What credit card to apply to with only employment based ssn (pending i-485)

[Skeiamn 24]

Hi,

I applied for a secured capital one card and was denied. I got my ssn in feb and got a job in the same month. My husband and I would like to buy a house soon; so I am looking to establish credit. I think its due to me not being a citzen nor a permanent resident?

Can I have a credit score while my ssn is for employment only  (approved EAD)?

What cards can I apply for with my ssn type?

Really would appreciate the help. Thank you.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

56 minutes ago, Skeiamn said:

Hi,

I applied for a secured capital one card and was denied. I got my ssn in feb and got a job in the same month. My husband and I would like to buy a house soon; so I am looking to establish credit. I think its due to me not being a citzen nor a permanent resident?

Can I have a credit score while my ssn is for employment only  (approved EAD)?

What cards can I apply for with my ssn type?

Really would appreciate the help. Thank you.

I got a secured credit card at BofA without any problems and was added as an authorized user on my husband's BofA credit card. It took 4 months for me to get my first credit score. Just got it Friday

Edited March 5, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[Skeiamn 24]

1 hour ago, Suss&Camm said:

I got a secured credit card at BofA without any problems and was added as an authorized user on my husband's BofA credit card. It took 4 months for me to get my first credit score. Just got it Friday

Nice! Congrats. Yh I'm realizing lots of ppl in our situation have boa or discover. Im gonna check it out. Thank you.

[Californiansunset 336]

2 hours ago, Skeiamn said:

Hi,

I applied for a secured capital one card and was denied. I got my ssn in feb and got a job in the same month. My husband and I would like to buy a house soon; so I am looking to establish credit. I think its due to me not being a citzen nor a permanent resident?

Can I have a credit score while my ssn is for employment only  (approved EAD)?

What cards can I apply for with my ssn type?

Really would appreciate the help. Thank you.

Same here, got a credit card at BofA. It's a simple cash rewards card with only 300 dollar credit limit per month. I was told that after one year it goes up and then I will be able to show a good credit history. Here's another thing. Before I got that credit card I went with my husband to Chase and the guy there explained that he had the same problem with his foreign wife when she immigrated. He said that the fastest way to get a lot of good credit points is if you only spend around 30% on your credit card (I know Sounds strange but he said it works with every credit card from banks like that). So in order to get that he put their Netflix bill on her credit card which was around 30% of her credit and so each month it was charged on her credit card. After three years of doing this his wife has a higher credit level than he does with 70k. Maybe something to consider. It obviously takes time though. You're not going to get a representative good credit score within a few months 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

Just now, Californiansunset said:

Same here, got a credit card at BofA. It's a simple cash rewards card with only 300 dollar credit limit per month. I was told that after one year it goes up and then I will be able to show a good credit history. Here's another thing. Before I got that credit card I went with my husband to Chase and the guy there explained that he had the same problem with his foreign wife when she immigrated. He said that the fastest way to get a lot of good credit points is if you only spend around 30% on your credit card (I know Sounds strange but he said it works with every credit card from banks like that). So in order to get that he put their Netflix bill on her credit card which was around 30% of her credit and so each month it was charged on her credit card. After three years of doing this his wife has a higher credit level than he does with 70k. Maybe something to consider. It obviously takes time though. You're not going to get a representative good credit score within a few months 

I put $1,500 on my secured BofA card and actually to build your credit you should try to keep the utilization between 10-20% at the closing date according to most experts. I had mine for 4 month... my husbands card has the same limit and has been open for 6 months. We always pay off in full and never go over $300. The score I received is thus based on a $3,000 credit line with 2 revolving credits and a maximum utilization of 20%. This gave me a score of 751 after 4 months in the country. 

[talile 6]

2 hours ago, Suss&Camm said:

I got a secured credit card at BofA without any problems and was added as an authorized user on my husband's BofA credit card. It took 4 months for me to get my first credit score. Just got it Friday

I did the same 8 months ago. BoA were really great and I walked in and got great recommendations from them. I got to a 800 credit score in under a year and they changed my card to regular and gave me the deposit back on their own.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

18 minutes ago, talile said:

I did the same 8 months ago. BoA were really great and I walked in and got great recommendations from them. I got to a 800 credit score in under a year and they changed my card to regular and gave me the deposit back on their own.

 was just wondering how long it might take .... I guess if I want the same credit limit on a normal card I'll might have to wait a bit longer than you.. What was the limit you had?

[talile 6]

3 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

 was just wondering how long it might take .... I guess if I want the same credit limit on a normal card I'll might have to wait a bit longer than you.. What was the limit you had?

My secured credit line was $1,000 and my new limit is $2,500 but this is a credit card only and I could have made it higher would I open a checking account and transfer my paychecks to that bank.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

3 hours ago, talile said:

My secured credit line was $1,000 and my new limit is $2,500 but this is a credit card only and I could have made it higher would I open a checking account and transfer my paychecks to that bank.

Great to know!

[Skeiamn 24]

Thanks for all the great info guys. Im gonna go boa and get a secured card. I really appreciate all ur responses so much. 

Im going to put 300 on it so to get a $300 limit and just have my phone bill charged on it $44.1 a month and my Netflix $13. 

[Elvis&Sky 26]

I got a regular credit card with statefarm, go to one of their offices and ask about their credit builder credit card, they ask for really basic info, no need to have any credit experience, the limit is $500, it helped a lot! a couple weeks ago I applied for another one in my bank and they gave it to me with a credit limit of $2800. 

[sparkles_ 456]

I'm rebuilding my credit after having a dirt poor score for years. I got a capital one quicksilver (one specifically for poo poo credit), unsecured but it's start limit is 300...will increase every 6mo of positive history and reports every month to the big three. IMO, worth a short to try the quicksilver card, it's geared towards people rebuilding ruined credit or building non existent credit. All of that being said, if you just really want an unsecured card of some kind. I added my husband who only has an ead and ssn to it no problem. 

 

Just as easy and beneficial to do secured via your bank if you have the funds to put on the deposit for it. 

Edited March 6, 2017 by sparkles_

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Talk to your bank.

My husband was able to get an unsecured card with a 500$ limit (a starting point), after being on the joint account for 10 months, and only had a job for 3 months. They saw how much our average deposits per month were and offered us a better card, I was worried that because he had no US credit that it would be denied and took the card that wasn't based on our deposits per month and he was still approved. If the card is through the same bank you bank with, they can use your bank history to decide if they want to take a risk on you or not, but in some cases if you have been in good standing and deposit even a couple of thousand a month, it can really help your chances. His credit score is almost 690, as we use one month spending on it to generate a bill, the next month paying it off to bring the statement to 0, and repeat.


Note, I did not add my husband to anything with my name on it. My credit score is lower, and while people think that marriage itself brings down the spouses credit score, it's actually if they are joint holders on a card that isn't being paid, delinquent, in collections, w/e. My first marriage, I had about 8 credit cards, my husband at the time was only put on one of them and that was the only one that showed on his credit score, as he had no attachments to the other. Once that card got closed out, his credit started increasing more steadily as that was the only debt he had. So if you add your spouse, make sure it's on a card in good standing, you don't want to bring them down with you. LOL.

[mallafri76 1,012]

Yes, BOFA's easy to work with. I was able to open bank accounts with them before I even moved to the US. My first week as a US resident, I was able to get a "proper" credit card and an auto loan with BOFA. No problems at all. Compare that with stupid Chase who still won't approve me for a Chase Mileage credit card, even though my credit score is 752, because, and I quote, "customer accounts have been open less than two years"... ? So yes, I would go to a BOFA office and speak to them directly. 

[ddtenor2 80]

Once my husband got his SSN, I added him as an authorized user to my CapitalOne credit card.  Within 4 months the offers started rolling in for him to get credit cards from all the major banks.