topic Re: College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome? in Credit Cards

College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 06:42:09 GMT

Hi everyone, I wish to consult this matter in depth with the experts in the forum.

As a college student with no or little credit history, it is tough to get approved for a decent card with a decent CL. Thankfully, BofA Cash Rewards (Visa), Citi ThankYou Preferred (MasterCard), and Discover It Chrome are three of the cards among the others that are targeted to college students. They all offer attractive cash rewards to students who wish to minimize their out of pocket expenditure.

I'm new to the realm of credit cards, and would like to know more about the operation of college CC. I currently have two of the cards mentioned above (see my signature). Discover was generous enough to give me a $1000 CL, while Citi, with almost eight months of banking relationship at the time I applied, only gave me an appalling $500 limit. Having applied to the two, I am interested in seeing what BofA would offer me if I decide to apply for the Cash Rewards card (the one in red).

My question comes here: do they have a fixed CL for a new application? How do they determine if you qualify for the card or not? Does a long banking relationship add bonus points to the application? How do the three cards differ in real terms?

Thanks!

Re: College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome?

jsucool76 — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 14:14:20 GMT

Long term (or short term) banking helps with Wells Fargo, though I'm not sure about boa or citi or discover.

When you have little no to credit history (as a student would) I feel like they mostly base the approval criteria on your income. If you're working and show income they'll be more likely to give you a card, otherwise you may need a cosigner to get approved, and they would need to have decent credit as well.

There isn't a fixed CL on student cards, though they may be less likely to grant limit increases to student cards over non-student cards.

What is your income like? Do you have student loans open currently?

Re: College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome?

kdm31091 — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 14:21:49 GMT

You have three fairly new cards - honestly, I'd just use them well, pay them, let them grow, and build a history. There is no need to apply for anything else right now, IMO. If you wait, you will have a wider range of choices instead of being stuck with "student version" cards which almost always will give you fairly low limits. Bank of America is fairly conservative either way, so I would not expect a huge limit even if you did apply. I just don't think it's necessary right now. Good luck.

Re: College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome?

OmarGB9 — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 14:52:28 GMT

I think for the most part, anyone with little to no credit history is going to get small limits and high APRs, due the thinness of the file and short history. Lenders are a bit more wary of giving cards and/or high limits to someone who is just starting out on their credit journey, so being approved for a smal $500-$1000 limit really isn't surprising, and don't take it personally. As your file grows and you build up a good payment history, you'll get better cards with higher limits. I agree with kdm; just work with what you have, and maybe later down the line in 6-12 months you can add more to your collection.

Re: College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 14:58:27 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
You have three fairly new cards - honestly, I'd just use them well, pay them, let them grow, and build a history. There is no need to apply for anything else right now, IMO. If you wait, you will have a wider range of choices instead of being stuck with "student version" cards which almost always will give you fairly low limits. Bank of America is fairly conservative either way, so I would not expect a huge limit even if you did apply. I just don't think it's necessary right now. Good luck.

This is sound advise! Wait it out. BoA is my wallet's favorite and love the cash rewards. The card isn't going anywhere and with a solid profile, you can get the regular version down the road.

Re: College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 16:50:46 GMT

@jsucool76 wrote:
Long term (or short term) banking helps with Wells Fargo, though I'm not sure about boa or citi or discover.

When you have little no to credit history (as a student would) I feel like they mostly base the approval criteria on your income. If you're working and show income they'll be more likely to give you a card, otherwise you may need a cosigner to get approved, and they would need to have decent credit as well.

There isn't a fixed CL on student cards, though they may be less likely to grant limit increases to student cards over non-student cards.

What is your income like? Do you have student loans open currently?

I don't have any student loans since my parents are sponsoring my studies. As I said, I have a part-time on-campus job, which pays out about $7,000 a year.

Re: College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome?

jsucool76 — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 00:58:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@jsucool76 wrote:
Long term (or short term) banking helps with Wells Fargo, though I'm not sure about boa or citi or discover.

When you have little no to credit history (as a student would) I feel like they mostly base the approval criteria on your income. If you're working and show income they'll be more likely to give you a card, otherwise you may need a cosigner to get approved, and they would need to have decent credit as well.

There isn't a fixed CL on student cards, though they may be less likely to grant limit increases to student cards over non-student cards.

What is your income like? Do you have student loans open currently?
I don't have any student loans since my parents are sponsoring my studies. As I said, I have a part-time on-campus job, which pays out about $7,000 a year.

Doesn't say that anywhere in your post, but okay =]

With an income of $7,000 you're not going to get huge limits. Just the way it is.

Re: College Starters: BofA Cash Rewards VS Citi ThankYou Preferred VS Discover It Chrome?

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 01:35:23 GMT

My question comes here: do they have a fixed CL for a new application? CL depends on income... Will likely depend on credit history but I was approved for $500 when I unsecured from my Bofa secured card in college with $2,500 income... How do they determine if you qualify for the card or not? Credit history, payment history with current lenders Does a long banking relationship add bonus points to the application? I think Bofa does take into account banking relationship to some extent when someone is applying first their first card with them How do the three cards differ in real terms? Not sure what you're asking?

I saw in an earlier post that you do not have any loan history? Maybe instead of a new credit card, you could open a credit union secured loan? A secured loan is when you open a membership with the credit union and put $500 in a savings account for x years (preferably the longest term) and then the credit union loans you $500 in return for your money. Some credit unions allow you to pay almost all of the loan so you'll owe like $50 until the next payment due which would be in like 4 years if you pay a good amount off at the start