Help another college student build credit please

[Anonymous]

I've done some reading on the forum.

I've read through the stickies. I've searched and read http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/College-student-building-credit-need-help-sorting-it-al...

I still have some questions and I would appreciate some help

I'm a 3.5 year college student. I wait tables as a part time job for maybe $600 a month. I cosigned a united visa card with my parents awhile ago, but they closed it when they moved abroad. I wish I had read this forum before hand. I have a bank account with a local bank, but not huge amounts of savings.

I took a break from school for about a year and paid student loans in full for about 7 to 8 months.

What should I do to build credit? I first looked up credit cards that could help me out and found out about discover more, chase ultimate freedom, and zync, but I'm not sure if I would qualify for any of them.

I pulled the yearly free equifax report a month or so ago, but I didn't realize they didn't show fico scores.

Any suggestions? Should I buy some credit monitoring product before I do anything?

I'd like to eventually be accepted for a credit card.

[Creditaddict]

I would apply for Zync and citi forward sine you had good accounts in past

[BungalowMo]

I would definately do some homework before apping.  You may do well to join a credit union & ask about getting a secured card that can be eventually unsecured.  Ask them about the products & possibilities, come back here often & we will help you out.

Bottom line, do some investigating with different financial institutions & make informed decisions.

[Anonymous]

I agree with BungalowMo absolutely.

And pull either your Equifax or TransUnion FICO Score from here.  Along with your score, it will help you know what is helping your FICO score and what is hurting your FICO score.  The score and the additional information on these reports is invaluable when you are looking at apping for a new card.  I wouldn't consider going through the app process without this info.

It sounds like you have your head together - congratulations on all your hard work to date!

And welcome to the myFICO forums - we're very glad you're here!

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys for all the advice.

Should I buy the scorewatch product then before I apply to a credit card or go to a credit union? Is there any specific advantage of getting a secured card over an unsecured one? Or is it just that I probably won't be able to get an unsecured one?

http://www.mycfcu.com/promos-news/news-personal-visa/index.html

this is the secured card of a credit union near me

[Creditaddict]

The thing that's going to hold you up for unsecured is having income of less than 10k a year... a lot of credit cards I have seen require at least 12k. Amex might let you slide through on the zync if your scores are good because they can monitor your spending real close.

[Anonymous]

should i even attempt to apply for a fidelity amex card? My FICO score from equifax is 701 and my credit history started since 2006

[TheCreditKid]

Do you have BofA?

I started out with their BankAmericard.