Building Credit

[Anonymous]

I personally recommend the Discover It card, especially if you can get a good prequalification offer on their website - you want to look for a solid, single-figure APR offer or at least a small-range APR offer (no more than 3% to 4% between low and high APR), either of which indicates your chances of approval are good. Discover has been wonky lately about CLI's but if you're lucky and keep your card in good order you may be able to get regular CLI's at as low as 30-day intervals by hitting the "luv" button.

To build credit, ideally you should have 3 credit cards plus at least one good installment loan; be careful about taking personal loans unless they're from credit unions or major banks - you want to avoid personal-finance companies. Follow the recommendations in this thread about how to manage your credit cards and your overall credit, and you should start to see your scores going up before too long.

[Anonymous]

I think you should apply for a few cards and then garden until the age of your accounts goes up. Your average age is small, you can still run that down by applying for a few new credit lines without majorly affecting your score.

If you don't need a loan a mortgage or a new rental soon I suggest doing this

[Anonymous]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I spent many evenings doing research and trying to make the best prepared approach. I waited but not for long - I applied and was approved for three cards. American Express Blue Cash Everyday for 4k, Discover It for 6k (they are my favorite) and Chase Freedom for 4.5k. I took some big risks but they were all instant approval and i am glad it paid off. I will be gardening for a season and working on CLI's at appropriate intervals, possibly get another auto loan in a year after paying this one down, and in the next 2-3 years hopefully be in a good spot to start shopping for a house. Thanks all