topic Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student in Credit Cards

Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 03:02:54 GMT

Hi all,

Here is my situation. I'm a current college student who is getting ready to graduate in one year and I'm looking for a second credit card to better my credit score. I currently have a Discover student card that I've had since 2011. I've never had any issues with late payments nor do I currently hold any loans. I'm also have a recurring internship every other semester which provides a steady income while I'm in school. The lack of payable accounts and loans is what I believe limiting my credit score, which has been around 740-755 since I began monitoring it.

Since Discover provides your FICO score by the means of a soft inquiry, I have been monitoring my credit score pretty consistently now. It is currently at 755, but about month ago that it dropped to 733, which I presumed was due to my employer conducting a credit check right after I requested a credit limit increase on my Discover card.

My question to you all is if this is a good time to apply for a second credit card or should I wait so that my credit history is littered by numerous hard inquiries in such a short time. If it is a good time, then does anybody have any insight on the Bank of America Better Balance Rewards CC?. Since I already have a BoA checking account, I will receive up to $120 bonus back per year by applying for this.

Sorry for the long post. Any insight would be appreciated!

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

cobbson — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 03:36:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi all,

Here is my situation. I'm a current college student who is getting ready to graduate in one year and I'm looking for a second credit card to better my credit score. I currently have a Discover student card that I've had since 2011. I've never had any issues with late payments nor do I currently hold any loans. I'm also have a recurring internship every other semester which provides a steady income while I'm in school. The lack of payable accounts and loans is what I believe limiting my credit score, which has been around 740-755 since I began monitoring it.

Since Discover provides your FICO score by the means of a soft inquiry, I have been monitoring my credit score pretty consistently now. It is currently at 755, but about month ago that it dropped to 733, which I presumed was due to my employer conducting a credit check right after I requested a credit limit increase on my Discover card.

My question to you all is if this is a good time to apply for a second credit card or should I wait so that my credit history is littered by numerous hard inquiries in such a short time. If it is a good time, then does anybody have any insight on the Bank of America Better Balance Rewards CC?. Since I already have a BoA checking account, I will receive up to $120 bonus back per year by applying for this.

Sorry for the long post. Any insight would be appreciated!

Employer credit pulls are usually soft pulls, so I don't think that is what dropped your FICO TU score reported by Discover. The drop may have been caused by a HP by discover on you CLI request, but I don't know Discover's policy on CLI increase requests. You may want to pull your TU report to see what is going on.

Just from the info provided, I think now could be a perfect time to app for a 2nd card. Nice score and a near virgin CR with 3 years history.

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Longroad — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 03:42:22 GMT

You should be good for another. Both of my sons are college students and have received good limits on cards through Citi and BOA with the best limits on their Sallie Mae cards. Good luck with whatever you decide OP

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Creditaddict — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 03:47:14 GMT

I would get 2 more, I'd do BofA and American Express either blue cash or the new everyday

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Kenny — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 03:56:34 GMT

I agree. Amex and Sallie Mae would be my two choices if I were to start again. But I made a good choice and got my Amex pretty early... gotta love the backdating of all new cards with them.

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Creditaddict — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 04:09:39 GMT

@KennyRS wrote:
I agree. Amex and Sallie Mae would be my two choices if I were to start again. But I made a good choice and got my Amex pretty early... gotta love the backdating of all new cards with them.

i like these 2 then the BofA butifyou want that card because you bank with them then you should apply for all 3 and you might be surprised how quickly your score actually goes up from where it is now with a few more cards

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 04:42:37 GMT

May I ask what the benefits are for American Express and Sallie Mae CCs over BoA, Chase CCs etc.?

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Kenny — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 04:46:29 GMT

It's just good to start your member since date as early as is possible due to the fact that any subsequent credit cards opened through Centurion Bank aka AMEX will be backdated to 2014. Which will be very helpful for your when it's 2042 and you're apping for the new Titanium chip that's fit for your eyeglasses or something. LOL What a world that would be. Odd.

Anyways, seriously. lol The reason I offered up the Sallie Mae is that it's an excellent cash back card in the way that you get 5% cashback on the first 250 dollars in groceries also gas and the first 750 dollars of bookstore purchases. (These bookstore purchases include Amazon.com!) After the initial 5% the card then kicks over to a 1% CB on the remaining amount of money spent in that category each month! It's a pretty excellent card for low spenders.

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

heyarrnold — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 04:49:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
May I ask what the benefits are for American Express and Sallie Mae CCs over BoA, Chase CCs etc.?

Definitely get an Amex. I assume we are the same age 21? Well, that is with my assumption that you're still an undergrad.

However, I would get an Amex for backdating purposes and MR points. Their CS is also great! I would apply to their Everyday card. It's on my wish list for Jan of 2015

And Sallie Mae is another great choice if you are single and do not spend too much on gas and groceries.

Chase is also another great choice. UR points, a variety of cards with great rewards, and so far their CS has been exceptional to me!

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 05:04:21 GMT

One or two inquiries are not a problem, and if you get declined with the excuse of one or two inquiries then you probably would have gotten denied without them (and I'm sure you would have a high success rate at reconsideration if you called and questioned the denial). With that aside, you should apply for another credit card as soon as your are comfortable. American Express is good to get in early with for the backdating purposes, and they usually start of at a healthy limit that can be tripled in 3 months. I would recommend those without an annual fee unless you believe the benefits outweigh the cost. Other than that I would be tenative about Bank of America, in my experience they did not grow with me, but that could be entirely different for you.

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 05:34:35 GMT

@heyarrnold wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
May I ask what the benefits are for American Express and Sallie Mae CCs over BoA, Chase CCs etc.?
Definitely get an Amex. I assume we are the same age 21? Well, that is with my assumption that you're still an undergrad.

However, I would get an Amex for backdating purposes and MR points. Their CS is also great! I would apply to their Everyday card. It's on my wish list for Jan of 2015

Yup spot on, I am 21. Based upon everyone's suggestion, American Express definitely seems the most benefical route to take. I will go ahead and apply for the Amex Everyday card and hold off on the BoA card. The only reason I suggested BoA is because I've had an checking account with them for a long time, which made their card pretty appealing on the surface.

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

heyarrnold — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 05:38:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@heyarrnold wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
May I ask what the benefits are for American Express and Sallie Mae CCs over BoA, Chase CCs etc.?
Definitely get an Amex. I assume we are the same age 21? Well, that is with my assumption that you're still an undergrad.

However, I would get an Amex for backdating purposes and MR points. Their CS is also great! I would apply to their Everyday card. It's on my wish list for Jan of 2015

Yup spot on, I am 21. Based upon everyone's suggestion, American Express definitely seems the most benefical route to take. I will go ahead and apply for the Amex Everyday card and hold off on the BoA card. The only reason I suggested BoA is because I've had an checking account with them for a long time, which made their card pretty appealing on the surface.

You will not regret it! Once you have your foot in with Amex, you're set! They offer a lot of great benefits that will help your credit file in many ways(3xcli works like a charm!)

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

vygotsky — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 21:08:41 GMT

IMO app the BoA BBR first and then the Amex Everyday second on the same day.

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Gornet — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:07:49 GMT

I am 18 years old freshie in uni and i decided to go with amex x3 lol.... You can do itttt

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

CarnegieS — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:18:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@heyarrnold wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
May I ask what the benefits are for American Express and Sallie Mae CCs over BoA, Chase CCs etc.?
Definitely get an Amex. I assume we are the same age 21? Well, that is with my assumption that you're still an undergrad.

However, I would get an Amex for backdating purposes and MR points. Their CS is also great! I would apply to their Everyday card. It's on my wish list for Jan of 2015

Yup spot on, I am 21. Based upon everyone's suggestion, American Express definitely seems the most benefical route to take. I will go ahead and apply for the Amex Everyday card and hold off on the BoA card. The only reason I suggested BoA is because I've had an checking account with them for a long time, which made their card pretty appealing on the surface.

Go for both! I had a much shorter history than you and I am only 19 and was approved for an amex and a BaA card. I did amec one day, and the BoA the next. You have a long history and you didn't mention anything negative on your account so I think you have a pretty decent chance at getting approved! Amex first and then BoA. Good luck.

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

hizzaah — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 19:07:58 GMT

First post on the Forum!

As an undergrad I started with a Discover IT for my first car this past January ($500 limit). This month I applied for the Chase Freedom due to their sign up offer and was initially denied but a quick call to recon got me a $500 limit with them. Last night I was proved for $1000 for an Amex BCE card.

This will be it for me for a while. I also got a new car in Feb and have quite a few HP'S from shopping around. I'm just holding out for limit increases. July is my 6th month with Discover so I'm hoping for a SP increase. I'll do same with Freedom, and then try for the 3x CLI on the Amex after 91 days (mid September).

Good luck! Let's us know how it goes!

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

elegia — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 19:20:47 GMT

I second the Amex! I was in a similar situation when I applied for my Amex BCP last fall - only one item on my credit file, which was a Citi Forward card I'd opened as a student in 2011. I hadn't been diligent about balances and util and such, but I had paid in full each month with no late payments or anything. I took advantage of the $250 signup bonus on the Amex and was instantly approved online. In addition to the card's reward program and benefits, I was glad to be able to start building a relationship with Amex.

Also, I know that Amex and Discover are accepted more and more places each year now, but it might be a good idea to get a Visa as well just in case. I generally use my Amex for any purchases that don't fall under any of my rewards categories since their reward dollars system is pretty user-friendly, but every now and then I have to whip out my Citi Visa at places that only take Visa/MC.

Re: Applying for Second Credit Card as a Student

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 20:57:56 GMT

@elegia wrote:
I second the Amex! I was in a similar situation when I applied for my Amex BCP last fall - only one item on my credit file, which was a Citi Forward card I'd opened as a student in 2011. I hadn't been diligent about balances and util and such, but I had paid in full each month with no late payments or anything. I took advantage of the $250 signup bonus on the Amex and was instantly approved online. In addition to the card's reward program and benefits, I was glad to be able to start building a relationship with Amex.

Also, I know that Amex and Discover are accepted more and more places each year now, but it might be a good idea to get a Visa as well just in case. I generally use my Amex for any purchases that don't fall under any of my rewards categories since their reward dollars system is pretty user-friendly, but every now and then I have to whip out my Citi Visa at places that only take Visa/MC.

Thank you everyone for your suggestion. I applied for the Amex Everyday card today and was approved with a $10,000 limit which was a nice suprise.At the moment, I think I will hold off on applying for another card for a while although I do understand your concern about merchants rejecting Amex and Discover. However, the amount of times that I've encountered a merchant that doesn't take either card doesn't justify the hard inquiry, not to mention that the additonal credit isn't too useful to me at the moment.