Who will give me one?!?!?

I've tried Gap, Target, Victoria's Secret, and most recently Wachovia. They've all turned me down. The stores I understand because I dont have any credit, but when I filled out the application for Wachovia they said it was a student card and was made for those who wanted to establish credit, yet I was turned down and told it was because students were too high risk, wtf?

i want to buy a house next year, so I need to get one soon. Any suggestions?

6/24/2007 8:57:48 AM

jesus christ what the hell have you done to your credit that you cant get a retail card? you need to run a credit check on yourself. and ps, you do not want a retail card. i know when i worked at j. crew the initial APR was over 20%.



if your credit is really that fucked you're gonna have to con a family member into adding you onto their card(s) so you can benefit from their established credit or find a cosigner or something.

6/24/2007 9:00:48 AM

I got my first student card from http://www.citicards.com. I had no credit before that.

6/24/2007 9:19:04 AM

Do you have bad credit or no credit? There is a difference.

6/24/2007 10:01:12 AM

^ & ^^ i have no credit.

6/24/2007 10:04:26 AM

skyfallen obviously has horrible credit. He must have bills past due somewhere.

Do a free credit check and see what comes up.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 10:09 AM. Reason : .,.]

6/24/2007 10:07:25 AM

^ she, and no...i've paid all my bills (rent/progress energy/time warner) on time. i've just never had any desire to have a credit card (as per seeing my parents' experiences), until now...and if i didnt need credit to get a mortgage, i would never get one.

6/24/2007 10:14:40 AM

I got a Capital ONe student card as my first card. My limit was like 300 dollars. After about 8 months of buying and paying it off my credit was established enough to get a better one and got a Bank One card (now CHASE).

I currently have citibank and really enjoy the customer service and benefits. Now I pretty much have more credit on my cards than I make in a year.

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 10:42 AM. Reason : My Bank even turned me down too. Wanted a cosigner and I didn't have one.]

6/24/2007 10:41:26 AM

i had the same problem recently. i've been on my parents card, which is paid off every month for the last 8 years, but it didnt show up on my credit check so i had 0 credit.

i tried a few different credit card companies and everyone turned me down despite me having a very nice starting salary and 0 credit problems (just no credit). i couldnt even get a 500 dollar limit shit card, but i refused to get a card with a yearly fee. fuck if im going to pay 100 bucks to use their card.

randomly wachovia offered me a card with a 5k limit a month or two later. sooooo, i guess my advice is to give up.

6/24/2007 10:58:43 AM

^ I fell in the same boat as well.

If you're looking to improve your credit score with your credit card, make sure your card reports to the three major credit bureaus. That can make a difference.

6/24/2007 11:02:55 AM

I had $10,000 at my bank and the same bank turned me down for a card with a $500 limit because I have no credit...

Also, I tried opening up some online savings accounts(GMAC, HSBC) and I kept getting turned down because I had no credit apparently. Why do I need credit to give them money??

I had to cosign with my fiancee, who is like $30,000 in debt (I have none) and has no income, and then I actually got the credit card.

ISN'T CREDIT AMAZING?

6/24/2007 11:07:12 AM

i didnt have a problem with the online bank accounts.

6/24/2007 11:26:00 AM

I had the same problem you do, sf. After several failed attepts at gas cards and retail cards, recently my insurance company State Farm sent an application in the mail. I applied and they approved with a limit of $500. See if your insurance company has a bank branch that offers a card.

6/24/2007 11:27:26 AM

They don't usually care if you have NO credit for online bank accounts...

I think they would care more if you had BAD credit.

6/24/2007 11:27:58 AM

I tried to get a credit report and it denied me.

6/24/2007 11:28:22 AM

yea, i did a credit report and it doesnt even recognize me as existing.

6/24/2007 11:39:57 AM

that happened when i tried to use one of those credit watching sites. the annual credit report i got recognized me, but had nothing on it really.

6/24/2007 11:40:55 AM

first-time homebuyers don't actually need a credit score if you show 2-3 utility bills in good standing and what not.

the rate is a little higher though.

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 11:43 AM. Reason : ]

6/24/2007 11:42:35 AM

I just went through this and got one for $500 from Bank of America. I was so pissed I didn't get one from Belk bc I spend thousands of dollars every year in there. Not only have I never paid a bill late, I HAVE NEVER HAD A BILL. Soooo I say go to Bank of America, they gave me one.

6/24/2007 11:55:02 AM

i think it's odd that retail stores are denying people cards. bbb recommends getting them at retail stores to help your credit.

6/24/2007 11:58:49 AM

Quote :

"(get) a family member (to add) you onto their card(s) so you can benefit from their established credit(.)"

I tried getting a bank student card as well and they denied me and never called. Wachovia fucking sucks.

Anyway, so my mother put me as a user on her American Express. A few months later American Express sent me a pre-approved application for an American Express Blue card. I sent it back and now I have a $2,400 limit with no prior credit (besides four stafford loans which don't seem to count for much when you aren't making payments).

If your parent have any kind of card where they can include you as a user, it is definately the way to go.

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 1:09 PM. Reason : ]

6/24/2007 1:09:16 PM

there are people out there with good credit who charge people to add them to their credit cards. you cant use the credit, and its probably illegal, but it works.

6/24/2007 1:13:39 PM

I got the Citi Dividend card a few months ago with a 1200 limit and I had no credit. You just have to prove to them you are a student.

6/24/2007 1:30:22 PM

My husband had the same problem. He couldn't even get a Best Buy card and he works for them as a Supervisor. I ended up having to apply for a card and then put him as coapplicant in order to get him a card to start establishing credit.

It's a good idea to find SOME WAY, even if you have to involve your parents as a coapplicant, or just randomly select a prequalified offer in the mail to start some kind of credit history. The first card my husband was able to get on his own without a joint account was only $300, but after a few months, he was able to go back and get a $1500 card with another company.

The loan officer at our bank told us when we got ready to build a house that no credit is far better than bad credit and that no credit can be worked with.

6/24/2007 2:02:21 PM

the APR only matters when you CAN'T PAY YOUR BALANCE.

that said, don't buy things you can't afford.

6/24/2007 2:19:21 PM

I'm reading this like wtf because everyone I know including myself got cards with like 3k limits with no income and being a college student.

6/24/2007 2:40:24 PM

retail credit cards are surprisingly hard to get. Having student loans pretty much automatically qualifies you though, I think.

6/24/2007 2:54:58 PM

^^^

6/24/2007 3:36:34 PM

Quote :

"I'm reading this like wtf because everyone I know including myself got cards with like 3k limits with no income and being a college student."

6/24/2007 4:25:31 PM

to be fair, my troubles came after i was out of college. i should have gotten a card while in school.

6/24/2007 4:29:44 PM

I filled out one of those offers in the brickyard and got approved with no income and no credit. Still have both of those cards through Citi. Started out with a limit around 1200 and am up to like 7000 without requesting any increases.

6/24/2007 4:30:08 PM

The credit system is pretty retarded in this aspect. Some kids don't ever have to take out any student loans and have been told all their lives that credit cards are bad. If this is the case and you are careful with your money, you probably don't need credit for anything until you have graduated college and want to get a new car or house. As soon as you aren't a student anymore, the credit card companies stop throwing pre-approved cards at you, and you can't even get a fucking BP gas card.

I got a 1000 dollar CoD from my bank and used that for collateral to get a 1000 dollar loan. I also set up the overdraft protection. It took several months, but I eventually got a score and was able to get a limited credit history card from Capitol One.

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 6:09 PM. Reason : ]

6/24/2007 6:05:15 PM

Lesson: Get a card while you are a student. I never needed one and still don't but I just got one after my 3rd year so that I would start building credit. Use it to buy groceries, things you already buy and pay it off completely each month. They told me flat out that I didn't qualify for a non-student account because you had to have already had 2 credit cards as a minimum for qualification, among other things.

6/24/2007 6:12:30 PM

Quote :

"have been told all their lives that credit cards are bad"

the people telling them this are idiots, credit cars are not bad at all. They build credit and the only time they become a problem is because of the credit card holders own doing.

6/24/2007 7:10:29 PM

i don't really understand how the hell you couldn't get a credit card.. i mean citibank will give a $500-1000 limit card to damn near any student. you NEED to check what's on your credit report because something isn't right. you paying all the bills and stuff on time is only going to help you.. hell I pretty much hadn't had anything in my name and borrowed $200K no problem for a house..

Quote :

"I filled out one of those offers in the brickyard and got approved with no income and no credit. Still have both of those cards through Citi. Started out with a limit around 1200 and am up to like 7000 without requesting any increases."

yea, that's what I did. started out at 1100 and is up over $15K now... obviously I don't keep any balance month to month but the point is you should be able to get one pretty easy

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 8:03 PM. Reason : asdf]

6/24/2007 8:02:06 PM

anyone know how to get a free credit report if you have no credit?

i've tried to do the free credit report thing twice, but i dont have a credit card so i cant check it

i've had columbia house, a cell phone, cable, and power in my name...maybe a few other things

6/24/2007 10:28:39 PM

annualcreditreport.com is free and i dont think you need a card. you can get a free report if they deny you for a card too by mail.

6/24/2007 10:43:12 PM

interesting, maybe that is why my credit is excellent????? Someone opened a mortgage on my SSN in 99, they had all the other stuff right about me but the mortgage, i dont have any cards or anything and only had a car loan way back when(like 10 years ago)...they say i have to request mine in writing.....i remember when the credit card companies came around on campus giving free stuff away, i had to register, but i didnt use my real SSN on any of the forms....i did notice that one of them someone got on my credit report(never used the card ever) When i did this last year, it looked like my SSN is not right under my name, one number off on all of the reports.

6/24/2007 10:51:54 PM

Capital One will give anyone a card.

Don't plan on using it for much because it will have a low limit and high rate. I got my first one from SECU and then moved up from there.

6/24/2007 10:57:03 PM

^ they didnt give me one. i dont know what the fuck happened. i have 0 debt and make good money. fuckers.

6/24/2007 11:02:08 PM

^hahaha

probably because they know you will pay it off and not incure fees, go for an AMEX via online I had the card in 3 days.

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 11:17 PM. Reason : .]

6/24/2007 11:16:36 PM

Quote :

"because they know you will pay it off and not incure fees"

6/24/2007 11:18:19 PM

^they really are fucking scum, they give people low credit limits to intentionally fuckup their credit. When they give you a 500 dollar limit and lets say you charge 300 in a month, but fully intend to pay it in full. Well its reported as you having a 60% debt/credit ratio even if you are going to pay it in full before the due date.

This hurts your score and lowers your chances of getting other cards that are better. In addition, they can use it as an excuse to raise your already high interest rate.

[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 11:29 PM. Reason : .]

6/24/2007 11:24:01 PM

thanks cyrion...i got my credit report but i think you have to pay to get your credit score...it said i had 3 accounts in good standing and none in negative...didnt show up the columbia house or progress energy or blockbuster which is strange but oh well...i did experian...thinking of trying the other 2 to see if i get a score

6/24/2007 11:33:16 PM

Quote :

"didnt show up the columbia house or progress energy or blockbuster which is strange but oh well"

thats because utility bills and other non credit accounts (such as memberships) are not reported on credit reports for timely payment. The only time these accounts will show up is if they turn your account over to collections for non-payment.



[Edited on June 24, 2007 at 11:36 PM. Reason : .]

6/24/2007 11:35:20 PM

i tried to get a credit report and it said there is a mortgage associated with my name and asked 1) what bank held the mortgage 2) how much the payment was.

then it told me that i needed to send stuff about my ss # and stuff to get the report in the mail.

6/24/2007 11:39:12 PM

Quote :

"i did a credit report and it doesnt even recognize me as existing."

i wish i had that problem

6/25/2007 2:48:51 AM

^^ It asked me that question too, but it also said 3) Not applicaple/does not apply. That was obviously the right answer seeing as I didn't have a mortgage. It said "You may have had a mortgage in 1999...."

6/25/2007 6:43:35 AM

If you've been declined for a card you are entitled to a free credit report. Have you gotten one to be sure there isn't something on there you aren't aware of?

6/25/2007 8:36:12 AM

Quote :

"tried to get a credit report and it said there is a mortgage associated with my name and asked 1) what bank held the mortgage 2) how much the payment was. "

it's very likely that ^^ is correct - that is very common

6/25/2007 8:38:12 AM