Building Credit from Scratch

[Anonymous]

Hi, I am in my 30s but have never had a credit card or loan, so I do not have a credit report with any of the 3 bureaus.  My goal is to build credit without paying annual fees.  I have a BoA checking account for many years and my plan is to first check with them to see if I qualify for one of their un-secured cards.  

Next, I plan to apply for the Barclay Rewards for Average Credit and also the Capital One Spark "Classic" for Business (gold color).  They appear to cater to "fair" credit people, but not sure about people with no history at all.

Does my plan look reasonable?  Or does it look like I will be declined for all of them and I should go the secured route?  Thanks!

[Booboo71]

Honestly with no credit score I don't think so? I could be wrong? I had a boa secured 123 that just recently unsecured at the 11 month mark and was given a 5000 cl. Try capital one most start there i building credit and in 6-12 months you will have some credit! Maybe even go to boa and take out a small loan of 1000 and don't touch it just pay it off monthly.

[Anonymous]

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@Booboo71 wrote:

Honestly with no credit score I don't think so? I could be wrong? I had a boa secured 123 that just recently unsecured at the 11 month mark and was given a 5000 cl. Try capital one most start there i building credit and in 6-12 months you will have some credit! Maybe even go to boa and take out a small loan of 1000 and don't touch it just pay it off monthly.

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Yes, absolutely sure no score at all.  All the pre-qualification tools show no report and I never used my SSN to apply for any loan/credit.

Re: BOA secured going un-secured, are you able to remove the $39 annual fee going forward too?

[BrokaToe]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Booboo71 wrote:

Honestly with no credit score I don't think so? I could be wrong? I had a boa secured 123 that just recently unsecured at the 11 month mark and was given a 5000 cl. Try capital one most start there i building credit and in 6-12 months you will have some credit! Maybe even go to boa and take out a small loan of 1000 and don't touch it just pay it off monthly.

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Yes, absolutely sure no score at all.  All the pre-qualification tools show no report and I never used my SSN to apply for any loan/credit.

Re: BOA secured going un-secured, are you able to remove the $39 annual fee going forward too?

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This is definitely a YMMV thing, but when my BOA card unsecured at 9 months, they removed the AF as well, but that doesn't always happen.  It would probably depend on how much usage you gave the card.  If they feel that they will make some decent money off your usage without charging an AF then they may opt to remove it. But like I said, it's different with every case.

[doctorofcredit]

You're going to struggle to get those cards with no history whats so ever. I'd apply for the discover IT and hope I get targetted for the secured version of the card. If you're not, go for the DCU or NFCU secured cards if you're eligible to apply for either. If not, best bet is the Harley Davidson card, no annual fee, possible to add funds without a HP, graduates and has a rewards program (even though it's rubbish). 

[twist7d7]

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@doctorofcredit wrote:

You're going to struggle to get those cards with no history whats so ever. I'd apply for the discover IT and hope I get targetted for the secured version of the card. If you're not, go for the DCU or NFCU secured cards if you're eligible to apply for either. If not, best bet is the Harley Davidson card, no annual fee, possible to add funds without a HP, graduates and has a rewards program (even though it's rubbish). 

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+1 discover took a chance on me (wasnt even secured). they might start you off at a low limit but you can build from there and get anything you want. discover also has free fico scores every month.

[Booboo71]

I still have the 39 fee

[Jeff007245]

Recommended Starter Cards

1. Bank of America Secured

2. Wells Fargo Secured

3. US Bank Secured

4. Citi Bank Secured

4. Discover IT > Student > Secured

6. Capital One Secured

7. CU Secured

8. Store Cards ( Whichever Pleases The Individual)

Rebuilders

1. Merrick Bank

2. First Progress

Not Recommended

1. Credit One Bank

2. First Premier Bank

[Anonymous]

I moved to the US from Canada in late 2012, and had no American credit history at that point. I now have four unsecured cards with a total of >$32k available credit. Here's how I got there:

1. Dec 2012 - Approved for Capital One Secured Card. Deposited $50 in security and they gave me a $200 limit.
2. Jan 2013 - Approved for US Bank Secured Card. Deposited $400 in security and they gave me a $400 limit.
3. July 2013 - Got a prequalification letter from Discover for the Discover IT, so I gave it a shot. Approved for $3,500.
4. July 2013 - Approved for an Amex BCE for $4,000.
5. Sept 2013 - Approved for Chase Freedom for $4,500.
6. Sept 2013 - Via Amex's website, I CLIed the Amex BCE up to $12,000.
7. Dec 2013 - Closed my two secured card accounts. They'd served their purpose.
8. Jan 2014 - Discover automatically (without my asking) CLIed me from $3,500 to $3,900.
9. Feb 2014 - Approved for Chase Sapphire Preferred for $12,000.

So, after just over a year, I've got four cards with total credit of $32.4k. I'm pretty happy about it. I always pay my balances in full and I never let my utlization get above 25%. I did have to pay a little bit in annual fees for the secured cards (and now the CSP), but that was just for one year. I've since closed those secured cards. I saw them as necessary steps.

Best of luck!

[PointLager]

I moved to the US in mid 2013. No credit.

June 13
BofA secured 500

Sept 15
Cap one quicksilver one unsecured 500
Barclays rewards denied

Gardened until dec. put 1.5k on avg on the cards PIF before statements would cut

Locked my TU file w 4 HPs.

Dec 2013
Amex PRG phone approval
Next day delta $2k online approval

Next two months I put $3k on avg on PRG and total of $1k on delta to meet my bonus spend


Feb
61 day mark:
Amex delta 3x CLI to $6k
Denied Citi AA elite world MC. (They requested TU unfreeze also)
Approved CSP $5k
Approved Amex SPG $5k

Garden for about a week or two and them apped for Amex MB platinum and approved.

Rest of feb:
Hit my $3k bonus spend for MB plat
Hit my $3k spend on CSP

Current soft approvals for PRG and MB Plat are $25k to $28k per card depending on activity.


Yesterday:
Apped online and approved for Arrival $5k

Late evening/tonight did another spree and no approvals. All pending:
Citi aa plat
BofA Alaska
PenFed
Chase BA

My goals are to hit 5 figure limits at this point, maybe pickup hyatt in 6 months but at this point I went nuts w apps so may need to chill.

Now I sill have spend to meet and can now obsess lol about where and how to spend.

Going to be looking to cull many of my cards once the AF start kicking in for most of them.

I'm keeping the subprime cards just to maintain my oldest accounts. Haven't used the cards in months.