New to Credit

[nobo24]

Hi all, I’m new to credit and hoping to get some advice. Back in November, I applied for the Discover It student card and was denied. This surprised me, as I’d heard it was generally available to people without credit history (I also have a full-time job, making 33k/ yr while I finish school). Long story short, I learned I had 2 collections accounts from medical debt I incurred while I was still an 18 y/o high school student! I paid them off, got a good will deletion, and opened a Discover It Secured in the meantime. Obviously, my credit file is too new for me to have a FICO score. Nonetheless, I thought I might try again for a student card since I no longer have the collections accounts on my CR. I just applied for the BoA Cash Rewards Student, and was denied again! Now I’m worried the extra HP within 2.5 mos of opening the Discover will make me look desperate for credit. In reality, I’m just trying to open a few cards as soon as possible so that my accounts can age while I’m in school. My question is, how bad will the recent HP look to creditors, and how should I proceed? Should I get another secured card? Or do I just need to cool it for awhile until I’ve built up more history, then go for an unsecured? Any advice is appreciated. Sorry for the long post!

[thornback]

You can wait til you generate a score (6 months history) then try again.   The hard inquiries will become unscoreable when they age to exactly 365 days but will remain as a record for a full two years.  I wouldn't worry too much about a few inquiries -- when you're just starting out, inquiries are a necessary evil.   Once you get a foundation of cards (at least 3) you will have to just sit on them for a while to let them, and the inquiries, age. 

If you really want a second card right now,  HSBC offers a student card for which, they claim, no history is required.   Maybe take a look at that and then give them a call to make sure that by "no history required" they also mean 'no score required' and that you meet all other requirements prior to apping.  HSBC is a solid bank:  https://www.us.hsbc.com/credit-cards/products/student-card/

If HSBC is successful, then let it and the Disco Secured both age to at least 6 months;  then you can see if you prequalify for any unsecured cards.   Once you get to card #3,  stop applying -- no apps for a full year.    

[Anonymous]

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@thornback wrote:

You can wait til you generate a score (6 months history) then try again.   The hard inquiries will become unscoreable when they age to exactly 365 days but will remain as a record for a full two years.  I wouldn't worry too much about a few inquiries -- when you're just starting out, inquiries are a necessary evil.   Once you get a foundation of cards (at least 3) you will have to just sit on them for a while to let them, and the inquiries, age. 

If you really want a second card right now,  HSBC offers a student card for which, they claim, no history is required.   Maybe take a look at that and then give them a call to make sure that by "no history required" they also mean 'no score required' and that you meet all other requirements prior to apping.  HSBC is a solid bank:  https://www.us.hsbc.com/credit-cards/products/student-card/

If HSBC is successful, then let it and the Disco Secured both age to at least 6 months;  then you can see if you prequalify for any unsecured cards.   Once you get to card #3,  stop applying -- no apps for a full year.    

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Wecome to the forum. I agree with this, and have only one thing to add. You did a good thing to get a secured card with Discover. Discover secured cards will graduate with good payment history, and will turn into keepers. You might want to stay away from Credit One and Merrick bank if possible. Those cards don't grow much and are starter cards you'll probably want to cancel at some point. Building a good credit history starts with paying on time every time and keeping cards to build average age of accounts.

[Anonymous]

some good tips

thanks

[Girlzilla88]

Are you paying Student Loans?!      If not another thing you can do as well is do a very small Secured Loan with your Bank/CU (6 months) and when that is over you will get your money back!    This will help you to show different types of being able to handle your monies        But I do agree with waiting 6 months in regards to opening a new card

[nobo24]

I’m not currently paying student loans and am trying to avoid them at all costs. I’m paying for all of my schooling right now, but my (very generous) grandfather offered to chip-in if need be. I’m hoping I can graduate debt-free. That said, I have considered a secured loan for the exact reasons you mentioned. I’ll have to look into it further. Thank you for the advice.

[nobo24]

Thank you so much for your input. I didn’t know that HSBC offered a student card. I looked into it, and it appears that you have to bank with them in order to apply for the student card. They have a branch fairly close to me, so it’s not out of the question. I might just go and talk to them in person. Thanks again for the tip!

[Anonymous]

i would honestly cool it. If that's your income finishing school you should have enough cash flow to be paying bills and leaving it at that. If anything, I think it would be better to increase your secured amount with an additional deposit rather than get another card that could turn into just building debt (not credit)

If you use the secured discover responsibly ( never let interest knock your balance over the credit limit at all costs) I'm sure it'll unsecure at the 7-12th statement...and you'll likely get a generous increase

Given a limited credit history the hard pulls will really turn lenders off...so I'd avoid any further applying.

[Anonymous]

i'd also like to agree that avoid any of the garbage predatory cards or credit lines other people mentioned

no indigo, no merrick, no creditone, no fingerhut, etc. etc.

The last thing you need is to pay an annual fee on a junk (300-500) credit line and have a lenders unpredictable app or website not process your payment promptly and hit you with more fees or lates

Once again...with your income and limited credit history I assume you're not paying for much else....and therefore there's no reason to accumulate cards that are subprime or not worth keeping just to have a little bit more history....I'd be more concerned with on time payments and utilization.

[SouthJamaica]

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@nobo24 wrote:
Hi all, I’m new to credit and hoping to get some advice. Back in November, I applied for the Discover It student card and was denied. This surprised me, as I’d heard it was generally available to people without credit history (I also have a full-time job, making 33k/ yr while I finish school). Long story short, I learned I had 2 collections accounts from medical debt I incurred while I was still an 18 y/o high school student! I paid them off, got a good will deletion, and opened a Discover It Secured in the meantime. Obviously, my credit file is too new for me to have a FICO score. Nonetheless, I thought I might try again for a student card since I no longer have the collections accounts on my CR. I just applied for the BoA Cash Rewards Student, and was denied again! Now I’m worried the extra HP within 2.5 mos of opening the Discover will make me look desperate for credit. In reality, I’m just trying to open a few cards as soon as possible so that my accounts can age while I’m in school. My question is, how bad will the recent HP look to creditors, and how should I proceed? Should I get another secured card? Or do I just need to cool it for awhile until I’ve built up more history, then go for an unsecured? Any advice is appreciated. Sorry for the long post!

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An HP is relatively minor, no big deal.

Yes open another secured card. Best bet for someone not predatory would be a credit union.