Applying for a Credit Card without SSN

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, 

My roommate, who doesn't have SSN, is an AU on my Platinum card for 3 months now. Prior to that he has no credit history. And he applied for Amex Bonvoy Brilliant on the phone with Amex. Now they said he need to wait for them to get back to him. It's been a week and we still hear nothing. 

So what are the chances of him getting the card? 

Thanks.

[CreditInspired]

Can we get more info?

[Anonymous]

I think that’s all there is. He got a card called Deserve with 500, unsecured. Been using that for 2 months. Not sure what else you will need.

[rbentley]

He has absolutely no chance of getting a high end prime card with no SSN and only 2 months of credit history.

[Anonymous]

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@rbentley wrote:

He has absolutely no chance of getting a high end prime card with no SSN and only 2 months of credit history.

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That's not necessarily true; there are several credit card issuers, including American Express, that will approve a card with a valid foreign passport and/or ITIN.

OP, is your friend a student?

[Deuter]

I

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@rbentley wrote:

He has absolutely no chance of getting a high end prime card with no SSN and only 2 months of credit history.

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I think you have to update !

I have a Citi Prestige without SSN OR ITIN.

Your friend can be approved for a good card without SSN. Go Amex route or open an account with Citibank. Have a banking relationship of at least 3 months and you have a good shot. 

[Anonymous]

He is student. No ITIN either. Income 70k from family support and “side jobs”
He wants 100k points so he has no tome to build relationship .

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
He is student. No ITIN either. Income 70k from family support and “side jobs”
He wants 100k points so he has no tome to build relationship .

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Hmmm..."family support" for a student does not qualify as income for credit purposes (see the CARD Act), and since he's not legally authorized to work in the U.S. I can't see how he can claim income from side jobs.

Is he under the age of 21? There are possible work arounds but the pursuit of rewards make the endeavour sound dubious to me.

[Deuter]

100K Points now now??!

I see that difficult. Look i even reached AMEX as an International customer because i saw a 75K offer on the Amex Plat to apply... and impossible.... AMEX told me that i could apply but i should do it over the phone as i don't have an SSN or ITIN. I asked about the Signup bonus and how i was "targeted" , or well seeing that bonus on their website.... and they told me they couldn't honor that SignUp bonus.... that if i wanted to apply would be for 50K.

I let it pass, because i'm confident that with time i will be properly targeted to a higher bonus once my credit history matures a bit. Also other card fit best the strategy for me. I think being an student and showing 70K of income with Citi or AMEX will also get him an approval if he tries. Let us now what happens with that AMEX app. 

[rbentley]

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@Deuter wrote:

I

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@rbentley wrote:

He has absolutely no chance of getting a high end prime card with no SSN and only 2 months of credit history.

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I think you have to update !

I have a Citi Prestige without SSN OR ITIN.

Your friend can be approved for a good card without SSN. Go Amex route or open an account with Citibank. Have a banking relationship of at least 3 months and you have a good shot. 

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I stand by my comment that he has no chance on that particularr AmEx card with no SSN and only 2 months of credit history.  I don't doubt that you got a Citi Prestige card but I am willing to bet you had much more than two months of history at the time.  True?