Good credit card for someone with little credit history?

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BeauJangles

BeauJangles

Lifer
Aug 26, 2001
13,941
1
0
I'm no longer a student and I've been trying to get a credit card. However, I keep being turned down due to not having a long credit history. Are there any pre-paid cards without fees or any non-prepaid cards that are aimed at folks like me?
 
Bignate603

Bignate603

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
13,897
1
0
Do you have a bank account? Go into your bank and ask if they have any credit cards. They may have the ability to consider your bank account history and your banking history. If you typically keep noticeably more in your account than you're asking for a credit limit they may be more willing to give it to you.
 
N

nickbits

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2008
4,122
1
81
I had a bank of america secured visa. No fees (actually i think there is an annual fee now) and they will change it to a normal unsecured card after a year.
 
BeauJangles

BeauJangles

Lifer
Aug 26, 2001
13,941
1
0
Bignate603 said:
Do you have a bank account? Go into your bank and ask if they have any credit cards. They may have the ability to consider your bank account history and your banking history. If you typically keep noticeably more in your account than you're asking for a credit limit they may be more willing to give it to you.
Click to expand...

That would be great, except I've spent a long time unemployed, so my bank account hasn't exactly been flush with money. They don't offer any sort of secured card and I've been told by them (well, FIA card services) that I wouldn't qualify for a card given my rather paltry budget.

I've been working for a while now, but I don't exactly rake in the cash, so I think that scares off potential credit companies. With that said, I'm also not looking at anything insane as a limit. Something less than <$500 would suit me perfectly for now, as it would allow me to charge all my monthly expenses and build credit.

I may just move my finances to a bank that offers a secured credit card, hopefully just based on a balance in my checking or savings account and work from there. I just didn't really want to have to switch banks.
 
D

DrawninwarD

Senior member
Jul 5, 2008
896
0
0
Yeah while I was finishing up highschool I got myself a credit card with the bank I was with (TD CanadaTrust) and am still with. No annual fees, not much of a credit limit (I think it's $800 or $1000), and I don't know what the interest rate is... I always pay off whatever I get on it. I'm in university now.

I didn't have a credit rating at all back then. Now I know my credit rating is improving since I passed Rogers credit check and they refunded my deposit they took back when my credit rating wasn't good enough.
 
A

Ausm

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
25,213
14
81
Hit up any of the bailed out banks and they will give you a starter card @ a 30&#37; interest rate.
 
nerp

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
Give discover a shot. They're more lenient than Visa/MC and even if you don't qualify for the normal discover card, you should be offered something from one of their "partners" but it might include an annual fee and a low credit limit, but that's decent for starters and you don't have to deal with putting money on it before you use it.
 
BeauJangles

BeauJangles

Lifer
Aug 26, 2001
13,941
1
0
nerp said:
Give discover a shot. They're more lenient than Visa/MC and even if you don't qualify for the normal discover card, you should be offered something from one of their "partners" but it might include an annual fee and a low credit limit, but that's decent for starters and you don't have to deal with putting money on it before you use it.
Click to expand...

Link to any specific offer?

Aflac said:
When I didn't have any credit, I applied for three cards: Chase Freedom, Citi platinum select, and Discover Student Rewards. I didn't get the Chase, but I got the other two. A lot of my friends have the same Citi rewards card, too.

https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/cardDetail.do?screenID=908

I don't leave a monthly balance on the card, though.
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I'm no longer a student :(
 
V

Via

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2009
4,670
4
0
How things have changed.

When I was a grad student in the late nineties I recieved around 10 cards (not offers) in the mail over 3 years that included the instriction "Use to activate".

I didn't apply for any of them.

Most I cut up, but I kept 3. I still have 2 of them.
 
C

Cal166

Diamond Member
May 6, 2000
5,081
8
81
Have you try opening up deparmtent store credit cards like Macys, Bloomingdale, Gap, etc?
 
B

bobdole369

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2004
4,504
2
0
Have you try opening up deparmtent store credit cards like Macys, Bloomingdale, Gap, etc?
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Typically much harder to get than most.


www.orchardbank.com
www.capitalone.com
www.bestbuyrewardzone.com
www.target.com (the red card)
www.walmart.com (although any collection/chargeoff often precludes you)

One of the above will get your foot in the door.

Beaujangles - any "credit union" that you have access to (there is a public credit union down here called tropical financial credit union) offers secured cards as well as easier than most big company cards.

Who wants a "discover" card?
 
2Xtreme21

2Xtreme21

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2004
7,044
0
0
bobdole369 said:
Who wants a "discover" card?
Click to expand...

I liked my discover card until I got the change-of-rewards-program notice a few months back. I used it almost exclusively for gas and I got 5% CB for any auto-related purchases. Just actually used it to pay for getting my car fixed when my neighbor hit it, and got an easy $50 for my time.

Unfortunately they're changing it to "revolving category rewards" next year.
 
A

Agentbolt

Diamond Member
Jul 9, 2004
3,340
1
0
nerp said:
Just go to discover and apply for the more card. If you don't qualify, it will kick you to the other offers.
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Just tried it myself. I have a credit rating of 620 due to a bankruptcy within the past year. I did not qualify for the real discover card, but it kicked me over to a Platinum Rewards card from a partner company, and the terms seemed pretty good. 15% APR (Not bad for my horrible credit) and a 59 dollar annual fee. Most cards in my range are either secured or have a 90 dollar annual fee, PLUS a monthly account maintenance fee, PLUS a one-time 150 dollar account set up fee, etc etc... So this was a pretty good deal, and I jumped on it. Might want to give this a look. It's obviously not really for buying anything, this is a card you buy some groceries with once a month and immediately pay off.
 
nerp

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
Agentbolt said:
Just tried it myself. I have a credit rating of 620 due to a bankruptcy within the past year. I did not qualify for the real discover card, but it kicked me over to a Platinum Rewards card from a partner company, and the terms seemed pretty good. 15% APR (Not bad for my horrible credit) and a 59 dollar annual fee. Most cards in my range are either secured or have a 90 dollar annual fee, PLUS a monthly account maintenance fee, PLUS a one-time 150 dollar account set up fee, etc etc... So this was a pretty good deal, and I jumped on it. Might want to give this a look. It's obviously not really for buying anything, this is a card you buy some groceries with once a month and immediately pay off.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it looks like a decent way to get the credit ball rolling. Although the annual fee is a bit stiff, it ends up being less money than some of those other crazy deals that end up putting $500 on the card before you even use it once.
 
A

Agentbolt

Diamond Member
Jul 9, 2004
3,340
1
0
nerp said:
Yeah, it looks like a decent way to get the credit ball rolling. Although the annual fee is a bit stiff, it ends up being less money than some of those other crazy deals that end up putting $500 on the card before you even use it once.
Click to expand...

Those cards are awful, but they're pretty much the only way to get the ball rolling once you go through something big like bankruptcy. This discover one is a slight step up, and I'll be cancelling the awful Credit One card. After that, the next one will be a step up, etc...

The OP's situation sounds better than mine (no credit instead of actively bad credit) so he'll probably qualify for something quite a bit better than what I mentioned above.
 
Toastedlightly

Toastedlightly

Diamond Member
Aug 7, 2004
7,213
6
81
Does anybody have CCs that are less than 9&#37; purchase APR that are not on a special promotional offer?
 
Modelworks

Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
16,240
7
76
Don't mess with banks like orchard bank. They are nothing but legalized loan sharks. Whatever you get make sure to read the WHOLE terms document, don't just glance over it like most people. They sneak a lot of stuff into those agreements that come back to bite you later.
 
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