New Grad Card Help

[Anonymous]

I recently graduated from university and took a job that requires me to travel a lot for work. I am looking for a card to put all my work travel expenses on. Travel rewards are a huge draw for me to a card so I applied for the Chase Sapphire Preffered card, but ended up getting denied. The card I'm looking at now is the AMEX Gold Delta SkyMiles card (I fly Delta a few times a month for work).

I've done some research and it seems like my credit score is high enough, but I have ZERO credit history. I don't want to get denied again so I'm trying to get a feel for if I'll get qualified, or if there could be a better option card for me. Also, in doing some research I've seen people get approved for some pretty low SLs on the Delta card (1 or 2k) and I need something higher than that because of my work expenses (I'm not sure if it's even possible to get a higher SL for someone with no credit).

Stats

FICO Score: 683

No Credit History, but also no debt

Income: 65k/year

 Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated 

[medicgrrl]

How do you have a credit score if you have no credit history?  What is showing on your report to give you a score?

[Anonymous]

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@medicgrrl wrote:

How do you have a credit score if you have no credit history?  What is showing on your report to give you a score?

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I can't give a great answer on this because I don't fully understand everything that goes into credit score. But I did have some utilities bills that I consistently paid for a while, and a few thousand dollars in student loans that have always been paid on time. I have never had a credit card though. I only know my score because Chase returned it to me when I was previously denied for the Sapphire card.

[Anonymous]

I do agree CSP is probably the best option since you travel a lot, but that one does require good credit to obtain. An option may be a Chase Freedom if you want to start building a relationship with Chase prior to re applying for the Sapphire. It's a great card with good rewards that will become even more valuable once you have the Sapphire.

Chase can be generous with starting limits for new customers with new credit, especially if you have good income. Your student loan payment history will be key, so it's good you have that for now.

If you don't get instant approval with Chase, always call for recon. Half the time it's just verification questions.

My first card was the Freedom in April 2015 (FICO mid 600s) and last year I got the CSP in October with a score of 740.

Start a relationship with Chase and work up to the Sapphire, it's worth it.