A first timers Canadian credit card

[garnet80 1]

My fiance (18 y/o male) and I got approved for our K1 NOA-2 in 52 days... a bit faster than the 5 months we were expecting. >.>

He is working (semi new job though) close to full time hours. He takes all that they will give him.

He has a checking and savings account.

The thing is, due to the CSC being so fast (#######), we lost a few months of savings. If he could get a credit card, it could pick up the minor overflow. We aren't expecting much, but it would be a nice precaution. We don't want to lose this NOW as we can see the finish line... especially over something like $100, you know? We are doing the best we can with working as much as we can, this is just kind of a security blanket we hope to be able to attain.

I was wondering, are there any cards that might give him a shot, without being prepaid? A low limit is just fine, we know interest would be high. Like in the US I know the places that would give higher risk folks a card, but I have no idea about Canada, and especially since I think it's harder to get credit there.

Thanks for any suggestions. We already know the evils of credit and we certainly don't want to get wrapped up in them. Like I said, this would be for minor overflow, just to make sure we're covered.

Edited March 7, 2010 by garnet80

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Wow, congrats on a fast NOA2! That's great news.

As for the credit card issue...Capital One is usually the easiest to get, and they have a Canada-only card as well. I have one with a $500 limit, but I literally never use it given that I've got a couple of Visas (one in Canada and now a Platinum one in the U.S., oddly enough). I keep it around JUST in case I'm somewhere that only takes Master Card. I got the Capital One card when I was only making about $30,000 per year and had some lingering credit issues from my late teens (something that has NEVER been a problem as an adult).

The only two pains about Capital One are that A.) they start you out with an annual fee of $50, and B.) they're very difficult to cancel. Otherwise, it IS a credit card and he should be able to get it with little-to-no credit history, provided he's working and has a SIN.

Good luck!

P.S.: I just saw your flickr site via your profile -- you guys are an adorable couple!

Edited March 7, 2010 by Wyatt's Torch

[Sam and Ben 2]

Try TD Canada Trust. They were the only place that would give me a credit card when I first hit 18 and I was very quickly able to raise my credit limit.

Oh, I will add that I shortly thereafter applied for a Bank of Montreal Mastercard... for places that only accepted MC.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Sam and Ben

[minnew 4]

I would also suggest Citi cards Canada. I did not have a lengthy credit history due to being a full time university student but they approved for me a MasterCard that had no annual fee. I can't rememmver what my credit limit was when I first got it, but I want to say $1500? Anyways after having the card for about 3 years my limit is somewhere around 5K.

[garnet80 1]

Thanks for the replies! My fiance has ZERO credit history. All of the ones mentioned, they are not prepaid cards right? That would defeat our purposes. Thanks again!

[garnet80 1]

Oh and I am going to guess, if he is denied for one, it will start to slam his brand new credit history to try for another... ?

[Sam and Ben 2]

I was denied for four cards before I finally got one with TD. Don't really know if it affected me in any way, but subsequent cards had much higher credit limits within a very short time, so I doubt it.

Obviously, don't go apply for twenty at a time or anything. That'll likely send up a few red flags. But try for one and when that doesn't work out, move onto another.

[Bern. 3]

Honestly, he would probably have a better chance of obtaining a credit card if he went through his bank. From my own personal experience, when I was 18 (2 years ago) I applied for a credit card with BMO (Bank of Montreal) all they wanted to know from me was how much I made a month. I had zero credit history, and at the time was only making about $500 a month. They gave me a credit card with a $1,500 limit. I hadn't even been at my job for 6 months at the time I applied.

And if all else, try Capital One. Good luck. =)

Edited March 8, 2010 by Bern.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Who does he hold a bank account with...he should go there and talk to someone at the bank.

[Pauley 2]

P.S.: I just saw your flickr site via your profile -- you guys are an adorable couple!

Seconded

[Bern. 3]

Seconded

Thirded!

(If thirded wasn't a word, it is now!)

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Thirded!

(If thirded wasn't a word, it is now!)

Oh, it's a word. So is fourthed and fifthed. I think it stops at one-hundred-and-seventeenthed.

Do you have a credit card, Bern? You're only a year and a half older than Chase...you might have the best input of anyone here.

[Bern. 3]

Oh, it's a word. So is fourthed and fifthed. I think it stops at one-hundred-and-seventeenthed.

Do you have a credit card, Bern? You're only a year and a half older than Chase...you might have the best input of anyone here.

Yes I do.

I also posted my experience/advice on this page. I forgot to mention though, that I bank with the Bank of Montreal. But yes, he has the best chance of obtaining one with his bank. When I decided I wanted a credit card, I actually looked all over for pro's and con's. I mean, sure it's easy to obtain a Capital One card but they want deposits, and generally their limits are very very low.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Bern.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Yes I do.

I also posted my experience/advice on this page. I forgot to mention though, that I bank with the Bank of Montreal. But yes, he has the best chance of obtaining one with his bank. When I decided I wanted a credit card, I actually looked all over for pro's and con's. I mean, sure it's easy to obtain a Capital One card but they want deposits, and generally their limits are very very low.

D'oh! Sorry about that. I missed your earlier post.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Honestly, he would probably have a better chance of obtaining a credit card if he went through his bank. From my own personal experience, when I was 18 (2 years ago) I applied for a credit card with BMO (Bank of Montreal) all they wanted to know from me was how much I made a month. I had zero credit history, and at the time was only making about $500 a month. They gave me a credit card with a $1,500 limit. I hadn't even been at my job for 6 months at the time I applied.

I was going to say the same thing Bern. When I was 18 I got my first credit card from ScotiaBank. I had absolutely no credit history and I had only been in my part time job for three months. All they wanted to see was that I was actually employed and making some money. It only had a $500 limit but after having the card for a few months I was able to go and apply for other lines of credit with the history I established.