Building up credit history

[JVKn'CVO 11]

How did your non-usc start building up credit in the US? What was the first step?

and how did it impact your USC's spouse credit score?

Saludos,

Caro

[Jigi 0]

hi,

First step is to open a JOINT bank account with the USC... the next step is to get an addiotional credit card the one which ur wife has... then slowly doing up bill payments.. slowly getting utilities and services in your name... adding name to the house contract and car and others etc... I guess thats how one by one things are done.....

Jigi

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

I know a Russian former co-worker. I asked him this question, too, a few years ago. He told me, he applied for a secured credit card after he was on the job for six months. After a year they dropped the security deposit. At the two year mark, he applied for a car loan. With perfect payments on all installent accounts, within another year, he was able to secure a mortgage, with a 10% down payment, on a duplex (which he rents out half to his parents.)

The USC's credit score should be uneffected. The USC's score would only change if you had a joint credit account under both your names.

Hope this is helpful!

[bora bora 1]

When we went to buy a second car they had to use my credit since my husband didn't have any. I know that this did affect my credit and our APR for the car. However, I think it was minimal.

Now we make on-time payments every month for the car (and everything else) and my husband is receiving credit card offers in the mail only a few months later - so I'm sure he has some credit now.

We have two joint bank accounts, but since we're working on getting out of credit card debt my husband does not have one.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Some very good options here. Thanks for the replies, keep them coming

We are looking into having joint accounts, at least a savings one.

Saludos,

Caro

[ForeverAmen 0]

We pretty much did the same things as others have suggested ..... opened a Joint Bank account (both checking and savings), and added him to my Credit Card. Also, the suggestion of a secured Credit Card is an excellent option.

[sarah and hicham 3]

Hicham got a pre paid credit card from our bank and once he pays it for 6 months, then they give him $300 credit and it builds up from there.

[athena_ny 1]

Bank of America gave M. an unsecured credit card with a credit limit of 1000 dollars the first time he applied. He personally went to the bank and asked for a woman a friend referred him to, so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. I hate Bank of America, but it works for him.

We then got a car loan, but the interest is astronomical so I really wish he didn't need to replace his old car, but it is what it is.

His credit doesn't impact mine at all...? We have joint stuff, but my credit score is entirely different from his. He's still building his and mine is still over a 700.

[Ephesia 0]

I am the non-USC. I didn't apply for any credit card until I was here for 6 months. Then Capital One had credit card offers for those with zero credit history. I got a card from them with a $200 credit limit at 24.99% APR with an annual fee of $39 in Jan 2006. I made very small purchases with the card (e.g. groceries and gas), and paid in full every month. After 6 months, they upped my credit limit to $500.

By that time, Washington Mutual (WAMU) sent me a credit card offer with a $2.5k credit limit at 12.99% APR and no annual fee. I took the card. Didn't apply for any other credit cards until two months ago when Citi sent me an offer with a $4k limit at 0% APR for a year and no annual fee. I cancelled my Capital One card and transferred the balance on my WAMU card to the Citi card. My husband also added me as an authorized user to his Best Buy Reward Zone credit card. We are also co-borrowers on his car refi loan and our water softener.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Bank of America gave M. an unsecured credit card with a credit limit of 1000 dollars the first time he applied. He personally went to the bank and asked for a woman a friend referred him to, so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. I hate Bank of America, but it works for him.

We then got a car loan, but the interest is astronomical so I really wish he didn't need to replace his old car, but it is what it is.

His credit doesn't impact mine at all...? We have joint stuff, but my credit score is entirely different from his. He's still building his and mine is still over a 700.

Sounds a lot like our situation, we'll be working with BOA, and his credit score is really good and I'd hate it if it went down because of me But that's great that you told me that having a joint account didn't affect your score

Luckly we won't need to replace our cars any time soon (crossing fingers). Hubby's got a nice car that he's still making payments on, and his dad gave us his car as a wedding present, and that's the one i'm learning on and will be using once I get my license

I am the non-USC. I didn't apply for any credit card until I was here for 6 months. Then Capital One had credit card offers for those with zero credit history. I got a card from them with a $200 credit limit at 24.99% APR with an annual fee of $39 in Jan 2006. I made very small purchases with the card (e.g. groceries and gas), and paid in full every month. After 6 months, they upped my credit limit to $500.

By that time, Washington Mutual (WAMU) sent me a credit card offer with a $2.5k credit limit at 12.99% APR and no annual fee. I took the card. Didn't apply for any other credit cards until two months ago when Citi sent me an offer with a $4k limit at 0% APR for a year and no annual fee. I cancelled my Capital One card and transferred the balance on my WAMU card to the Citi card. My husband also added me as an authorized user to his Best Buy Reward Zone credit card. We are also co-borrowers on his car refi loan and our water softener.

$4k limit and 0%APR? that's awesome, sounds like you played it right

Saludos,

Caro

[athena_ny 1]

Bank of America gave M. an unsecured credit card with a credit limit of 1000 dollars the first time he applied. He personally went to the bank and asked for a woman a friend referred him to, so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. I hate Bank of America, but it works for him.

We then got a car loan, but the interest is astronomical so I really wish he didn't need to replace his old car, but it is what it is.

His credit doesn't impact mine at all...? We have joint stuff, but my credit score is entirely different from his. He's still building his and mine is still over a 700.

Sounds a lot like our situation, we'll be working with BOA, and his credit score is really good and I'd hate it if it went down because of me But that's great that you told me that having a joint account didn't affect your score

Luckly we won't need to replace our cars any time soon (crossing fingers). Hubby's got a nice car that he's still making payments on, and his dad gave us his car as a wedding present, and that's the one i'm learning on and will be using once I get my license

I am the non-USC. I didn't apply for any credit card until I was here for 6 months. Then Capital One had credit card offers for those with zero credit history. I got a card from them with a $200 credit limit at 24.99% APR with an annual fee of $39 in Jan 2006. I made very small purchases with the card (e.g. groceries and gas), and paid in full every month. After 6 months, they upped my credit limit to $500.

By that time, Washington Mutual (WAMU) sent me a credit card offer with a $2.5k credit limit at 12.99% APR and no annual fee. I took the card. Didn't apply for any other credit cards until two months ago when Citi sent me an offer with a $4k limit at 0% APR for a year and no annual fee. I cancelled my Capital One card and transferred the balance on my WAMU card to the Citi card. My husband also added me as an authorized user to his Best Buy Reward Zone credit card. We are also co-borrowers on his car refi loan and our water softener.

$4k limit and 0%APR? that's awesome, sounds like you played it right

Saludos,

Caro

Well if you get a joint card with him and don't pay the bill, that will affect his score. But I don't think the simple fact of just having that together will hurt his score - could help it in the end if a good payment history is established, but I've heard that just opening a credit card can lower your score by a few points (but a few points is pretty negligible, as far as I am concerned). For the car, we used my good score to get the loan, but his lack of history killed any chance we had of getting a good interest rate. As for the credit card, I wanted him to do that on his own because I have a bad history with credit cards (I just have too high of a balance on them, but somehow still have good credit? Don't ask me, I totally don't get it. Last loan we got, my score was like, 702 even though I still have all those credit cards.) And he can't really be piggybacking off of my credit for the rest of his life, so I thought it was important he build it on his own.

As for the car, I have one that my parents had a loan on and I bought it off of them and he needed another car, so we got that one joint so he could get approved. My score went up a few points after getting the loan...and toward the end of this year we are going to investigate refinancing both because we'll have a payment history and his credit will be more established. On my own, I managed to get an interest rate of 9.25%, but when we went to get the other car, the best they could do for us was 13.99%

As or adding him to my existing cards as an authorized user, that impacted neither of our scores. It didn't show up on his report, and my score stayed pretty much the same.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

I'm so excited, I can't wait for my EAD to arrive, so so many good things ahead. I can start working, get my license, and start helping with the bills. yay!

Saludos,

Caro

[athena_ny 1]

I'm so excited, I can't wait for my EAD to arrive, so so many good things ahead. I can start working, get my license, and start helping with the bills. yay!

Saludos,

Caro

I wish I didn't have to help with the bills

[JVKn'CVO 11]

I'm so excited, I can't wait for my EAD to arrive, so so many good things ahead. I can start working, get my license, and start helping with the bills. yay!

Saludos,

Caro

I wish I didn't have to help with the bills

Thanks your all the replies people

Saludos,

Caro

[Ephesia 0]

Thank you, Caro.

I read many posts here on VJ about building credit history when I first arrived in the US. Hubby and I also talked a great deal about how we would get my history started. The first thing we decided was for me to have my own credit cards for at least 1½ years before I got put on some of his cards. He wanted me to start with a clean slate.

The other thing we decided was we would spread out my credit card applications at least 6-8 months from one another, and I will not have more than 3 cards. With the Capital One card already cancelled, I now have 2 cards (one of which has a zero balance). And I'm an authorized user on only one of his.

Hubby now rolls his eyes whenever he sees how my credit scores are higher than his.

One of my goals for 2008 is to get a 720 credit score.

$4k limit and 0%APR? that's awesome, sounds like you played it right

Saludos,

Caro

I wish I didn't have to help with the bills

LOL, me too !!!