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I'm 22 years old, and looking to get my first credit card. I was denied 5 months ago for a Chase Freedom because I had too much outstanding debt, or something like that. I have a $7k student loan. I also discovered that I was an Authorized User on my Mom's Chase Visa and AMEX with $16k owed between them. I removed myself as an authorized user from those accounts, and am waiting for them to update to closed with a $0 balance on my credit reports. My history with Amex will date back to 2000. I graduated in May with an EE degree, and am still looking for an engineering job in the defense industry, so I don't have a full time job. I make about $15k off the books...
I am waiting for the credit report to update till I buy an equifax score from myFico. However I have started using Credit Sesame and Credit Karma today. Credit Sesame is saying 696, and is only is only showing one of the cards ($6k). Credit Karma is saying 666, and is showing both of the cards ($16k).
Is it possible for me to get any decent cards? Or am I going to have to start off small? Any recommendations?
The first question you should ask yourself is: why do you want a rewards card? What exactly are you trying to get out of it?
As long as your income remains where it is, you probably won't benefit much from one even if you do qualify. Rewards cards are targetted towards high-spending people with good credit histories.
If you spend $5k per year (33% of your pre-tax gross income), it'll take you roughly 5 years to get a round-trip domestic coach ticket. That simply doesn't add up. If your income does increase dramatically (increases by 3-4 times or more), then you might want to look more heavily into rewards cards. In the meantime cash back cards might be a better option for you. The Freedom is a good choice imo. You might also want to look into the Amex Zync.
With a FICO between 680-700, you can qualify for some of these. However the scores you've seen are FAKOs, and you should probably first obtain your true FICO scores for a better idea.
@Anonymous wrote:I'm 22 years old, and looking to get my first credit card. I was denied 5 months ago for a Chase Freedom because I had too much outstanding debt, or something like that. I have a $7k student loan. I also discovered that I was an Authorized User on my Mom's Chase Visa and AMEX with $16k owed between them. I removed myself as an authorized user from those accounts, and am waiting for them to update to closed with a $0 balance on my credit reports. My history with Amex will date back to 2000. I graduated in May with an EE degree, and am still looking for an engineering job in the defense industry, so I don't have a full time job. I make about $15k off the books...
I am waiting for the credit report to update till I buy an equifax score from myFico. However I have started using Credit Sesame and Credit Karma today. Credit Sesame is saying 696, and is only is only showing one of the cards ($6k). Credit Karma is saying 666, and is showing both of the cards ($16k).
Is it possible for me to get any decent cards? Or am I going to have to start off small? Any recommendations?
I suspect something small if you use your own credit score. You are kind of in a funny place, if you use your AU status you are "over extended" but if you use your own status without the AU accounts you have very limited credit. If I were you I think I'd apply for a Capital One rewards card, you'll probably get a $500 CL which will increase to $750 in 6 months, use it to establish your own credit and then move on in a year (it will help you get started, but it won't really grown with you after a year). You might also try the Discover more card right now. If you get declined for both, I'd suggest you go with a secured card from a Credit Union or Capital One, you'll have to add cash up front, but it'll report as just a regular tradeline, not a secured one.
I think you'll find that a year "starting small" will open up your options in establishing credit on your own.
Well if Amex considers you cardholder back to 2000, I would try applying for Zync or Gold.
No Chase until you build history... and you should buy either TU or EQ here at MyFico. KreditKarma is not a true Fico score and kind of worthless.
@CreditScholar wrote:The first question you should ask yourself is: why do you want a rewards card? What exactly are you trying to get out of it?
As long as your income remains where it is, you probably won't benefit much from one even if you do qualify. Rewards cards are targetted towards high-spending people with good credit histories.
If you spend $5k per year (33% of your pre-tax gross income), it'll take you roughly 5 years to get a round-trip domestic coach ticket. That simply doesn't add up. If your income does increase dramatically (increases by 3-4 times or more), then you might want to look more heavily into rewards cards. In the meantime cash back cards might be a better option for you. The Freedom is a good choice imo. You might also want to look into the Amex Zync.
With a FICO between 680-700, you can qualify for some of these. However the scores you've seen are FAKOs, and you should probably first obtain your true FICO scores for a better idea.
+1
I would start with CapOne. An Amex Zync, while a nice card to have, won't help on the CL and UTIL front. It is still worth pursuing because it may increase your AAoA, but start with an easy to get card and then a year from now you can start looking to prime cards.
w/e LS +1'd
@Anonymous wrote:I'm 22 years old, and looking to get my first credit card. I was denied 5 months ago for a Chase Freedom because I had too much outstanding debt, or something like that. I have a $7k student loan. I also discovered that I was an Authorized User on my Mom's Chase Visa and AMEX with $16k owed between them. I removed myself as an authorized user from those accounts, and am waiting for them to update to closed with a $0 balance on my credit reports. My history with Amex will date back to 2000. I graduated in May with an EE degree, and am still looking for an engineering job in the defense industry, so I don't have a full time job. I make about $15k off the books...
I am waiting for the credit report to update till I buy an equifax score from myFico. However I have started using Credit Sesame and Credit Karma today. Credit Sesame is saying 696, and is only is only showing one of the cards ($6k). Credit Karma is saying 666, and is showing both of the cards ($16k).
Is it possible for me to get any decent cards? Or am I going to have to start off small? Any recommendations?
This is going to be your biggest obstacle. No verifiable income. Things will change when you have a job. Amex is very income sensitive. You might be stuck in student cards until you can show verifiable income.