I'd say try & use some of your parents income as hers but Amex will likely want to see hers somewhere down the line. Maybe just enough to get her the card with a small SL. I'm not recommending you lie about income. Maybe she can start looking for a part time job? Every little bit helps. 
@SecretAzure wrote:Hello MyFico members, I have helped my sister get started on her credit journey recently. She is a full-time student with no income. She is piggybacking on my BCE, Freedom, and Ring cards currently. I have two questions.
At what point might her scores support applying for a prime card? (I want to skip secure cards if possible and get her the Amex BCE as her first card since it builds CL fast and has it's uses)
Can one even get credit with no income? Should one...maybe not tell the truth? Or stretch it a little? Or is there an option for blank/no income?
I welcome all suggestions and appreciate them.
I just applied for an AMEX card a month or so ago and in the application it did say in the income section that the applicant could put down any income that they have access to. It was pretty clear that they consider people that rely on others financially. I am not sure what she would check though in the area that asks what the person does, I know there was a list, but I didn't look over it as I just checked "employed".
The only problem is AMEX may be a tough card to get for a first card, but I am assuming that your sister has no inquiries, so it may not hurt to try. They only pulled Experian for me, but I am not sure if that is always the case. I believe Discover has a card for students.
@SecretAzure wrote:Hello MyFico members, I have helped my sister get started on her credit journey recently. She is a full-time student with no income. She is piggybacking on my BCE, Freedom, and Ring cards currently. I have two questions.
At what point might her scores support applying for a prime card? (I want to skip secure cards if possible and get her the Amex BCE as her first card since it builds CL fast and has it's uses)
Can one even get credit with no income? Should one...maybe not tell the truth? Or stretch it a little? Or is there an option for blank/no income?
I welcome all suggestions and appreciate them.
Forgive me if I missed it, but I don't think anyone has suggested the easiest solution: can she just get a part-time job? $10k a year in gross income isn't really very much; that equates to making roughly $192 a week - very doable if she's working, say, 20 hours a week and making $10 per hour.
If that's not an option, keep in mind that she *could* potentially list your parents' income, providing she "has access" to it. AMEX seems more concerned with if you can pay - not how you get the funds to pay. Hope that helps.
@Anonymous wrote:
@SecretAzure wrote:Hello MyFico members, I have helped my sister get started on her credit journey recently. She is a full-time student with no income. She is piggybacking on my BCE, Freedom, and Ring cards currently. I have two questions.
At what point might her scores support applying for a prime card? (I want to skip secure cards if possible and get her the Amex BCE as her first card since it builds CL fast and has it's uses)
Can one even get credit with no income? Should one...maybe not tell the truth? Or stretch it a little? Or is there an option for blank/no income?
I welcome all suggestions and appreciate them.
I just applied for an AMEX card a month or so ago and in the application it did say in the income section that the applicant could put down any income that they have access to. It was pretty clear that they consider people that rely on others financially. I am not sure what she would check though in the area that asks what the person does, I know there was a list, but I didn't look over it as I just checked "employed".
The only problem is AMEX may be a tough card to get for a first card, but I am assuming that your sister has no inquiries, so it may not hurt to try. They only pulled Experian for me, but I am not sure if that is always the case. I believe Discover has a card for students.
Amex if probably the easiest card to get if you have six month of credit history... With that said be careful with Amex with what you say is your income as if you can't prove it by tax returns or joint filings if you were approved then say goodbye to it...
Discover and Amex are the easiest cards to get approved for with limited credit history... Just don't lie and have a job, pretty simple. They want to know you can repay your debt.