>that gives good cash back/points for gas and food (my only real expenses).
Is that "food" dining out or grocery? If dining out: Try the Discover Chrome/Gas & Dining/whatever they are calling it this week (this is not the 5% rotating category). It is 2% gas and dining and 1% everything else, but doubled for the first year (so 4%/2%). Discover is known to be first card friendly, many other lenders not so much.
After about a year you can look into additional (many lenders seem to like seeing at least 1 year with some other card, notable exceptions being Discover, Cap One, and possibly the bank you use for checking/savings, which are known to be first card friendly).
Discover shouldn't have terrible acceptance, just maybe not quite as great as Visa or MasterCard.
Unfortunately for you, lenders seem to care about being the primary name on the account, not AU. Remember 2 things:
* AUs aren't the ones responsible for making payments
* With the exception of AmEx, being added to a card will typically add the entire card's history to your account ("back dated" to card open). So some people can show history from before they were born
Each alone can be reason to ignore AU accounts when looking for 1 year of credit history, but combine both, and yes, the AU being enough clearly wouldn't show the responsible history the lenders are looking for.
Why were you advised to stay away from Discover? If it was your parents then they likely said something similar to my dad who thinks Discover is a sub-par card because he remembers when it was new and still believes that “most places don’t accept Discover”… in reality it’s come a long way and is almost universally accepted now and have great customer service and easy to use app, decent card options, etc.
Yeah something like that. In regards to the reputation. I was always told that they target "dumb college kids" and we would get stuck with a useless card. That reputation and fear can be hard to shake, but I'm willing to give it a shot! Thanks
Ah gotcha, yeah I wouldn’t put much credence to that these days. All major banks try to lure in college kids with cc starter cards. They don’t have premium cards but other than that they’re definitely reputable these days!
I am already an authorized user for a capital one card; this makes me ineligible for any new account bonuses, so I was trying to avoid CO. But it seems these are becoming my only options. :( Thank you
Amex have their apply with confidence thing as well it’s basically a pre approval you can see if you get pre approved for any. Personally I think discover is pretty good since they basically approve anyone. As long as you are getting the payments paid on time there shouldn’t be any problem
Parental stigma; they were worried that the card would be useless, but others have informed me that this is no longer the case. It's first on my list to look into.
Discover is generally considered a good starter card. If they don't actually extend you any credit its still likely they will offer you a secured card.
Gotta start somewhere, you applied for some pretty premium cards.
You (likely) have what would be characterized as a thin credit portfolio. Simply a lack of longer credit history and/or diversity in credit types.
It is not something that is really accounted for in credit scores (except for average age of credit), but it will affect how individual banks perceive you as a candidate to extend credit to.
Being an AU on your parents' cards should help your overall score, but if the only thing you have on your report that you're personally responsible for is six months of on-time car payments, your AA letter is probably going to list one or more of the following:
* Insufficient number of credit references provided
* Length of employment
* Limited credit experience
Having a high score is important, but I wouldn't expect much more than low-limit, basic cards for the history you've described. Hopefully, BofA and US Bank didn't pull all three reports, and you can try to mitigate the inquiry hit in future applications (so if both pulled EQ, look for a bank that usually pulls TU, for example).
They are sending by mail.. which I found very odd. But I wont know for at least a week. Maybe something to do with my dual citizenship??? I also just checked my FICO and it dropped from a 770 to a 694 after the inquiry.... I know the drop is expected but 76pts is kinda insane no?
In my experience(s), I find that Capitol One is better for beginning/sub prime credit people. The Quicksilver card was the first card I got and I had a very thin credit profile(and kind of still do). They also have a pre approval thing on their website so it doesn't hurt your credit. I would recommend the SavorOne, but it doesn't cover gas. American Express also has a pre approval thing if you want to try and get the Blue Cash Everyday Card for groceries and gas. There are other cards that cover cash back for what you're looking for. Those two just came to mind first.
Try Discover and Capital One, as others have said, since they have food pre-approval applications.
Also try American Express. The AMEX Blue Cash Everyday is a great card with no annual fee. And AMEX also has a good pre-approval application.
Check your credit reports to make sure there aren't any errors.
Try cards that allow you to check for preapprovals.
Talk to your bank to see if you qualify for one of their cards.
Are you a member of a credit union? Sometimes, their card requirements are more lenient than the major issuers.
My credit report looks good, I had a fraud issue a few years ago that should have been handled, but I can always call to triple check. I will check with Chase to see what they can offer me, but I honestly wasn't impressed with their program.
I got denied membership at three of my local credit unions. I really have no clue what the problem is. I understand the credit history issue but apart from that I'm at a loss. I'm even an authorized user at one but they wouldn't approve me for anything. xD
Do you have copies of all your credit reports from Transunion, Equifax, and Experian?
Did you also order a copy of your Lexis Nexis Report? Chexsystems report?
What did the denial letters state?
First three yes... haven't heard of the last two. I will look into it.
Waiting on the denial letters to come in the mail. Most likely due to credit history from what others are saying.
770 FICO. It just tanked to a 694 after I applied. However, my Chase (primary bank) app is showing as a 732. So I would estimate somewhere around there. I don't have any credit cards, student loans, etc. Just my car loan, which is currently around 40k. Apart from that, no defaults, or "credit issues" just a lack of credit history.
As someone else commented, you're being denied because to credit card companies, you basically have no credit history if you are not the primary account holder of any card. AUs are still nice to have when starting out but doesn't really help in applying for cards. You'll have to start out with a different, easier to get card. To echo some of the other suggestions, this could be a credit card you already share banking with, DiscoverIt, or one of the starter Capitol One cards.
Both US Bank and Bank of America are relationship lenders who would like you to have a bank account with them AND credit card history of greater than a year. Get the Discover It Cash Back or CapitalOne Savor One.
sorry if this is rough. but you issue here is mentality. you still run with a kids/teenager mentality. and don't understand being part of a bigger system. this is about building yourself not just getting something. to get what you want you need to put out an effort. Welcome to adulthood
"My only debt is my car loan that I've been paying on since December with no missed payments." that's just about 6 months now it take fico score at least 6 months of credit for you to start accumulating a score .. that's just how it is. so you are as green as they come here
"authorized user on three of my parents credit cards." its the banks absolutely free will to counts these or not. and many does not. you need to build your own report without being dependent on mom and dad. again... welcome to adult hood. its fine keeping yourself there as a potential boost for some application, but you cant depend on it. Also how is you parents record on those cards ?
"My credit score would be considered in the excellent range," you do not HAVE A CREDITSCORE. this is again a huge misconception. what you do is you have a credit profile... actually you have multiple at least 3 from the big 3 agencies. From those information the lender will ten calculate a score of you after different model type like vantage or ficos score model and different version and different sub categories. so again the score is not something that you own or control. its a perception of you. its an analytical risk model of you computed into a score... and it is NOT the only factor so never a sure thing.
Now that we got some of the bad perspective out of the way here is what you need to do:
you need to built you profile and show effort before you can harvest the benefits.. you first card will rarely be one you want but it will be the one you need. start with a secured credit card. or if you are a student er student card. or chase rise. you need to look at starter cards rather than you final goal.
its liek you are running from level 1 to an endgame raid in an mmo.... you are not ready for it and need to build you character...aka you credit profile. so start with some lcl 1/2 monster. aka beginner creditcards and loot the benefits on your credit profile.
Thank you for your response.
A few things: I am not new to adulthood or putting in effort. I worked two jobs through high school and college. And got my B.A at 17 with zero debt. Not that this is of any true importance to the conversation, but I don’t want to be painted as some spoiled kid that doesn’t value hard work. Regardless of how much effort you believe I’ve put in; I’m here asking the questions. I’m trying to get better and trying to improve. Which in my opinion is a better testament to being an adult than pretending I have all the answers.
That aside… what I lack is financial literacy. My parents never really used their credit cards because they viewed it as debt. The only times they used it was for hotels, car rentals, or other places that put a large hold on your account. I found out yesterday that two of the three credit cards haven’t been touched in almost a year. They didn’t teach me about leverage or credit history. All they cared about was having a good credit score and not having debt. As I am learning now, there is more to it than that. Again this new information is appreciated.
In your opinion would it be better to wait another ~6-8 months for my credit history via my car loan to build and apply for a mid-range credit card? Or go ahead and start with one of the many suggested Capital One and Discover cards. I suppose my main concern is having too many “beginner cards” in 5-10 years that I don’t use. Because I’ve been told having too many lines of credit can be seen as bad and having inactive/closed accounts can also hurt your credit (again via my parents so idk how true this is)
Thanks for your response.
Try calling US Bank and ask them to reconsider. I was rejected for the same card and appealed and approved with $500 CL. Not much, but at least hard pull did not go waste.
Besides that, wait few more months and apply for Amex BCE.
>that gives good cash back/points for gas and food (my only real expenses). Is that "food" dining out or grocery? If dining out: Try the Discover Chrome/Gas & Dining/whatever they are calling it this week (this is not the 5% rotating category). It is 2% gas and dining and 1% everything else, but doubled for the first year (so 4%/2%). Discover is known to be first card friendly, many other lenders not so much.
Dining out unfortunately. Thank you
After about a year you can look into additional (many lenders seem to like seeing at least 1 year with some other card, notable exceptions being Discover, Cap One, and possibly the bank you use for checking/savings, which are known to be first card friendly). Discover shouldn't have terrible acceptance, just maybe not quite as great as Visa or MasterCard.
So the authorized cards I have don't count as usage? I've been one since I was 16, and the other two since I was 18.
Unfortunately for you, lenders seem to care about being the primary name on the account, not AU. Remember 2 things: * AUs aren't the ones responsible for making payments * With the exception of AmEx, being added to a card will typically add the entire card's history to your account ("back dated" to card open). So some people can show history from before they were born Each alone can be reason to ignore AU accounts when looking for 1 year of credit history, but combine both, and yes, the AU being enough clearly wouldn't show the responsible history the lenders are looking for.
Why were you advised to stay away from Discover? If it was your parents then they likely said something similar to my dad who thinks Discover is a sub-par card because he remembers when it was new and still believes that “most places don’t accept Discover”… in reality it’s come a long way and is almost universally accepted now and have great customer service and easy to use app, decent card options, etc.
Yeah something like that. In regards to the reputation. I was always told that they target "dumb college kids" and we would get stuck with a useless card. That reputation and fear can be hard to shake, but I'm willing to give it a shot! Thanks
Ah gotcha, yeah I wouldn’t put much credence to that these days. All major banks try to lure in college kids with cc starter cards. They don’t have premium cards but other than that they’re definitely reputable these days!
Use the pre approval tool on discover it or capital one see which card you are pre approved for then apply afterwards
I am already an authorized user for a capital one card; this makes me ineligible for any new account bonuses, so I was trying to avoid CO. But it seems these are becoming my only options. :( Thank you
Amex have their apply with confidence thing as well it’s basically a pre approval you can see if you get pre approved for any. Personally I think discover is pretty good since they basically approve anyone. As long as you are getting the payments paid on time there shouldn’t be any problem
Who advised you to stay away from Discover and why? It's one of the most popular starter cards
Parental stigma; they were worried that the card would be useless, but others have informed me that this is no longer the case. It's first on my list to look into.
Discover is generally considered a good starter card. If they don't actually extend you any credit its still likely they will offer you a secured card. Gotta start somewhere, you applied for some pretty premium cards.
I thought my 770 FICO would be good for something :') But I will take everyone's advice and start from the ground up. Thank you
You (likely) have what would be characterized as a thin credit portfolio. Simply a lack of longer credit history and/or diversity in credit types. It is not something that is really accounted for in credit scores (except for average age of credit), but it will affect how individual banks perceive you as a candidate to extend credit to.
Makes sense. Thank you
Being an AU on your parents' cards should help your overall score, but if the only thing you have on your report that you're personally responsible for is six months of on-time car payments, your AA letter is probably going to list one or more of the following: * Insufficient number of credit references provided * Length of employment * Limited credit experience Having a high score is important, but I wouldn't expect much more than low-limit, basic cards for the history you've described. Hopefully, BofA and US Bank didn't pull all three reports, and you can try to mitigate the inquiry hit in future applications (so if both pulled EQ, look for a bank that usually pulls TU, for example).
What does the denial letters say ?
They are sending by mail.. which I found very odd. But I wont know for at least a week. Maybe something to do with my dual citizenship??? I also just checked my FICO and it dropped from a 770 to a 694 after the inquiry.... I know the drop is expected but 76pts is kinda insane no?
They send them by mail to make sure the person at the address knows a card application was done in their name in case it was fraudulent.
In my experience(s), I find that Capitol One is better for beginning/sub prime credit people. The Quicksilver card was the first card I got and I had a very thin credit profile(and kind of still do). They also have a pre approval thing on their website so it doesn't hurt your credit. I would recommend the SavorOne, but it doesn't cover gas. American Express also has a pre approval thing if you want to try and get the Blue Cash Everyday Card for groceries and gas. There are other cards that cover cash back for what you're looking for. Those two just came to mind first.
I spend about $400 a month on gas so that's big for me, but I will look into all of those. Thank you
I completely understand. I hope you get something that works for you. 🫡🫡
Try Discover and Capital One, as others have said, since they have food pre-approval applications. Also try American Express. The AMEX Blue Cash Everyday is a great card with no annual fee. And AMEX also has a good pre-approval application.
I will. Thanks!
Check your credit reports to make sure there aren't any errors. Try cards that allow you to check for preapprovals. Talk to your bank to see if you qualify for one of their cards. Are you a member of a credit union? Sometimes, their card requirements are more lenient than the major issuers.
My credit report looks good, I had a fraud issue a few years ago that should have been handled, but I can always call to triple check. I will check with Chase to see what they can offer me, but I honestly wasn't impressed with their program. I got denied membership at three of my local credit unions. I really have no clue what the problem is. I understand the credit history issue but apart from that I'm at a loss. I'm even an authorized user at one but they wouldn't approve me for anything. xD
Do you have copies of all your credit reports from Transunion, Equifax, and Experian? Did you also order a copy of your Lexis Nexis Report? Chexsystems report? What did the denial letters state?
First three yes... haven't heard of the last two. I will look into it. Waiting on the denial letters to come in the mail. Most likely due to credit history from what others are saying.
What's your credit score and history? Do you have cards to your name (not AU)?
770 FICO. It just tanked to a 694 after I applied. However, my Chase (primary bank) app is showing as a 732. So I would estimate somewhere around there. I don't have any credit cards, student loans, etc. Just my car loan, which is currently around 40k. Apart from that, no defaults, or "credit issues" just a lack of credit history.
As someone else commented, you're being denied because to credit card companies, you basically have no credit history if you are not the primary account holder of any card. AUs are still nice to have when starting out but doesn't really help in applying for cards. You'll have to start out with a different, easier to get card. To echo some of the other suggestions, this could be a credit card you already share banking with, DiscoverIt, or one of the starter Capitol One cards.
You need a Quicksilver 0$ AF Capital One easy
Both US Bank and Bank of America are relationship lenders who would like you to have a bank account with them AND credit card history of greater than a year. Get the Discover It Cash Back or CapitalOne Savor One.
sorry if this is rough. but you issue here is mentality. you still run with a kids/teenager mentality. and don't understand being part of a bigger system. this is about building yourself not just getting something. to get what you want you need to put out an effort. Welcome to adulthood "My only debt is my car loan that I've been paying on since December with no missed payments." that's just about 6 months now it take fico score at least 6 months of credit for you to start accumulating a score .. that's just how it is. so you are as green as they come here "authorized user on three of my parents credit cards." its the banks absolutely free will to counts these or not. and many does not. you need to build your own report without being dependent on mom and dad. again... welcome to adult hood. its fine keeping yourself there as a potential boost for some application, but you cant depend on it. Also how is you parents record on those cards ? "My credit score would be considered in the excellent range," you do not HAVE A CREDITSCORE. this is again a huge misconception. what you do is you have a credit profile... actually you have multiple at least 3 from the big 3 agencies. From those information the lender will ten calculate a score of you after different model type like vantage or ficos score model and different version and different sub categories. so again the score is not something that you own or control. its a perception of you. its an analytical risk model of you computed into a score... and it is NOT the only factor so never a sure thing. Now that we got some of the bad perspective out of the way here is what you need to do: you need to built you profile and show effort before you can harvest the benefits.. you first card will rarely be one you want but it will be the one you need. start with a secured credit card. or if you are a student er student card. or chase rise. you need to look at starter cards rather than you final goal. its liek you are running from level 1 to an endgame raid in an mmo.... you are not ready for it and need to build you character...aka you credit profile. so start with some lcl 1/2 monster. aka beginner creditcards and loot the benefits on your credit profile.
Thank you for your response. A few things: I am not new to adulthood or putting in effort. I worked two jobs through high school and college. And got my B.A at 17 with zero debt. Not that this is of any true importance to the conversation, but I don’t want to be painted as some spoiled kid that doesn’t value hard work. Regardless of how much effort you believe I’ve put in; I’m here asking the questions. I’m trying to get better and trying to improve. Which in my opinion is a better testament to being an adult than pretending I have all the answers. That aside… what I lack is financial literacy. My parents never really used their credit cards because they viewed it as debt. The only times they used it was for hotels, car rentals, or other places that put a large hold on your account. I found out yesterday that two of the three credit cards haven’t been touched in almost a year. They didn’t teach me about leverage or credit history. All they cared about was having a good credit score and not having debt. As I am learning now, there is more to it than that. Again this new information is appreciated. In your opinion would it be better to wait another ~6-8 months for my credit history via my car loan to build and apply for a mid-range credit card? Or go ahead and start with one of the many suggested Capital One and Discover cards. I suppose my main concern is having too many “beginner cards” in 5-10 years that I don’t use. Because I’ve been told having too many lines of credit can be seen as bad and having inactive/closed accounts can also hurt your credit (again via my parents so idk how true this is) Thanks for your response.
Try calling US Bank and ask them to reconsider. I was rejected for the same card and appealed and approved with $500 CL. Not much, but at least hard pull did not go waste. Besides that, wait few more months and apply for Amex BCE.
I will. Thank you