hook her up with a used car loan in 6 months after some responsible use.

Re: navy federal for first card?

Appleman — Sat, 21 May 2016 20:51:11 GMT

May as well have her keep PenFed on the radar as well. If she does it right those score are going to be perfect for a house when she is ready.

Re: navy federal for first card?

longclimbback — Sun, 22 May 2016 00:10:01 GMT

Yes that's a good idea. She's a full usaa member also so there's another good option for her.

Re: navy federal for first card?

UncleB — Sun, 22 May 2016 00:32:37 GMT

@longclimbback wrote:
Yes that's a good idea. She's a full usaa member also so there's another good option for her.

If she's in with USAA I would definitely recommend them; they are known to be generous with young people as well.

Full disclosure: I'm very partial to USAA because they were the first lender to give me a 'regular' credit line during my rebuilding stage. There are lenders with products that are more 'flashy' but USAA is solid as a rock. (Their cards also have good perks if you have checking with them, i.e. no-fee overdraft protection and no-fee cash advances).