topic Credit Cards or Installment Loans for Building Credit (no credit history) in General Credit Topics

Credit Cards or Installment Loans for Building Credit (no credit history)

Ahava18 — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:10:27 GMT

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for suggestions on the easiest credit cards or installment loans to get approved for when you’re starting completely from scratch. Tried applying for a couple of credit-building cards like the Petal 2, but unfortunately wasn't approved.

Entry-level products are totally fine, preferabley no Secured cards or only those where the deposit isn’t locked up for too long. Just looking for something to begin establishing a score.

If anyone has recent experience or recommendations for lenders, CU, etc. who are friendly to people with no credit, I’d really appreciate the help.

Thanks in advance!

Re: Credit Cards or Installment Loans for Building Credit (no credit history)

pizzadude — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:13:43 GMT

If you have absolutely no revolving credit history then it will be difficult to get approved, so secured cards aren't a bad option in this case.

Do you have any credit history at all ? Are you an authorised user on anyone else's cards or could you be added ?

Re: Credit Cards or Installment Loans for Building Credit (no credit history)

coldfusion — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:45:44 GMT

@pizzadude wrote:
If you have absolutely no revolving credit history then it will be difficult to get approved, so secured cards aren't a bad option in this case.

Do you have any credit history at all ? Are you an authorised user on anyone else's cards or could you be added ?

+1 to all of the above.

Being added as an authorized user on a card held by someone with a good credit profile will at least get a credit profile started.

However, a secured card from an issuer like a Discover IT Secured card is IMO a better choice because a) the reporting will also reflect your own payment history b) with Discover you can check for a preapproval for the secured card before you apply c) Discover (and Capital One) has historically been friendly toward applicants with thin credit profiles d) you can get a card with a $200 security deposit e) with a good usage and payment history the card can graduate to an unsecured card, sometimes in less than a year.

Re: Credit Cards or Installment Loans for Building Credit (no credit history)

Thomas_Thumb — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 16:32:24 GMT

Revolving CC accounts provide more credit score bang for the buck.

Get a $300 or $500 secured credit card to start the credit building process. Then, after 6 months Fico will generate a credit score for you. Likely initial reporting score will be in the 670-680 range - assuming you use the card and Pay monthly statement balances in full.

Side note: For a good score you need to ensure reported statement balance is less than 29% of the card's credit limit. So, if your card has a $500 CL, keep reported balance under $145.

You can charge $300 or $400 on the card during a month. The key point is to make a interim progress payment so statement balance is under $145. Then pay the statement balance in full before due date.

Once you have a credit score you could make a small, say $100, purchase using Affirm's 0% interest 4 payment BNPL. The 4 bi-weekly payments can be auto charged to your credit card or set-up to pay from a checking account. This can generate installment loan history - assuming Affirm reports the account (Klarna does not report). I think this may be a simpler approach than a credit builder loan. Just avoid any late payments!

Re: Credit Cards or Installment Loans for Building Credit (no credit history)

GZG — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 16:40:52 GMT

@Ahava18 wrote:
Hi everyone,

I’m looking for suggestions on the easiest credit cards or installment loans to get approved for when you’re starting completely from scratch. Tried applying for a couple of credit-building cards like the Petal 2, but unfortunately wasn't approved.
Entry-level products are totally fine, preferabley no Secured cards or only those where the deposit isn’t locked up for too long. Just looking for something to begin establishing a score.

If anyone has recent experience or recommendations for lenders, CU, etc. who are friendly to people with no credit, I’d really appreciate the help.
Thanks in advance!

chase freedom rise, easily should be approved with a bank account with some money in it

Re: Credit Cards or Installment Loans for Building Credit (no credit history)

SouthJamaica — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 21:34:35 GMT

@Ahava18 wrote:
Hi everyone,

I’m looking for suggestions on the easiest credit cards or installment loans to get approved for when you’re starting completely from scratch. Tried applying for a couple of credit-building cards like the Petal 2, but unfortunately wasn't approved.
Entry-level products are totally fine, preferabley no Secured cards or only those where the deposit isn’t locked up for too long. Just looking for something to begin establishing a score.

If anyone has recent experience or recommendations for lenders, CU, etc. who are friendly to people with no credit, I’d really appreciate the help.
Thanks in advance!

I agree with @pizzadude @coldfusion and @Thomas_Thumb

Get yourself a good secured card