Establishing Credit?

[lechatnoir 0]

Hi there, I saw another thread about how to make your score up by using your credit wisely... but I'm curious as to the best method for my husband to GET some credit.

Does anybody know what an immigrant's credit score starts at? I am too cheap to spend the money and pull his credit report to find out.

We applied for a few department store cards, but won't know the results for a few weeks. Are there any other credit cards that are friendly to first timers? I haven't done this in like 20 years, so I'm a bit at a loss as to someone with NO credit.

I just got out of a bankruptcy so I have no credit cards I can add my husband to. I applied for a couple online for him and got instantly denied. The only ones I haven't heard anything back from are JCPenny and Sears. My first credit card when I was 18 was with Sears... so, I'm hoping they approve him too.

Anybody else have any suggestions? I'm assuming I might have to get him a secured visa but we don't have a lot of available cash for that right now either. I just want something small that we can work at to give him something for the future.

Thanks!

[imaisha 1]

A secured card may be the only option as stores are getting a lot tougher with their cards.

I know Bank of America does a card that is only partially secured- instead of the limit being tied to a deposit, you put down a flat $99, get a credit line of $500 and the annual fee of $29 appears on the first month's bill. Might be a better deal than what Capital One will offer.

And be careful with applying for tons of credit willy nilly. As a new immigrant your husband has no credit report at all, and thus no score. Everytime you apply for a card and an inquiry is made it appears on your report as a request for credit. That looks bad and each inquiry can lower your score. It's better to start out with one secured card, build up credit with that and then consider applying for credit elsewhere so it's not just a slew of inquiries on his report.

Edited September 30, 2009 by imaisha

[kaffy 2]

Get secured credit cards for the both of you to build up your history (again)

[Mononoke28 135]

Capital One offers a card for people who are just starting out or people with bad credit who want a second chance. My husband has had his practically since he arrived and has a very high credit score. This also opened the doors to get credit at other places as well.

Diana

[lechatnoir 0]

Thanks for the tips... He actually did apply for a Capital One card but was rejected. When we got the notice in the mail as to why it said no credit file existed for him with any of the three bureaus...

Is that because his SS # was restricted? He just went and applied today at social security to get an unrestricted social... will they issue him with a different social security number now or will it be the same?

[Jon&Lindsey 0]

He'll have the same SSN, he's not being refused credit because of that. I managed to get a Capital One card (I still haven't go round to getting an SS card without the restriction text), but it looks like they've got stricter on that now. Your best bet is a secured credit card, and like the other said, make sure you don't try too many times to get credit since that'll make things worse.

[Mononoke28 135]

Thanks for the tips... He actually did apply for a Capital One card but was rejected. When we got the notice in the mail as to why it said no credit file existed for him with any of the three bureaus...

Is that because his SS # was restricted? He just went and applied today at social security to get an unrestricted social... will they issue him with a different social security number now or will it be the same?

It depends on which card he applied for. Capital One has different cards for people with limited or no credit history.

A secured credit card with your own bank is also a safe bet. You basically give them however much money they need as a deposit and that's the line of credit he'll get. Once he establishes his own credit he can change that card type to a regular card.

Diana

[lechatnoir 0]

Well I'm still confused as to why the rejection letter from capital one specifically stated that he didn't have a credit file. You don't have to do anything special to get a credit file other than having an SSN right?

[lechatnoir 0]

Also, I just tried registering him on the credit bureau sites to pull his credit so we can see it... and Equifax and Transunion couldn't find his file. Trans union said it was unable to verify and wanted me to fax them a copy of his ID. Equifax said it could not find his information and the report was "unavailable"...

Are we doing something wrong?

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Also, I just tried registering him on the credit bureau sites to pull his credit so we can see it... and Equifax and Transunion couldn't find his file. Trans union said it was unable to verify and wanted me to fax them a copy of his ID. Equifax said it could not find his information and the report was "unavailable"...

Are we doing something wrong?

The reason all the bureaus can't find his file, is because it doesn't exist. He has no credit history, and as such, he has no file. It has to exist before it can be pulled. And the only way to make it exist, is to create it.

As others have said in this thread already, a secured card is the best way to make this happen. I know you've said you're not exactly flush right now, but try and put a bit aside each month, and then get a secured card.

Edited October 2, 2009 by Damian P

[Darnell 8,479]

How soon do you want this to happen, and how much hard cash do you have to make it happen?

I suggest 2 areas - 1) secured cards (already mentioned ) and 2) secured bank loans, using CASH , convert to Certificate of Deposit, then the CD used as collateral on a small loan - say 3000 bucks or so. Take that 3000 converted from the loan, go to another bank, get another secured bank loan for 3000.00. Then go to a 3rd back with the 3000 converted from the 2nd bank, get another secured bank loan for 3000.00. Take the converted cash and put it into a savings account. Pay off the loans, on time, for 6 months, then pay off loan #1, convert the CD to cash after. Then pay off loan #2, convert the CD to cash after. Then pay off loan #3, covert the CD to cash after, then take the total cash that you have in hand, get another CD at bank #1 for the total amount of cash in hand.

Whaddaya got after 6 months? You have a credit file with 3 bank loans, showing on time payments, totalling 9,000. The credit file will NOT show they are secured with the CD.

Map it out on paper, work with the loan tables at each bank - see what the monthly amounts are going to be... IIRC, you've spent about 5400 bucks over a 6 month period (3000 cash plus monthly payments totalling 2400 ).

No, it's not a ponzi scheme - it's all perfectly legal - and it's YOUR MONEY that you use to secure the loan. I got this straight out of a self-help credit book by Bud Hibbs, some time ago, and used it.

GOOD LUCK!

Edited October 2, 2009 by Darnell

[lechatnoir 0]

Interesting... this is all puzzling to me as when I turned 18 I just applied for a credit card and I got one.... this all seems so complicated for something so simple... oh well. Thanks.

[~krakatoa~ 27]

I started with a secured credit card with Bank of America, with a balance of $300, and it opened a whole lot of other opportunities for me to build my credit on (car loan, utility bills, unsecured credit card, store credit cards like Macy's, etc-caution though, don't open too many credit cards or loans as it can negatively affect your score). My credit score now is 735 and it's been 2 years since I opened the secured credit. I think the score's pretty good coming from a non-existent credit history.

I suggest you have your husband try the secured credit card route.

Edited October 2, 2009 by ~krakatoa~

[SapphireDreams 71]

The same thing happened to me with Capitol One! I have no file!

My husband added me to his card, but I don't think that did anything to my file.

I may try to apply for a Target card this weekend because I heard those are the easiest to get, but I'm not hopeful.

I think eventually, I'll get a secured card... but right now I'm okay with no credit card since I can just use my hubby's if I have to.

I just worry when it comes time to getting a mortgage, but we don't plan to buy for another couple of years, so I know I have time.

[lechatnoir 0]

Ah yea, maybe Target... its funny though because if it says they have no credit file at all then how can an inquery hurt the score... if it doesn't exist?