topic Re: 6 Month Credit History in Credit Cards

6 Month Credit History

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 01:56:17 GMT

Hello, Everyone!

I am a long time lurker and thanks to many of you I got my first credit card with no history whatsoever. I got the Discover IT Chrome for students in August 2015 and now am looking at adding some more cards. It's been 6 months and I have no baddies and my Discover FICO score with TU is 734. Credit Karma reports my FAKO scores at 672 and 696 for TU and EQ respectively. I have no loans and no other forms of credit other than my Discover card. I recently got a CLI to $750. The CLI has yet to report on my FICO TU with Discover and on the FAKOs with CK. I am thankful for my this forum for helping my credit journey so far! I thought I would have to settle with a secured card but ended up getting a Discover with great benefits! I love my Discover card but would like to continue to grow my credit history and get a little more variety. I eventually would like an AMEX, Chase Freedom, Citi DC and possibly another but those are my goals. Any help with next steps would be greatly appreciated. I would be reporting probably around $12,000 or so for income. I am a student but have a part time job. I got the Discover reporting $8k, I also have a lot saved up in a few savings account and I do get a hefty scholarship, and a stipend from my parents for expenses but I'm guessing those can't count as income. I have been gardening for 6 months with responsible usage. My last utilization that reported was 6% and I always pay on time. So just to recap this really long blurb (thanks for taking the time to read it). I have one account open with a $750 limit low util, only one inquiry on my TU score from Discover 6 months ago (approved), no baddies, always pay on time. The only negatives are that I only have one account open and my AAOA is only 6 months. Thank you all in advance!

Re: 6 Month Credit History

Discover2016 — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 02:09:38 GMT

Good job! With 6 months of good history you should qualify for an Amex charge card, the Premier Rewards Gold is a highly recommended card and easy to get. Have you checked the prequal sites of Capital One and Amex?

Re: 6 Month Credit History

Callandra — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 02:12:49 GMT

You're off to a great start! With 6 months history, you can probably get an Amex (which one were you looking at?). Chase might want closer to a year of history (I recommend waiting because you don't want to get stuck with a $500 Freedom that will never grow), not sure about Citi.

Re: 6 Month Credit History

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 03:00:03 GMT

I'm really looking for a card with no AF. I like the BCE, but I prefer the Freedom I'm going to wait until the one year mark to get that. I was also looking at the Cap1 QS. I'm 18 so I can't see prequals yet. Not sure if that changes anything.

Re: 6 Month Credit History

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 03:02:58 GMT

Just wanted to say you're doing a great job!

Re: 6 Month Credit History

Chris679 — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 03:19:37 GMT

Cap One QS would not be a bad idea in your situation. Easy to get and 1.5% on all purchases is pretty solid.

Re: 6 Month Credit History

14Fiesta — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 09:27:30 GMT

First off congrats on taking the first step to building your credit!

If you are generating a FICO score now I'd say go for an AMEX. Any one you'd like. I was approved for my First AMEX (BCE) back in 2014 with 6 months of history and $12,000 income just like you. The starting limit was $8,000. Amex is very picky about clean files, but they seem to love newcomers to credit as long as you can generate those magical three digit numbers.

Chase I would definitely hold off until you've got about 1 year of history under your belt and 6 months of history under your AMEX. They seem to like that 1 year spot and people that have more than 1 credit card Tradeline reporting, so that AMEX will unlock that Chase door for you.

Same deal with Citibank, although they might be willing to flex a little bit if you manage your credit cards with excellence. I applied for the Citi Double Cash with 11 months of history under my belt. I was initially sent a declined letter in the mail stating not enough revolving history. I recon'd that with the Executive Office and was approved for $500 to start, but it has grown exponentially in the last year (see signature below). If you want an easier approval without having to recon and risk taking a $500 starting limit, then I would give it a bit more time.

Good luck!