Hi all 
I've been floating around these forums for the past 6 months or so and I thought I'd share what I've accomplished in hope it helps some of those who are new to credit like me, and to give back for all the help I got by reading the posts here. I hope this is the right spot for it!
I started my credit journey last December (2016) by applying for a Capital One Journey and a Discover It Student as my first credit cards. I had zero credit history of any kind at that point. Not even active credit reports with any of the burues. Totally invisible. Both accepted me, as a student, with $12,000 yearly income, and (at the time) full time student status. The Capital One Journey doesn't actually require you to be a student as I found out, but it seems to be a fairly easy card to get regardless. I started out with a credit limit of $1,500 on the Discover It (that's insane to give a student new to credit lol), and $300 on the Capital One Journey.
Both cards required a minimum of 3 months before they entertained a credit limit increase (told to me by reps from both), so late March I asked for a credit limit on both and recieved a $300 increase for Discover It (Now a CL of $1,800), and a $100 increase for Cap 1 (Now $400 CL). I was told by the Capital One rep that I recieved that increase even though I was in credit steps because it was the first time I asked after their three month minimum, therefore I recieved it and credit steps would still apply by the 5th cycle (June of this year). However, credit steps restarts the 6 month CLI cycle so I would not be able to get another beyond what they give until January of 2018. I add that because I guess everyone has a different story with their CLI approvals. Also, whoever made that Capital One upgrade thread is a life saver because I got my Journey card upgraded to Quicksilver (not Quicksilver One) with 3 months credit history. Talk about unfair, lol. Still, it only has platinum benefits so I guess it evens out even if I do get the 1.5% reward rate.
Fast forword to today and I recieved my very first real FICO scores from all 3 bureaus. 719 from Experian, 724 Equifax, and 727 from Transunion. I immediatly checked preapprovals and had 2 offers from Amex (Blue Cash Everyday and Amex Everyday). I called and asked if 6 months of credit history with FICO scores was indeed all I needed and the rep confirmed that if I applied I would likely recieve it if all my other information was in line with what they wanted. I applied, and immediatly got the Amex Blue Cash Everyday with 17.74% APR and a $2,000 CL. I also applied for the Citi Preferred for Students to round out the 4 credit cards I wanted and was approved immediatly for 14.74 APR (LOL what?) with a $2,000 CL. Note, the rep stated that they do not approve that card anymore unless the student has a FICO score. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but just in case someone reads this who might apply for it...beware. I applied for these with a $15,000 income and still student status, if you need a data point.
So now I have 4 cards and a total CL of $6,850 after only 6 months of credit history. That's amazing. As a side note I will say that The Discover thread seems to be accurate that if you're under a certain CL you can get an increase every 31-61ish days as I also got that increased this month from $1,800 to $2,100.
Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd share since this forum and a bit of research started my credit journey fantasticly and without a lot of hiccups. 4 is all I need for a long, long time...but now I get to enjoy several more months of 0% APR while building even better history for when I graduate. That will help immensly.
So thank you all so so so so much. This forum has been a great help!
Congratulations on your haul, you're doing great! You did a fantastic job for just 6 months, wow!
We have a similar profile, I'm a student making similar, so thank you for sharing your anecdote. Nice to know some CLIs are in my future.
Keep it up, nice scores!
@Anonymous wrote:Hi all
I've been floating around these forums for the past 6 months or so and I thought I'd share what I've accomplished in hope it helps some of those who are new to credit like me, and to give back for all the help I got by reading the posts here. I hope this is the right spot for it!
I started my credit journey last December (2016) by applying for a Capital One Journey and a Discover It Student as my first credit cards. I had zero credit history of any kind at that point. Not even active credit reports with any of the burues. Totally invisible. Both accepted me, as a student, with $12,000 yearly income, and (at the time) full time student status. The Capital One Journey doesn't actually require you to be a student as I found out, but it seems to be a fairly easy card to get regardless. I started out with a credit limit of $1,500 on the Discover It (that's insane to give a student new to credit lol), and $300 on the Capital One Journey.
Both cards required a minimum of 3 months before they entertained a credit limit increase (told to me by reps from both), so late March I asked for a credit limit on both and recieved a $300 increase for Discover It (Now a CL of $1,800), and a $100 increase for Cap 1 (Now $400 CL). I was told by the Capital One rep that I recieved that increase even though I was in credit steps because it was the first time I asked after their three month minimum, therefore I recieved it and credit steps would still apply by the 5th cycle (June of this year). However, credit steps restarts the 6 month CLI cycle so I would not be able to get another beyond what they give until January of 2018. I add that because I guess everyone has a different story with their CLI approvals. Also, whoever made that Capital One upgrade thread is a life saver because I got my Journey card upgraded to Quicksilver (not Quicksilver One) with 3 months credit history. Talk about unfair, lol. Still, it only has platinum benefits so I guess it evens out even if I do get the 1.5% reward rate.
Fast forword to today and I recieved my very first real FICO scores from all 3 bureaus. 719 from Experian, 724 Equifax, and 727 from Transunion. I immediatly checked preapprovals and had 2 offers from Amex (Blue Cash Everyday and Amex Everyday). I called and asked if 6 months of credit history with FICO scores was indeed all I needed and the rep confirmed that if I applied I would likely recieve it if all my other information was in line with what they wanted. I applied, and immediatly got the Amex Blue Cash Everyday with 17.74% APR and a $2,000 CL. I also applied for the Citi Preferred for Students to round out the 4 credit cards I wanted and was approved immediatly for 14.74 APR (LOL what?) with a $2,000 CL. Note, the rep stated that they do not approve that card anymore unless the student has a FICO score. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but just in case someone reads this who might apply for it...beware. I applied for these with a $15,000 income and still student status, if you need a data point.
So now I have 4 cards and a total CL of $6,850 after only 6 months of credit history. That's amazing. As a side note I will say that The Discover thread seems to be accurate that if you're under a certain CL you can get an increase every 31-61ish days as I also got that increased this month from $1,800 to $2,100.
Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd share since this forum and a bit of research started my credit journey fantasticly and without a lot of hiccups. 4 is all I need for a long, long time...but now I get to enjoy several more months of 0% APR while building even better history for when I graduate. That will help immensly.
So thank you all so so so so much. This forum has been a great help!
Awesome. Congrats.
Way to go! Enjoy your new wealth
Keep it up!!
Yes, I think most of us here - especially the 40+ yr old demographic, who still remembers when the internet was not all that - would have loved to have had all of this information at our fingertips when we were in college... especially given all of the banks that would set up their tents on campus to pass out their "free" checking accounts and credit cards. 
Truthfully, speaking for myself at that age, l wasn't ready to be responsible yet, so it probably would not have changed my early path. I still would have treated them as the fools for providing us with the buying power despite both sides knowing the power to repay was completely absent.. zero income - living off of student loans & scholarships. 
All of that to say, protect what you have and respect what you're building. As long as you never allow a hiccup in the present to shift your focus off of the future, you'll do great! It's all about the long game!
Thanks for the words guys
Truth be told, credit cards are a big no-no for promoting around campuses now due to the Credit Card Act, but there are so many ways it reaches ears. One example is through word of mouth friend referrals. There's a reason why Discover gives $50 per friend, and Amex gives reward points, etc. It works. I felt more peer pressure to get one from my friends than I did pressure from credit adverts lol.
I do have to say...and I hope I don't jinx myself here...but it seems like we are credit knowledge deficient in this country as much as we like using credit. Not once did I ever take a class or get any information about credit cards or responsible use. I had to take my own initiative and look things up which...while good in its own way...just sets people up for failure when they can't figure out what FICO score is used where, and if they're looking at actual FICO scores or Vantage Scores...it's bizzare. I can't figure out why we haven't regulated that more.
Oh well. Since this has so many views I hope it helped someone as opposed to people just glancing at it
Thanks guys ^_^
