I went through this with my daughter. She is a 19 year old college student.
When a student first starts applying for a cc, the problem is that they do not have a credit record at all. They are a ghost.
I had my daughter first apply for CITI as well. DENIED. She did not even have a thin file, she had no file of course. They would not approve at all.
I had been told by a couple of my companies to put her on as an AU as well. But I also did not want to do that.
I researched the heck out of it. It appeared that Capital One was the easiest card to get for a college student. She applied online and PRESTO! Approved INSTANTLY with a $500.00 credit limit. THE KEY IS THAT THE STUDENT MUST HAVE A JOB. My daughter works part time and makes decent money as a college student. If the student does not have any source of income on their own, then it appears that they will not get approved.
Here is the link for CAP1 :
http://www.capitalone.com/creditcards/journey-student-rewards-credit-card/a/?linkid=WWW_1010_CARD_TG...
For 6 months, I told her to charge ONE thing on it every month (no more than $35.00 which is 7% of the credit limit), let it post and then PIF. She has done this religiously. She would either get some gas at the pump, books, clothing, etc.
6 months later, she applied online for Zync and was instantly approved. She then applied for CITI forward (student) and was approved with $800 CL. When she applied for Citi 6 months later after her initial rejection, they still did not instantly approve, but the screen provided a phone number to call them. They wanted to verify her address, and they approved her on the phone. After all of the hours and days I have spent reading posts on here, I realized that she needed to have a credit MIX as well. She applled for ONE store card ( I told her to choose wisely because she should only have one, and get one that she will actually use in rotation). Of course she chose Victoria Secret, and was instantly approved for $500.00.
She has 4 cards now that are ONLY used in rotation. She never spends more than 10% of the cards CL (averages between 6-7%), and pays in full every month once it reports. Her cards now have to AGE. She took 4 hits in less than a year, so that is a lot. The only thing really missing is some sort of installment account. Instead of paying for college in full every semester, I may have her get a small student loan at some point ($1000.00), but only after a year has elapsed from her last CC inquiry.
Some will say it is crazy for a 19 year old to have 4 cards. I always advise caution with credit. See how they do with one card. If they are pristine with it, then it is OK to add some to the mix. A good credit mix will get a better score. If they are maxing out every month, then don't get any more cards. Keep the utilization LOW, and always pay on time. I am embarrassed to admit that her credit score is now better than mine. LOL. BUT......I am so happy to pass on all of the information I have learned on myfico to my daughter.
Most importantly: GOOD LUCK! Let us know how you make out!!
