Building credit with restricted SSN.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

  My mother was born in the US , never lived more than a mile from where she was born and when she was in her 50's had trouble getting a credit approval to co sign my student loans because she had never had any credit in the past.  Lived in a house that had been in the family always  paid cash for everything including cars.  Had a SS number since they first came out. 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

2 hours ago, mamosc said:

Consider that 30% of the score is based on the utilization ratio line of credit/spending, another 30% is based of length of history and approx 10% mixed of inquiries & active accounts . So a secure card usually comes with a $500 CL. As a general rule a good utilization ratio is -10% which is $50 monthly spending. Now the Bureaus also consider how much is your spending, not only in terms of ratio. Length of history: in order to get a regular credit card with a decent CL you need to have at least 2+ years of history. So as long as the immigrant has the chance to be added as AU and apply for a regular card this is the way I suggest to do. Also keep in mind all the benefits that come with a regular CC (cashback, points, miles etc). The issuer don't really care what the relationship of the AU is with the primary. The AU is not responsible for that account.

So my suggestion is, whenever possible, being added as AU first thing, and apply for a personal cc after that.

If not possible at least trying to get a secured card with the highest CL possible

We don't disagree  - there's a reason why I combined the two, I would suggest getting them at the same time.

 

Personally I put a $2,000 line on my secured card, but not everyone might be able to do that

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

2 hours ago, mamosc said:

 The issuer don't really care what the relationship of the AU is with the primary.

This is not correct however - it's in the terms of the card agreement, you might be able to use it as an authorized user, but for example as I was saying, Our Cap1 card terms state that they only report for spouses and family members. There are creditors that don't report authorized users at all, so this needs to be checked before hand.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[mamosc 7]

18 hours ago, Suss&Camm said:

This is not correct however - it's in the terms of the card agreement, you might be able to use it as an authorized user, but for example as I was saying, Our Cap1 card terms state that they only report for spouses and family members. There are creditors that don't report authorized users at all, so this needs to be checked before hand.

 

Can you please post a screenshot of the terms language? You can even pm me. I work with banks and credit and this is the first time I hear something like that. 

 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

26 minutes ago, mamosc said:

 

Can you please post a screenshot of the terms language? You can even pm me. I work with banks and credit and this is the first time I hear something like that. 

 

I'm in bed not feeling well atm, but I will go look and see if I can find the papers later - in the meantime here is a link that talks about it - I just picked one of the first that popped up.. I know it's also discussed a lot on myfico.com and nerdwallet.com  https://www.valuepenguin.com/authorized-users-and-credit-cards-benefits-risks
the note that is found a bit down on the page says. (I believe our card terms says specifically "spouse") 

Edited June 2, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[mamosc 7]

2 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

I'm in bed not feeling well atm, but I will go look and see if I can find the papers later - in the mean time here is a link that talks about it - I just picked one of the first that popped up.. I knw it's also discussed alot on myfico.com and nerdwallet.com  https://www.valuepenguin.com/authorized-users-and-credit-cards-benefits-risks
the note that is found a bit down on the page says, I believe our card terms says specifically "spouse": 

Sorry to hear that. Nowhere in the link or picture is stated that " they only report for spouses and family members". "May not report" is quite well different than "do not report".  My experience is that you can add anyone as AU, if won't show up on his report just call the bank and ask them. It took 4 months to Citi to report me as AU, but eventually it happened.

I want to clarify that I am talking about well known and established banks and lenders. I have no doubt that a small bank doesn't report. But for the purpose of this thread I won't recommend a small or local bank . Imho.

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

4 minutes ago, mamosc said:

Sorry to hear that. Nowhere in the link or picture is stated that " they only report for spouses and family members". "May not report" is quite well different than "do not report".  My experience is that you can add anyone as AU, if won't show up on his report just call the bank and ask them. It took 4 months to Citi to report me as AU, but eventually it happened.

I want to clarify that I am talking about well known and established banks and lenders. I have no doubt that a small bank doesn't report. But for the purpose of this thread I won't recommend a small or local bank . Imho.

It says may not report because it depends on the institution - yes large established banks and organizations generally report for all to all credit bureaus. My point was that all do not, and when they do not it is generally waived for spouses (or sometimes close family) . 

It is something one should double check when applying for credit in general. It costs a creditor money to report and they can write in their terms whatever they please. It's good to have different kinds of credit and for example some retail cards I could imagine would be affected by this.

I never claimed this was a common or general issue - I specifically said that it should be double checked. I wouldn't want to sign up for something thinking it is helping my score and then a few months later find out that it did nothing. If I didn't mention this the OP, or others reading would be none the wiser until/if it happened.

[zilchfox 296]

On 6/1/2017 at 11:55 AM, FROWNcat said:

I figured they wouldn't know what to do with my extension letter. They hardly knew if I could have a SSN with my K1 visa and almost didn't give me an ID with my EAD/AP card. Happy to hear I can apply for a card anyway.

After all these replies it looks like a secured one is my best bet. I tried applying with my bank for one but at this point I imagine I will be denied. I will wait until they contact me with an approval/ denial letter and then go with the secured one I can apply for online.

Just remember under the CARD act of 2009, you can apply listing your spouses' income as well as your own together if it asks for household income. With that said, yes do wait so you don't get too many hard inquiries on your credit report.

[Coleman21 6]

On 5/31/2017 at 10:34 PM, Suss&Camm said:

Tax returns and paying bills on time (unless credit bills to companies that report) again have nothing to do with credit. As mentioned by many others, what you need to do is make sure the creditors are reporting to the credit bureaus and that you have a file with the major credit bureaus, Experian, Tansunion and Equifax. I have had several long conversations with departmens at all three bureaus and sent them copies of my information in order for a file to be created quicker and my information to be verified. It's not needed but I'm impatient.  

The employee at the SSO that you spoke to was completely wrong and should have accepted your extension. You could have pushed it to a supervisor and/or brought proof in writing but I understandnot wanting the hassle with it all.

At the SSO, I did push it super hard. I talked with the supervisor too. They still would not change their answer. So I asked lawyers on avvo.com, and they all said I will have to wait until I get my new card, which I did, and worked.

[Coleman21 6]

On 6/1/2017 at 11:55 AM, FROWNcat said:

I figured they wouldn't know what to do with my extension letter. They hardly knew if I could have a SSN with my K1 visa and almost didn't give me an ID with my EAD/AP card. Happy to hear I can apply for a card anyway.

After all these replies it looks like a secured one is my best bet. I tried applying with my bank for one but at this point I imagine I will be denied. I will wait until they contact me with an approval/ denial letter and then go with the secured one I can apply for online.

In my case I borrowed student loan after I became a permanent resident, and as I paid it back I started getting many credit card offers. I still didn't apply for a while but I got a discover credit card last winter and it is great. They gave me a low credit line, but as I paid on time, they raised the credit line quick.