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

[jostermacedo 62]

14 hours ago, Skeiamn said:

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. 

Once you have a credit score, try Amex or Discover. They have a history of liking thin files (people with short credit history and not many credit cards). Also, even if the limit is very low, they grow fast. I started with a $1,000 limit with Discover and now is higher than 20K.

 

It also helps to be an authorized user on someone's else credit card.

 

[Sarah&Facundo 600]

Will being an authorized user help credit? My bank told me no, but I am not sure if they were mistaken. My husband just received his social security number yesterday. My credit score is high and I have multiple rewards credit cards (but never carry a balance). I do not want him to continue using his credit card because I want him to build credit so we can buy a house. He just moved here a month ago. I'm looking at the secured credit card route OR being a co-signer on a credit card, but I imagine that would be another hard inquiry against my score. 

[arken 4,197]

50 minutes ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

Will being an authorized user help credit? My bank told me no, but I am not sure if they were mistaken. My husband just received his social security number yesterday. My credit score is high and I have multiple rewards credit cards (but never carry a balance). I do not want him to continue using his credit card because I want him to build credit so we can buy a house. He just moved here a month ago. I'm looking at the secured credit card route OR being a co-signer on a credit card, but I imagine that would be another hard inquiry against my score. 

Depends on the bank. Some banks don’t report authorized users to credit bureau. I had added my wife as an authorized user on Amex and Capital one CCs and they did show up on her report. After having her as an authorized user for around one year, I had her apply for unsecured CC and she got approved.

 

Secured CC is also a very good way of building credit.

[Sarah&Facundo 600]

2 minutes ago, arken said:

Depends on the bank. Some banks don’t report authorized users to credit bureau. I had added my wife as an authorized user on Amex and Capital one CCs and they did show up on her report. After having her as an authorized user for around one year, I had her apply for unsecured CC and she got approved.

 

Secured CC is also a very good way of building credit.

That's good to know. One of my credit cards is the capital one venture. I'll have to give them a call. Would it be advantageous to both add him as an authorized user (as long as it is reported) and getting him a secured credit card?