College Student looking to build credit

[Anonymous]

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Greg34 wrote:

Thanks Cheddar, and yeah I just looked through the credit 101 thread.

As far as my roommate goes, I just texted him and he said that he had no credit score whatsoever... I think I'm going to try applying for the AMEX... Wish me luck.

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Good luck.  Please post back here and let us know what happens.

Is it possible that your roommate was an authorized user on one or more of his parents' cards and was unaware that that would be enough to give him a score even though he had no credit in his own name?

I hate to harp on this point, but I have never, ever heard of Amex issuing credit to someone without a score, particularly on one of their uber-prime cards.

[Creditaddict]

amex use to approve Green without previous credit.

they shoudl also approve a student amex with no credit.

[Greg34]

So I went to try and check my EX score and I got this message after entering my debt card info and SS#...

Thank you for your recent visit to myFICO.com.

Unfortunately, we were unable to confirm your identity during your last purchase attempt. Your security is important to us, and therefore you will need to confirm your identity prior to purchasing any future myFICO® product.

Your identity can be confirmed by a myFICO® Customer Care agent in just a few minutes by following these steps:

1) Gather recent loan or credit card statements (the information on these statements may be used to confirm your identity).

2) Call our customer support at 1-877-220-1541 (Monday - Friday 6:00AM - 6:00PM or Saturday 7:00AM - 4:00PM PST).

... What should I do?

[chris4434]

Greg, I am also a college student trying to build/maintain my credit right now. Personally, I would NOT recommend trying to start with an AMEX card, since you have no credit history at all. I have slightly over one year of credit history reporting on my score and I just now became approved for the AMEX green charge card. I still do not qualify for the Blue or Blue for Students. The way I started building my credit was with my Bank Of America Platinum Student Visa. I kept that card a few months and then got the mtvU Student Visa from Citi. After having that a month or so, I was approved for the Macy's store card but denied for the AMEX Green, Blue, and Blue for Students. I was also denied when applying for the Discover More. Fast forward to now... I called and got a CLI on all three of my credit cards and saw a jump in my scores around 70 points when the new limit was reporting. I also applied for the Discover More and AMEX Green and was approved for both, but still denied for the AMEX Blue and Blue for Students. I think if I were you, I would try to get a student CC from my bank, or from a prime lender and work up to applying for an AMEX. That way, you can skip the sub prime lenders (like Orchard and Cap 1) that sometimes have all these fees, conditions, and low credit limits associated with them.

[Anonymous]

I helped a friend out in a similar situation (student, no credit at all). I had him apply for the Citi mtvu visa. He got it with a $1200 CL. You may want to check out Citi. They pull Equifax.

[Anonymous]

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Greg34 wrote:

So I went to try and check my EX score and I got this message after entering my debt card info and SS#...

Thank you for your recent visit to myFICO.com.

Unfortunately, we were unable to confirm your identity during your last purchase attempt. Your security is important to us, and therefore you will need to confirm your identity prior to purchasing any future myFICO® product.

Your identity can be confirmed by a myFICO® Customer Care agent in just a few minutes by following these steps:

1) Gather recent loan or credit card statements (the information on these statements may be used to confirm your identity).

2) Call our customer support at 1-877-220-1541 (Monday - Friday 6:00AM - 6:00PM or Saturday 7:00AM - 4:00PM PST).

... What should I do?

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Call them.  If you don't have any loan or credit card statements, call them anyway.  It could be that you don't have a file at all, as you suspected.

[aftermath]

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Greg34 wrote:

Thanks Cheddar, and yeah I just looked through the credit 101 thread.

As far as my roommate goes, I just texted him and he said that he had no credit score whatsoever... I think I'm going to try applying for the AMEX... Wish me luck.

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Don't just apply on a whim.  If you get denied, you would have wasted an inquiry which will hover around on your "virgin" credit report for 2 years, which is like a wine stain on a white dress.

Your friend's approval could have been a 1 time case freak accident, who knows?  Also, maybe he's unaware that he might infact actually have a credit history and just doesn't know about it.  Just because he's never owned  a credit card in the past doesnt mean he doesn't have a credit history.

Look into other options for people in your situation, and HEED the advice of the members of this forum.  We have all "been there and done that".  Why ask a question if you will do the opposite of what is suggested?

I know for a fact Amex will not approve you on a Blue without a credit score.  Think of it this way, would you trust someone with your money if you knew nothing about their financial history?

Ask yourself this question, do you think your friend knows more about credit? or the people on this forum?

Message Edited by aftermath on 06-26-2008 05:43 PM

[braznyc]

I dunno about an Amex now, but when I was an undergrad (I'm in grad school now) I was approved with NO CREDIT for the Gold Amex, so it's very possible but considering they're jumpy due to the current recession (yes I believe we're in one) they may be one you might want to stay away from. But I will say the green card is usually the easiest for college students to snag, and if you're a junior you can go for the gold, just my experience of course.

There was a member on here similar situation as yours some of us {including me} suggested Citi's MTVU card and he was approved. I know it's summer now but if you apply during the Fall on campus you'll be approved I'm almost sure of it, as long as you have no blemishes. These people prey (sorry I get a little bitter about this) on college students and Fall semester is the perfect college credit season.

I agree with others don't just app and futile inquiries. You certainly don't have to wait but it might be easier being the presence of these credit gawds lol. I would even suggest you apply via paper I know so antiquated but if you do and get one from your school bookstore or library usually it asks for you to mail a copy of your student ID, this is gold in the world of college credit cards trust me those trusty little credit reps on campus copy them on the spot for you lol.

Good luck and remember NEVER BE LATE and don't app like crazy. Have fun and good luck on your studies!

[Greg34]

Well as everyone stated. I got denied... Does that hurt my credit score? I guess I'm just going to apply for a credit Card through my Bank (Wachovia).

Aftermath: I wasn't saying my roommate knew more than people on this board, I'm just saying that he was in the exact same situation as me and got approved for bluesky with no credit.

Thanks for all the help

[Greg34]

And BTW, I tried to purchase an EX credit report from myfico.com and it charged my debit card even though I never got the report. I called them and said it would be refunded in 3-7 business days! What the heck? Quick to take the money, slow to give it back... Typical