18 years old and new to credit, which card to get?

Anonymous · ‎11-02-2015

Hello world! I'm looking to get my first unsecured credit card, who should I go to? I make $10,000 per year, I live with my parents and I'm not planning to go to college. Who should I go to? I don't like Capital One so I'm not going there, I called Discover and they said I have to provide proof of college which I'm not going to college. I have no credit history at all, totally blank. Where should I apply at first? Will I be approved? I don't like hard hits for nothing!! Thanks!

Anonymous · ‎11-02-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello world! I'm looking to get my first unsecured credit card, who should I go to? I make $10,000 per year, I live with my parents and I'm not planning to go to college. Who should I go to? I don't like Capital One so I'm not going there, I called Discover and they said I have to provide proof of college which I'm not going to college. I have no credit history at all, totally blank. Where should I apply at first? Will I be approved? I don't like hard hits for nothing!! Thanks!

Do you have secured cards? Any car or other loans? Any estimated FICO score? Those can mean big differences in what we recommend.

As it stands, I'm assuming that you're starting from zero. If you are unwilling to do secured cards or CapOne, and Discover won't take you on a student or secured card, I think my next step would be whomever you bank with. They might be more inclined to give you an intro card. Additionally, credit unions tend to have looser underwriting requirements, so it might be easier to get a $500 starter card from one of them.

Anonymous · ‎11-02-2015

I see two issues working against you here. $10k a year income, at age 18 you're not able to include your parents income and this is rather low.
Completely blank credit history, if you have absolutely nothing on your file then secured cards might be your only option at the moment.
More info would be helpful as Petrovius noted.

Anonymous · ‎11-02-2015

i would worry more about trying to figure out what you wanna do for job or something because at $10k... idk bud

smith5879 · ‎11-02-2015

Shop around for some other student credit cards. I don't remember having to provide proof that I was going to school for the student version of my Citi Dividend I got, though this was back in 2007. I don't see why you should be relegated to secured cards, since you've got no negative marks on your credit report. You'll probably get a higher limit with a student card as well since you probably don't have $1000+ dollars to put down as collateral on a secured card.

Anonymous · ‎11-02-2015

I don't think 10k income is a problem. I made 12k when I got into the credit world, no student loans, no car loans, nothing. I still skipped the secured card stage.

I love credit unions and I would direct you to bank with one, then request your card with that union.

If I could do it all over, the first thing I would do is go to my credit union with $1000, deposit $500 into a savings account. Then request a 2 year $500 Savings Secured loan and a $500 credit card from the same hard pull.

If they are unwilling to give you the card unsecured, offer your other $500 up for a secured card.

Also spend lots of time on the forums to get a good grasp of what makes your credit score so you can build appropriately. I should think after 6 months they would be willing to "unsecure" your card (ie. Give you your $500 back).

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER miss a payment. I think that about covers it...

*Edit:* I should add... Don't have $1000? Bring $500 and do $250 towards each. Don't have $500? Bring $200 and do $100 towards each. Don't have $200? Save $200!

Anonymous · ‎11-02-2015

Im all for skipping the secured hurdle, did it myself, but in this situation idk. Although anything is possible.

GL!

btw if you're determined to apply for unsecured then it would be wise to figure out what cards would best fit your spend habits. no need applying for cards that have no benefit. unless thats not a concern.

Anonymous · ‎11-02-2015

i wasn't saying the income is a problem for a credit card but what i am saying is with no ambition to go to school and already 18 then i would focus on a life plan not a credit card. i am not trying to be a preacher and i know this isn't the point of the post but we are all here to help and i just want the OP to be decently successful. even if they get a $500 credit card if it's maxed that's almost 60-70% of the monthly income and when you're starting out its easy to accidentally over spend while learning the value of money

Anonymous · ‎11-02-2015

No loans or car payments, FICO score and credit scores show no score due to not having any credit cards or hard hits yet, is it bad if I apply for a few credit cards at once? I'm calling Chase today to see if I can get approved for the Freedom card, I was looking at applying at BofA too. Will Chase or BofA approve me? I just don't want to apply get denied and have 2 hard hits on my score, if they don't approve me I'll go to a credit limit and try applying. Also if Chase or BofA approve me, is it bad if I'm 18 and have like 2 credit cards open at once? Thanks for everyone's help!

jacetx · ‎11-02-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
No loans or car payments, FICO score and credit scores show no score due to not having any credit cards or hard hits yet, is it bad if I apply for a few credit cards at once? I'm calling Chase today to see if I can get approved for the Freedom card, I was looking at applying at BofA too. Will Chase or BofA approve me? I just don't want to apply get denied and have 2 hard hits on my score, if they don't approve me I'll go to a credit limit and try applying. Also if Chase or BofA approve me, is it bad if I'm 18 and have like 2 credit cards open at once? Thanks for everyone's help!

Without any credit history and no scores BofA and Chase will be a waste of two inquiries. A credit union or a secured card would be the best place to start out as mentioned by others.