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Credit Cards for people with no credit history

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DivaOnABudget
Member

Credit Cards for people with no credit history

Hello,

 

           What's a good starting place to get credit or  a credit card for a perosn with no type of credit history at all ????

 

 

Message 1 of 7
6 REPLIES 6
jamie123
Valued Contributor

Re: Credit Cards for people with no credit history

Are you sure you haven't ever had credit before?


Starting Score: EQ 653 6/21/12
Current Score: EQ 817 3/10/20 - EX 820 3/13/20 - TU 825 3/03/20
Message 2 of 7
DivaOnABudget
Member

Re: Credit Cards for people with no credit history

Very Very Sure this for my sister and credit report is blank.

Message 3 of 7
DaveSignal
Valued Contributor

Re: Credit Cards for people with no credit history

start with a secured card at your bank, or you could go the sub prime route and pay hefty fees and ridiculous interest rates.   I would recommend the secured method.

EX:694 TU:744 EQ:777
Amex ED $19.5k - BoA Travel Rewards $15k - CSP $5k - SDFCU EMV $15k - NFCU goRewards $20k - Barclays Arrival $6.5k
Message 4 of 7
isoldmyatlas
Frequent Contributor

Re: Credit Cards for people with no credit history

I also had no credit history whatsoever and applied for the Capital One Newcomer's card.  Instantly approved for $500.

 

The interest rate is high (22.99%), but if you plan to never carry a balance it's not a problem.  No annual fee.  It gives 1% cash back on all purchases and 2% back on travel purchases.  It won't really grow with you (it'll likely top out with a credit limit of $750) but it's a decent option if you don't want any of your money tied up with a deposit on a secured card.

TU: 793 (6/13/17) | EQ: 787 (7/17/17) | EX: 788 (6/15/18)

Cap1 Quicksilver, $4,750 (4/2012); Discover IT, $40,000 (10/2012); Chase Amazon Rewards, $14,600 (10/2012); AMEX Hilton HHonors, $15,000 (11/2012); AMEX Blue Cash Everyday, $15,000 (01/2013); Barclaycard Arrival+, $10,000 (07/2013); Citi Home Depot $8,000 (06/2018)
Message 5 of 7
jamie123
Valued Contributor

Re: Credit Cards for people with no credit history

You have 2 different strategies depending on how fast you want to build a credit profile and/or build higher credit lines.

 

Option #1:

 

Apply for an UNSECURED starter card. Capital One offers a couple of different starter cards for this purpose (Newcomer's and Journey) and they are some of the easier cards to qualify for. The initial credit line will be low, maybe as low as $300.

 

Option #2:

 

Apply for a SECURED card from Capital One. This card requires a down payment which will then become your credit line. Your down payment can be as much as $3000 with this card. You WILL NOT GET THIS DOWN PAYMENT MONEY BACK UNTIL YOU CLOSE THIS CARD.

 

Use either of these cards for 6 months making sure you always PAY THEM OFF IN FULL each month SEVERAL days before the due date.

 

After six months you can apply for 2 more UNSECURED credit cards. I would suggest applying for 1 prime bank card and a Walmart card at this point. This is where the difference between option 1 and option 2 come into play. Credit card companies like to bestow credit limits that match your other cards. If you have a Cap1 card with $300 CL you will probably receive a low CL from any new cards you apply for. If you have a Cap1 card that has a $1000 CL you have a better chance of card companies that will try and match that $1000. It could take years for Cap1 to give you credit line increases to take a $300 card to $1000. You can now start applying for 2 cards every 6 months or so until your credit card urge is satisfied!

 

After you have new cards to replace the SECURED Cap1 card (Maybe in 2 years). You can close the Cap1 secured card and get your money back.

 

This will only work if you NEVER make a late payment! One late payment WILL push you back a year or two!

 

Good luck!

 


Starting Score: EQ 653 6/21/12
Current Score: EQ 817 3/10/20 - EX 820 3/13/20 - TU 825 3/03/20
Message 6 of 7
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Credit Cards for people with no credit history


@jamie123 wrote:

You have 2 different strategies depending on how fast you want to build a credit profile and/or build higher credit lines.

 

Option #1:

 

Apply for an UNSECURED starter card. Capital One offers a couple of different starter cards for this purpose (Newcomer's and Journey) and they are some of the easier cards to qualify for. The initial credit line will be low, maybe as low as $300.

 

Option #2:

 

Apply for a SECURED card from Capital One. This card requires a down payment which will then become your credit line. Your down payment can be as much as $3000 with this card. You WILL NOT GET THIS DOWN PAYMENT MONEY BACK UNTIL YOU CLOSE THIS CARD.

 

Use either of these cards for 6 months making sure you always PAY THEM OFF IN FULL each month SEVERAL days before the due date.

 

After six months you can apply for 2 more UNSECURED credit cards. I would suggest applying for 1 prime bank card and a Walmart card at this point. This is where the difference between option 1 and option 2 come into play. Credit card companies like to bestow credit limits that match your other cards. If you have a Cap1 card with $300 CL you will probably receive a low CL from any new cards you apply for. If you have a Cap1 card that has a $1000 CL you have a better chance of card companies that will try and match that $1000. It could take years for Cap1 to give you credit line increases to take a $300 card to $1000. You can now start applying for 2 cards every 6 months or so until your credit card urge is satisfied!

 

After you have new cards to replace the SECURED Cap1 card (Maybe in 2 years). You can close the Cap1 secured card and get your money back.

 

This will only work if you NEVER make a late payment! One late payment WILL push you back a year or two!

 

Good luck!

 



Waiting six months is just six months lost payment history, and instead of getting reasonable cards at the 2.5 year mark in your scenario, with current underwriting standards you can achieve that in basically month 13, in about half the time you suggest  .  As a result, pening 2-3 cards immediately (secured, unsecured, doesn't matter as long as it reports) in a thin file (no credit history) situation is really the best way to go in my opinion.  Beyond that a most excellent post.

 

Anyway my typical generic list as of last time I checked (week or two ago) would be:

BOFA secured

Cap One whatever you can get

Any third here.

 

Really if you just do the first two you'd be just fine too.  One is just too few though.




        
Message 7 of 7
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