College Student, sorta lost

[charleeislegend]

So I'm a 22 year old sophomore in college. (took a couple years off with a full time job), had no idea about credit and recently decided to build it (for my future auto loans etc). A couple months ago I applied at my local credit union for a credit card (for some reason I thought creditors were dying to give out credit cards) and learned the hard way its not so easy to get a credit card. So I instead got a AU account on my sister's True Earnings AMEX. Its been a month since I've had it and felt I needed another card as since its my sister's AMEX, im not allowed to use it for my own expenses. My question is if I'm just on my sister's AMEX as an AU, is that enough to raise my credit a substantial level? Anyways I applied for the citi dividend student card and got the 7-10 day notice (should i call them for an update?), and am thinking of applying for the discover open road card (with a cosign if i have to). Just wanted you guy's input to see if I'm going the right direction as I already learned so much from these forums!

[crunching_numbers]

Welcome to the myFICO boards!

It takes a minimum of 6 months to get a FICO score.  Your best cards at this point will be student cards or student versions of cards, such as the Discover More for Students.  Wait for other responses of more experienced myFICO members before apply for anything else.  There are students in exactly your situation who will give you solid advice on what to apply for, and more importantly what NOT to apply for.  I am sure someone will post shortly with solid advice for you.

[jsickz32]

I also got the 7-10 days notice from citi when i applied for the foward. I called them everyday for 5 days but they kept telling me i had to wait, then 13 days later they sent me a "youve been approved" email. Try applying for a student card first

[webhopper]

I would look at the student discover, or amex zync. I don't know if the AU accout will help though. Again wait for other students to post!

[jsucool76]

I was in the same situation when I turned 18 and was in college. I applied for all the student cards, citi forward student, the citi dividend student, discover more student, discover open road student (the two discovers I actually got mail offers for) and was denied for all of them. I learned the hard way you need credit to build credit, like 9 inquiries later. haha. 

If you have no luck with citi, I would try one of the discover student cards, and if you can't get that, you need to lower your sights and probably aim for one of the Cap1 student cards, or, do what I did the other day. I opened a bank account with wells fargo ($100 minimum deposit) and they instantly pre-approved me for their student card, and was accepted. lol. The guy at the bank told me as long as you open an account, you can pretty much get it. 

[Anonymous]

I'm a student as well and my income is fairly low. I got denied for the Discover More (Student) card because my income was below $14,000, so keep that in mind. My first credit card was from Wells Fargo since I had a checking account there for some time, and their minimum for the student credit card was much, much lower; I suspect this is the same case for Citi. Credit is all about getting your foot in the door -- now that I had history, I was instantly approved for the Zync months later.

[jsucool76]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I'm a student as well and my income is fairly low. I got denied for the Discover More (Student) card because my income was below $14,000, so keep that in mind. My first credit card was from Wells Fargo since I had a checking account there for some time, and their minimum for the student credit card was much, much lower; I suspect this is the same case for Citi. Credit is all about getting your foot in the door -- now that I had history, I was instantly approved for the Zync months later.

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The minimum income for the wells student card is $3,000, anything lower than that you need a co-signer, and if you're above $12,000, they recommend the regular cash back (non-student)  

Websites ftw. 

[marty56]

I would also recommend becoming a member of a local CU.  That may offer you a CC down the road and CUs are the way to go for banking, mortgages and autoloans as well. 

[charleeislegend]

Thanks guys! If my two remaining apps fail, im going to go get me a checking account from wells fargo Ill keep you guys updated

[jsucool76]

Good luck. If you open a checking account in a branch and the person doesn't say anything about the card, just ask if you're pre-approved. They can see it on their screen, I don't think you'll be able to see it on your online account.