Permanent resident, non US citizen

[newhis]

With no credit history then you would not get pre-approvals, at least a valid pre-approval.

Income is also important.

I started with BoA secured and Discover unsecured. 

My daughter started with a good limit with Amex (for her income) because she was AU on a few of my cards. If you add someone to your cards wait a couple of months for them to report. Amex AU cards will report as new credit, so if the person has some history the average will suffer.

[fltireguy]

If your dad has a banking relationship with Wells Fargo, that might go a LONG way for him. They do have a decent secured card, but, if he has a history going back more than a few years with them, there's a remote possibility that he could get an unsecured card with them

Otherwise, Capital One.

[Anonymous]

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@newhiswrote:

With no credit history then you would not get pre-approvals, at least a valid pre-approval.

Income is also important.

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That was my thought: is your dad working at 86?   Or does he have income from other sources.    While income isn't always quite as critical as credit history, banks want to know that there are assets that will allow the customer to pay.

And as others have said, immigration status is almost certainly not the issue.   I am a greencard holder with no problem getting cards.   From time to time people mention cards the require citizenship, but I haven't encountered those (obviously their marketing department is clever and only sends to citizens!)

[K-in-Boston]

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@Anonymouswrote:

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@newhiswrote:

With no credit history then you would not get pre-approvals, at least a valid pre-approval.

Income is also important.

---

That was my thought: is your dad working at 86?   Or does he have income from other sources.    While income isn't always quite as critical as credit history, banks want to know that there are assets that will allow the customer to pay.

And as others have said, immigration status is almost certainly not the issue.   I am a greencard holder with no problem getting cards.   From time to time people mention cards the require citizenship, but I haven't encountered those (obviously their marketing department is clever and only sends to citizens!)

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That would be just as illegal as requiring you to be male or Caucasian in order to get the card; citizenship status is protected by discrimination laws.  However it is not uncommon for lenders to require that you are a lawful resident.

[newhis]

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@fltireguywrote:
If your dad has a banking relationship with Wells Fargo, that might go a LONG way for him. They do have a decent secured card, but, if he has a history going back more than a few years with them, there's a remote possibility that he could get an unsecured card with them

Otherwise, Capital One.

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Just a datapoint, I started building credit in the USA 4 years ago, before finding this forum I applied for Capital One and they denied my request. I'm glad they did, after getting other cards and 1 year later, they approved a Venture with my highest limit at the time $15,000

[villemiami]

My dad has his Wells Fargo account for 8 years. He gets his retirement from France.

[Anonymous]

Go to a bank he has a relationship with, ideally one where he has his retirement savings and such, and apply for the card in the branch through a relationship manager.

They will be able to see that he is solvent hopefully and as a result they can pull some strings to improve the odds of approval since they have extra information that the automated system doesn't.

I went to a branch when I first arrived in the US and showed the RM at Bank of America my job offer letter. He opened accounts, helped me get direct deposit set up for my payroll, and then applied for a BoA Cash Rewards for me (that I later PCd to the travel card I still have). I got it, despite no credit history. The RM over rode the auto decline since he could see my income and that I had no history only because I had just landed.

That was long before I even had my green card, I was just on a work visa.

In fact I actually just got the green card this week, so this thread caught my eye

[Anonymous]

for peeps with limited or no history - 

You can get a secured card from your the bank where you have an account. Its more like a debit card but builds your history quickly.

I'd also explore Discover and Amex's basic tier. They have been known to approve cards for peeps with limited or no history.

Good luck!

[jawbrkr]

Is it just me that thinks in this case the father's age (86) might have something to do with the denial? I know they arent supposed to discrimminate based on age. But at 86, what do they hope to gain from approving his father for credit? Not even including the fact he has no credit history. They arent going to make any money from him. Plus chances for defaulting are higher. But thats just my two cents.

[Anonymous]

Thats actaully a very valid point.