Getting a decent Credit Card is near impossible at my age..

[quote name='bignick']There is more to it than a credit card. Paying utilities helps a lot too. Even car insurance.[/quote]
You are correct on that insurance info. When looking for insurance on a sport bike I want, I was quoted at nearly 4000 dollars a year. (Thats half as much as the bike costs.) Once I entered my credit info it lowered to $450 dollars a year. :cool: Your credit rating plays a huge role in your life.
 
[quote name='Staind204']Well I did just apply for the Amex Blue for Students but I will more than likely be declined if like you said its for only if you have established credit. :whistle2:(. So even just by having this 1FB $250 card I pay it off in full everytime, so it probably isnt helping my credit either... + just by applying for that Blue Student Card it probably has lowered my credit even more :whistle2:/[/quote]

Don't worry too much about that, as long as you don't apply to 10 places at once, you're fine. And you DO have a card already, so you ARE building credit. I am pretty sure carrying a balance is probably a negligible difference in building credit.

Think positively... in about 3 years, AMEX blue will probably be spamming your mailbox, begging you to sign up.

However, try Citibank, as they gave me a card with no credit whatsoever (I saw my credit report, and I didn't have a score at all..).

Citibank Student Cards

Try the regular platinum select to be safe! If they say they have to evaluate you, then you've got a good chance.
 
Hmm well ok I applied for that Citibank one also, but I am done applying now (I applied for the AMEX Blue for Students and the Citibank Regular Platinum one for students. It came up and said

Your application has been received, but further processing is required at this time. We will contact you within 30 days via U.S. mail regarding our decision. If approved, be sure to visit citicards.com to register for free online services. Thank you for requesting a Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® Card!


So hopefully I will get accepted for one of the 2. If not I guess I'll just have to stick with my 1FB one and pray that they increase my limit ($250 is awful). Thanks everyone for all the help.
 
[quote name='Staind204']Hmm well ok I applied for that Citibank one also, but I am done applying now (I applied for the AMEX Blue for Students and the Citibank Regular Platinum one for students. [/quote]

My first CC was from Citibank which I applied for at 18. My limit was $600. I've kept that same Citibank card for 12 years (though it's no longer my primary) and in that 12 years, they've raised my limit high enough to buy a nice car (thankfully I have -some- self control ;)

However, as you point out, that initial limit is low. The answer to getting it higher -can- be as simple as asking them. Use a card for a few months, pay responsibly and most importantly, on time (you don't need to pay the entire balance off each month to be "responsible" in their eyes) and then call them up and ask for a limit increase. Sometimes it can be instant, sometimes they'll run a credit check and base it off that. My first increase was automatic (they just raised it), my next 5 were due to me calling (I kind of had a bet with a friend who could amass a higher CC limit :) , every one after that was automatic.

heh, I also remember my very first CC purchase (don't laugh now) - the Atari Jaguar. Half my CC balance right off the bat. I was not f'in around back then!
 
Well I found one, www.usbank.com the Student Rewards one. I got a 500 limit but the interest is outrageous (20%) but I plan on paying in full each time. I also applied for the other 2 but if i get approved ill have 4 cards lol. I must have just been applying for the wrong cards before...also will it be bad to have 4 cards (assuming I get accepted for them) , on my credit?
 
It's considered bad to have several accounts that you -aren't- carrying a balance on. Having ready access to large amounts of credit is bad in their eyes. Think of it this way - you think "hey I have $10,000 available, but only a $1 balance! I'm responsible!". They see "hey, he has access to $10,000 that he could rack up at any time". Companies do see that as a risk to your ability to pay them back.

Having a few accounts is ok, just use them properly. I'd carry one, maybe two cards for a while. There may come a time when you want a line of credit, or a loan. Having too many cards will impact your ability so early in your credit building years.
 
I remember I tried to get my first credit card for $500 from my bank and they turned me down. In college you should be bombarded with credit card offers all you have to do is find 1 that is visa or mastercard that doesn't have an annual fee and get it. You'll start with a balance of $500 but withing a year you'll get over $1000, just make sure you always pay it off because the interest rate is going to be through the roof.
 
Well here is an update... from American Express I was declined for the following reasons..

1)Proportion of loan balances to loan amount is too high (this makes absolutly no sense to be considering I don't have any loans and the only CC I own is a $250 limit which is always paid in full)

2)Too many recent credit checks (How else are you suppose to get one if you don't apply?)

3)Beacon not availiable, insufficient or unknown account history (No idea what this means)

4)Insufficient established credit (Well of course, that is why I applied for the STUDENT card)


I was also declined by Citibank but they didn't give a reason. I would have to call and find out, but I'm sure it's for no credit history.



This just really ticks me off because I am applying for student cards, and of course I have no credit history I am only 18.
 
Wow, that sucks... how many and which cards have you tried? I applied for a bunch of credit cards my first year of college (there were and still are tons of brochures everywhere). My first credit card was the Sony Card from Citibank, and I had a couple others that I eventuallly cancelled because I never used them. Have you tried applying at a store (like Target or something)? Some of my friends got credit cards that way.
 
I've applied for probably 10 cards over the past 7 months and only got the one (the one i originally mentioned $250 limit). Any clue what those reasons meant that Amex gave for declining me? (1 and 3)?
 
[quote name='wubb']Yeah get your 'rents to co-sign with you. If you can't do that you might have trouble getting a decent card unfortunately.

CCs really don't build much in the way of a credit rating for you, though. (At least paying them off completely each month didn't seem to do much for mine.) Taking out and paying off a loan would build it up a hell of a lot more, but I really don't think it's worth the hassle or cost to do that.[/quote]

no normally you need to have this credit for 12 months before it will show something so having no balance each monthw ont do anything for you.
 
[quote name='Staind204']I've applied for probably 10 cards over the past 7 months and only got the one (the one i originally mentioned $250 limit). Any clue what those reasons meant that Amex gave for declining me? (1 and 3)?[/quote]

Well getting the first one is always difficult, especially if you have loans or don't have a source of income. But just use the $250 one and in a year or so it should be $1000 which is all you probably will ever need.
 
Aren't you allowed to get a free credit report when you're declined a credit card? I remember getting one of those when I was declined one time. Maybe that would give some insight. I remember one time they said something about a mortgage or loan in the rejection, neither of which I had. They also gave me around 3 reasons, and I think they were mostly dumb or made no sense. I don't know what else to tell you except to just build credit with your current CC and hope they raise your limit.
 
[quote name='Staind204']Well here is an update... from American Express I was declined for the following reasons..

1)Proportion of loan balances to loan amount is too high (this makes absolutly no sense to be considering I don't have any loans and the only CC I own is a $250 limit which is always paid in full)

2)Too many recent credit checks (How else are you suppose to get one if you don't apply?)

3)Beacon not availiable, insufficient or unknown account history (No idea what this means)

4)Insufficient established credit (Well of course, that is why I applied for the STUDENT card)


I was also declined by Citibank but they didn't give a reason. I would have to call and find out, but I'm sure it's for no credit history.



This just really ticks me off because I am applying for student cards, and of course I have no credit history I am only 18.[/quote]

1) Even if you pay your credit card balance in full each month, they may report your balance to the credit bureau before you make your payment. Thus, if you bought $200 worth of stuff on th 10th of the month they may be reporting it to the credit bureau on say the 18th and you may not be getting the bill until the 2nd of the following month. That would make it look like you were using 80% of your available credit.

2) More than 2 or 3 in a six month period makes it look like you are trying to get lots of credit and that makes creditors nervous.

3) Basically this is saying that they feel you do not have enough credit history for them to make a decision about you when combined with the other reasons given. Yeah, it is kind of like trying to get a first job when everybody wants you to have experiance.

Also, while it is true that a good credit score can get you better rates for insurance, I have not heard of any insurance company that actually reports to a credit bureau regarding your payments. Same goes for utility companies. Utlility companies may check you credit score to determine if or how much of a deposit they want from you to begin services. The only reason it would end up on your credit report would be if you did not pay the bill and it was referred to a collection agency.

I would go with the suggestions of getting a secured card or getting a small loan and repaying it quickly. If you go with the loan idea, getting one through an actual bank would do your credit more good than getting one through a finance company. Finance company accounts do not look as good because they often are places that will loan to you even if others will not and other creditors may think there is something wrong with your credit even if there is not. They will just think they are missing something.
 
I got a Visa when I signed up for a checking account the day I turned 18. They gave me $6000 in credit, even though I only had $500 in my bank account. It shouldn't be too hard, I get like 3-4 new credit applications in the mail every week. Try to get a student American Express card, those have no fees.
 
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