Applying for my first major credit card.

[jamie123]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for all your feedback, I appreciate it tremedously. My credit score used to be 703 until i recently applied for the U.S Bank card.. It went down to 693 now.. I just called the bank to see what the status of my app was and they said it was declined due to my debt to income ratio.. They mentioned it did not have to do with my cred score since it was good standing.. So I added alittle bit more to my income in hopes of reconsideration.. What is the average income usually?

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You will run into problems applying for any of the Top Tier cards with a limited credit history and low income. You really should try and get a couple of student cards right now and forget about the travel reward cards. They cut you some slack with income for student cards because, well...you are a student with reduced income.

Cap1 and Discover both have decent student cards.

[Anonymous]

The CARD Act of 2009 made changes on how the banks market credit cards to the student market, or, those under 21 specifically...   Amex explicitly does not market to college students.  People in college have even had trouble getting in with Chase.   However, there are student card programs out there:   Citi ThankYou Preferred for Students, Capital One Journey, Discover for Students, 

I'd definitely go with the Citi over the Cap One.  Citi has travel cards.  Also, having Citi will make you more attractive to Amex once you graduate and get your first job!

[Anonymous]

Interesting, I did not know there was such an act. I'm learning so much and appreciating everyone's advice. I am at the age of 21 so I guess that helps a little bit.. I was just hoping to have a travel card at young age and when I get older, I will be able to rack up enough points for future trips. Should I lose hope on my reconsideration of the U.S Bank card? I'm afraid to apply again due to my credit score going down.. I'd like a card with $0 annual fee but I understand there are not many out there. Especially ones that are considered "good". 

[Anonymous]

First things first. Make sure you get your REAL FICO scores. Credit Karma does not offer FICO scores. Also, work in lowering your utilization to under 30%. Ideally under 10%. Also visit the pre-qual sites for Capital One and Chase. They have many cards that have no AF. 

[Skye12329]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Interesting, I did not know there was such an act. I'm learning so much and appreciating everyone's advice. I am at the age of 21 so I guess that helps a little bit.. I was just hoping to have a travel card at young age and when I get older, I will be able to rack up enough points for future trips. Should I lose hope on my reconsideration of the U.S Bank card? I'm afraid to apply again due to my credit score going down.. I'd like a card with $0 annual fee but I understand there are not many out there. Especially ones that are considered "good". 

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Scores go up and down all the time, anything can cause it to go either way. Also theres tons of cards with $0 AF, the ones with AF usually have a rewards structure or benefits to try and justify the fee. Do you have any current credit cards? If so what are the balances and limits? Also to answer your question earlier about income, 20k+ is a rough estimate in my opinion that can get you some approvals.

[Anonymous]

I have two currently. One is a Target Visa which I have a credit limit of 6500 and the balance is around 200ish. My other one is a Banana Republic Visa and my limit is 3500 with a balance of 700ish.. I only use Target for daily groceries and gas while my Banana Republic is more like my every day use? Thanks for answering my questions so far everyone! This has been great.

[TheGardner]

Unfortunately under 21 you won't find any pre qualified offers (a part of the card act mentioned above..) Discover likes thin files as does Capital One. Amex has loosened up a bit as well.

I would apply for 1 right now, discover is likely a good pull. Age it for 6 months then get 2 more.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I will most likely try to get that Capital One Venture card.. if the U.S Bank one does not work out.. Although their rewards don't seem as good.. It's a start, I suppose. I appreciate your insight!