Building my Credit Score

[jostermacedo 54]

16 minutes ago, SachaAndIain said:

I have no idea why there are so many people in this thread saying that getting added as an authorized user/additional cardholder is a bad idea, or that it is less effective than getting a secured credit card. That's complete bunk. Credit card piggybacking is very well established and (provided it's legitimate) will get you a seriously high credit score in about six months. When I moved here, my wife had a good credit score (from being an authorized user on her parents cards). She opened credit cards with me as an additional cardholder with Amex and CapitalOne. We used the amex for gas and groceries (3%cashback) and the capitalone for everything else (1.5% cashback). We pump all our purchases through the cards, and always pay them off in time, so there's never any interest charged. Within six months we were both up over 750 credit scores.

 

Meanwhile, open a http://CreditKarma.com account. Look at your report regularly and learn what the markers are - age of credit, credit utilisation, number of accounts, total credit, etc. Work on improving each of these numbers. For us, opening another couple of cards would have probably helped, but I can't be arsed keeping track of that many accounts to pay off.

 

https://www.thebalance.com/credit-card-piggybacking-and-impact-to-credit-scores-960197

I fully agree you with you. I'm doing the same for my kids, who are 15 and 16. Once they reach 18, they will have a good credit history. Why not do it?

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

57 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

Basically minimum deposit is $25 to open, but if that's all you put then you will pay a monthly fee of $12. 

You can have a fee of $0 if you either:

1. have a qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more (for which you'd need a job ofc) or;

2. keep the balance above $1,500

 

so.. I don't see why they would have rejected you based on that.

or Op can open an echecking account with BoFA and pay no fees..But all transactions has to be made online 

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

10 minutes ago, jostermacedo said:

Amex and Discover like people with a thin credit files. I recommend to apply for both once the person has a credit score, even if the history is very short. They may give a very small limit, but they have a good history of increasing credit limits without hard inquiries on your credit report.

Discover is no long the card for low or bad credit folks. 

I think OP has little idea about how credit works here

[jostermacedo 54]

Just now, IcezMan_IcezLady said:

Discover is no long the card for low or bad credit folks. 

I think OP has little idea about how credit works here

I'm not recommending Discover to those with low or bad credit. I'm recommending to people with short credit history. Discover and Amex like people with thin files. 

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

Don't go applying for another card or account without understanding how all these rejections are impacting your score.. You are digging your hole deeper.

Showing proof of income is very important so work on that. You can try the "shopping cart" trick.

 

You can also sign up for self-lender. it is basically a contract between you and the company where you make monthly payments and it is reported to the credit bureaus. at the end of the term, you get all your money back minus self-lender fees. This way, you can build your credit.

The down side to this is if you miss a payment, they will report it as negative on your credit.

[Maria2012 16]

17 hours ago, Transborderwife said:

It's not as effective 

  Adding Your spouse to your credit card is very effective .  I went from no score to 700+ in six months exactly. Then I applied for a Capital One card   That was advertised at the time "  for new immigrants ".  They gave me a credit limit of $500 but that card alone got my score to over 750  after another six months.   Three years later my credit score is close to 800 and my credit limit close to 70 K. And I did that without getting a secured credit card which would probably work best for a person who is married to a spouse with bad credit score.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Maria2012

[Transborderwife 4,666]

42 minutes ago, Maria2012 said:

  Adding Your spouse to your credit card is very effective .  I went from no score to 700+ in six months exactly. Then I applied for a Capital One card   That was advertised at the time "  for new immigrants ".  They gave me a credit limit of $500 but that card alone got my score to over 750  after another six months.   Three years later my credit score is close to 800 and my credit limit close to 70 K. And I did that without getting a secured credit card which would probably work best for a person who is married to a spouse with bad credit score.

What you're describing is pretty common for entry level Capital One.  I used to work for them.  When people with mid credit (at the time 590-650) got the same 

[oncoming traffic 21]

19 minutes ago, Transborderwife said:

What you're describing is pretty common for entry level Capital One.  I used to work for them.  When people with mid credit (at the time 590-650) got the same 

i only skimmed the other pages so im not sure if anyones mentioned it before but yeah - capone is definitely the best option. even regardless of any "new immigrant" deal advertising, my (usc) first credit card was capone as soon as i was of age to apply. with no credit you start off with a very small limit <$500 but they assess your use and automatically increase it every year. i also have zero foreign transaction fees on mine which was perfect when i lived in oz. i always recommend them to anyone with little or no credit - usc or not

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

35 minutes ago, oncoming traffic said:

i only skimmed the other pages so im not sure if anyones mentioned it before but yeah - capone is definitely the best option. even regardless of any "new immigrant" deal advertising, my (usc) first credit card was capone as soon as i was of age to apply. with no credit you start off with a very small limit <$500 but they assess your use and automatically increase it every year. i also have zero foreign transaction fees on mine which was perfect when i lived in oz. i always recommend them to anyone with little or no credit - usc or not

lol I'm sorry off topic.. but I kept reading capone..as in Al Capone hahahahaha   I'm like what is this "capone"??   embarrassing how long it took to connect hahahaha

Yea my first non-secured is now Cap One as well..

[Maria2012 16]

1 hour ago, Transborderwife said:

What you're describing is pretty common for entry level Capital One.  I used to work for them.  When people with mid credit (at the time 590-650) got the same 

Therefor effective

[Hopeful diva 99]

Good thread! I just started building my credit score too, I have no credit history. I was able to obtain a credit card through Bank of America less than two weeks ago. I'm glad I took this route because it's been so helpful. I hope to maintain a good credit 

[Absolutely 34]

2 hours ago, oncoming traffic said:

i only skimmed the other pages so im not sure if anyones mentioned it before but yeah - capone is definitely the best option. even regardless of any "new immigrant" deal advertising, my (usc) first credit card was capone as soon as i was of age to apply. with no credit you start off with a very small limit <$500 but they assess your use and automatically increase it every year. i also have zero foreign transaction fees on mine which was perfect when i lived in oz. i always recommend them to anyone with little or no credit - usc or not

That's really good info. Is that for the Capital One Platinum card? I am starting to get set up here and a credit card is next on the list. I have a job offer pending my EAD so would I qualify for it despite a credit score of 0? I don't really want a secured credit card, so this Capital One card looks a great option. Also, as I have not started my new job yet, I would have to put unemployed. Is it best to wait to begin work in order to qualify for it?

[oncoming traffic 21]

1 hour ago, Absolutely said:

That's really good info. Is that for the Capital One Platinum card? I am starting to get set up here and a credit card is next on the list. I have a job offer pending my EAD so would I qualify for it despite a credit score of 0? I don't really want a secured credit card, so this Capital One card looks a great option. Also, as I have not started my new job yet, I would have to put unemployed. Is it best to wait to begin work in order to qualify for it?

yeah iirc mine is the platinum... i don't know if you'd be disqualified from that particular one, but i know for a fact they do have at least one card for people without any credit whatsoever. also, i know for a fact that no credit card i've applied for has double checked my salary or employment info cuz i've definitely lied on some of them and they're all still fine lol. especially capital one... you'll be totally fine signing up for one now. just double check their website or maybe even call to ask a rep what program would be best for someone with no credit. GOOD LUCK

[Marc_us82 49]

After reading the advice from this thread, I decided to hop in to BoA today to ask for a secured credit card to start building my credit score. The banker was like: why do you want a secured one when you can get a non secured one without the annual fees and all the other perks. So I went with her advice and I got approved a non secured credit card on the spot with zero credit history!

 

I say go try your luck and ask, you never know what the outcome will be.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

8 hours ago, Marc_us82 said:

After reading the advice from this thread, I decided to hop in to BoA today to ask for a secured credit card to start building my credit score. The banker was like: why do you want a secured one when you can get a non secured one without the annual fees and all the other perks. So I went with her advice and I got approved a non secured credit card on the spot with zero credit history!

 

I say go try your luck and ask, you never know what the outcome will be.

They always have you do a regular application. If you have been in the country for at least few months (no idea how long you've been here) you can definitely get approved for a non-secured. I applied on day 2 and was not approved. But instead put a good limit to work with. It doesn't matter for the case of building credit score if it's secured or not,  it builds the same way. 

But if you for some other reason want a unsecured card (such as the rewards card) definitely they will make sure you get it

Good luck building! It's a marathon for us newcomers.. 

Edited March 29, 2017 by Suss&Camm