So hard to get credit!

[Humdizzy]

I just turned 18 2 months ago and all of the credit companies are rejecting me. I am a student and I just wanted a card handy for those times I'm waiting for my paycheck and happen to have no cash at hand because of expenses.

My friends all have credit cards and they're in my same exact boat, some of them don't even have jobs. I've had as many as 3 jobs at one time and I cannot get a single card company to accept me. Not to mention now I'm getting turned down for too many credit inquiries.

What's up? Why can I not get a credit card?


P.S. Please spare me the grief about how bad credit is and can ruin me. Just maybe believe that I wont run out there and go on a shopping spree.

 

[weblord]

Maybe ask your parent if they have been turned down before, if not, it's a difficult question to answer since all the benefits are with you, and still you don't stand a chance. PM sent to you.

 

[GILSAN]

That's the result of all the upheavel in the financial markets lately, with banks going bankrupt due to several factors that have been discussed quite thoroughly in these forums. BTW the same story is happening here in Europe. Credit is hard to come by.

So don't feel bad, there are millions like you all over the world thanks to greedy corporate greed and lousy government policies amongst other things.

 

[shockie]

from what you're telling us, maybe you can just get an additional card from your parents' account and use that. also, you don't need to go on a shopping spree to see your credit get ruined, as you're already living paycheck to paycheck... an accident in the mail here or issues at your workplace there and bam you're behind.

 

[Mike]

Credit is currently on "lock down" - it's incredibly difficult and for your age and experience (longevity) in the workforce next to impossible to get any loans and/or credit cards.
It's not about your personal understanding of financial responsibility, it's about the statistical uncertainty pertaining to your age group.

Each Credit Card and/or loan inquiry gives you a temporary (soft) reduction on your credit record, which is inevitably pulled when you apply for a card.
These soft inquiries that lead to a temp. reduction, will disappear from your record in 90 days.
The more "dings" you get, the slimmer the chance for anyone to even consider your application.
There are a few rules of thumb - keep your inquiries to a minimum.(logically)
Never inquire for more than a few cards if you must have one. Many credit card entry level companies (Capitol One, etc) are working with similar parameters - if one doesn't give a card to you, the others subsequently follow suit.
American Express, Discover, etc. are more difficult to attain - in your situation, i wouldn't even bother with them just yet.
As mentioned above, maybe you can get a secondary card from your parents, or you can try to get a secured card - provided that you have a few bucks to put in as deposit.

Not sure if that helped ...

M.

 

[Humdizzy]

My parents don't exist... They wouldn't even help me get to college. I had to file financial independence giving up all of the benefits I had being a dependent under them to get any financial aid.

Now what?

 

[Tippy]

I dont know how things work in the US but have you tried to get like a small credit card, like a Walmart/K-Mart/Zellers card? Those tend to be easier to get at least here in Canada when your just starting to build your credit.

 

[holyroller]

No credit rating can make it as hard to get credit as a bad credit rating. They have no past history to go on, so will assume the worst. Also as mark said, you multiple enquiries will go against you.

You can, in some cases appeal, for example if you have a good history with your bank, they may be able to offer a credit card, but you might have to put your case forward (stating income, bank history, etc..) and get a small trial amount. When I lived in New Zealand, I had no credit rating and got rejected for a credit card, I wrote a supporting letter with proof of income and they then approved.

Good luck.

 

[labrocca]

I am trying to spend spend spend and max out all my credits in the anticipating of a meltdown. When the crap hits the fan and money stops moving I want to have everything I need until this gets corrected. I can easily stop paying the credit card companies and let them suffer this out. The great thing about America is our debt system. We have no debtors jail and we can claim bankruptcy to avoid payments.

They screwed me on my house price (paid $500k now worth $350k)...but now I will screw them about 100k.

F'em.

Yes I have a different mentality than most. I could care less about my "credit score" it's a meaningless commodity that is sold to the American people as something important. It's not. Believe it or not...you can still get by in life with a 450 credit score. Mine is low and they STILL send me CC offers for new lines of credit. Most companies are DYING to give you money.

Let's take this 700billion bailout. Where do you really think it will go? It will go to BANKS. What will banks do with it? They will lend it to the people! Then the people pay them back MORE money. So why not just give the $700 billion direct to us? Because bankers have powerful lobbyist that's why.

Can you tell I am pissed?

 

[whitebark]

"We have no debtors jail and we can claim bankruptcy to avoid payments."

Not anymore you can't. It was one of the first things the Republicans gave their banker friends - it's very hard to avoid your credit debt by declaring bankruptcy. From Chapter 7 to 13 if I remember right. They saw this coming and long ago covered their butts.

 

[Mike]

Can you tell I am pissed?

You and the overwhelming majority of Americans. Massive polls have shown that the peoples votes are against the bailout. Yet, the ones elected to represent us, have explicitly chosen to ignore us.
Banks that have steered us into this mess in the first place are the ones that are going to double dip. Not just that they handed out easy money, now that WE bail them out, we have to repay our own debt - 700 billion.

Unfortunately, for the time being, the future of America, students and job seekers entering the market for the first time in their life are getting shafted.
For the OP, the best case scenario at this time is NOT to try to obtain a CC, but rather to tighten the belt a tiny bit more and work within your means. I know, easier said then done, but at the same time, you're not going to get a CC at this time. Might as well learn how to make due without them.
Should you, by an off chance, get a provider to furnish a CC to you, make sure you quadruple check their terms - the rates are probably sky high, the annual membership rates are probably unacceptable as well.

Not much consolation, but also not anymore debt than your student loans :tu:

M.

 

[Humdizzy]

I just walked out of Citibank, all they needed was my student ID to verify my application. I don't know if this helps me out anymore. It's worth a try.

 

[Ixix]

Trust me, this is a good thing.....you don't need credit. focus on building your wealth and using the money you have. there is nothing worse than credit card debt, imo.

I have not used credit in like 4 years. and now, while everybody is just starting to hurt financially, my husband and i are just starting to enjoy the freedom of not having any credit card bills.

btw, all credit has come to a complete stop. Lines of credit have been cut. If you have a small business with say, a 5000 dollar line of credit and have used 1,000 for example, the banks cap that line of credit at 1,000. i hope that it doesn't mean that those pple are subject to over limit fees

and as for the 'lecture' on how bad credit is...why do you think we're in this problem in the first place? people that thought they could handle credit bit off more they can chew.

seriously, if you want money...figure out how to make it, don't rent it....which is exactly what credit is....renting money.

I just turned 18 2 months ago and all of the credit companies are rejecting me. I am a student and I just wanted a card handy for those times I'm waiting for my paycheck and happen to have no cash at hand because of expenses.

My friends all have credit cards and they're in my same exact boat, some of them don't even have jobs. I've had as many as 3 jobs at one time and I cannot get a single card company to accept me. Not to mention now I'm getting turned down for too many credit inquiries.

What's up? Why can I not get a credit card?


P.S. Please spare me the grief about how bad credit is and can ruin me. Just maybe believe that I wont run out there and go on a shopping spree.

 

[RogueWriter]

There are cards designed for students just starting out. Consider starting out with a predaid, reloadable credit card, something where the credit card company can monitor your activity for a few months. It's a pain to come up with the initial amount to prepay, maybe a couple hundred bucks, but then again, if you can't afford to prepay, then you would probably end up running a credit line up anyway.

If you just need access to a debit/credit card, paypal offers debit cards, they also offer an 'online' card where you generate one time usage Visa numbers that apply against your paypal balance.

Not sure if this is a good link or not, but you can look at their secured card info...

http://www3.bankofamerica.com/credi...0121983EN001&requestTimeout=120&router_flag=y


Just as FYI, I have gone 2 years without a credit card, don't miss it in the least. Nothing will generate better credit for you than a five digit savings account. You do that, you will always be able to get loans.

 

[notlikeyou]

There are cards designed for students just starting out. Consider starting out with a prepaid, reloadable credit card, something where the credit card company can monitor your activity for a few months. It's a pain to come up with the initial amount to prepay, maybe a couple hundred bucks, but then again, if you can't afford to prepay, then you would probably end up running a credit line up anyway.

This is a good way to start out, with a secured card, it builds a history for you & shows that you can manage your money.

Please please please, if you do get a card, don't spend more than you can afford. Don't carry a balance, pay everything off at the end of the month. I've never carried a balance on any credit card my entire life. It's just used as a convenience.

best of luck

 

[.X.]

More times than not, No credit is worse than bad credit, In the eyes of CC companies and lenders. getting established at a young age is hard. But credit is our lifeline on many things, Mortgage, Buying a vehicle and ect.

Hummer, I would go with a secured CC to start, it will show you will make your payments on time. You mostly will then be able to get an auto loan, It will most likely be at high interest rate, It was for me when i financed my first car at 19 years old.

Hang in there Hummer, It gets better brother, you are up against a bad economy right now, lenders are holding their money.

I have seven credit cards, I only use one, why i took seven i have no idea, possibly in case of an emergency, but i only use one. up until two months ago, I was able to pay the total balance due every month, I had a little misfortune, and am paying the Min payment monthly right now.

 

[Ixix]

i know ppl that have never used credit....

and because of it, they got wealthy. everything they have is bought ....their homes, there cars....no credit.

you don't need credit. the only result from credit is decrease. look at all these people that have 'bought' there homes from getting a loan from the bank....the house doesn't belong to them untill it is paid off....the bank owns the house.

the banks knew this would happen...why else do you think they lobbied to rewrite the bankruptcy laws?

imo the next 'collapse' will center around student loans. these kids graduating college, not finding jobs, and facing XX,XXX amoung of student loan debt

More times than not, No credit is worse than bad credit, In the eyes of CC companies and lenders. getting established at a young age is hard. But credit is our lifeline on many things, Mortgage, Buying a vehicle and ect.

Hummer, I would go with a secured CC to start, it will show you will make your payments on time. You mostly will then be able to get an auto loan, It will most likely be at high interest rate, It was for me when i financed my first car at 19 years old.

Hang in there Hummer, It gets better brother, you are up against a bad economy right now, lenders are holding their money.

I have seven credit cards, I only use one, why i took seven i have no idea, possibly in case of an emergency, but i only use one. up until two months ago, I was able to pay the total balance due every month, I had a little misfortune, and am paying the Min payment monthly right now.

 

[.X.]

i know ppl that have never used credit....

and because of it, they got wealthy. everything they have is bought ....their homes, there cars....no credit.

you don't need credit. the only result from credit is decrease. look at all these people that have 'bought' there homes from getting a loan from the bank....the house doesn't belong to them untill it is paid off....the bank owns the house.

the banks knew this would happen...why else do you think they lobbied to rewrite the bankruptcy laws?

imo the next 'collapse' will center around student loans. these kids graduating college, not finding jobs, and facing XX,XXX amoung of student loan debt

Credit is one of the basics that keeps the United States running. It would be awesome to be able to pay cash for $200,000 home, but the average person, would never be able to do that until they were in their late 40's . and that is if they do not touch their savings. to many things arise, No medical insurance and an accident, stroke, heart attack or ect happens= Expense from their savings account, that they have saved to buy that home with. that is just one example.

Abusing a credit card or abusing credit period, can lead to disastrous consequences.

 

[notlikeyou]

Isis...don't take this as an attack, but much of what you are say is not practical. Sorry to hijack here Humdizzy

i know ppl that have never used credit....
and because of it, they got wealthy. everything they have is bought ....their homes, there cars....no credit.

So when you go to purchase a house they pay in cash up front? Not practical for the vast majority of the country.

you don't need credit. the only result from credit is decrease. look at all these people that have 'bought' there homes from getting a loan from the bank....the house doesn't belong to them untill it is paid off....the bank owns the house.

Yes you do need credit, the only decrease from credit is from misuse. I think you might be confusing getting a loan & getting a loan that you had no chance of ever fulfilling the obligation for.

imo the next 'collapse' will center around student loans. these kids graduating college, not finding jobs, and facing XX,XXX amoung of student loan debt

This is a shame, I do feel for students that rack up huge debt. But what happened to not using credit/loans? I thought we were all supposed to pay cash.

Again don't view this as an attack, just my two pennies.

Now back to Humdizzy, you'll be fine it may take some time but be patient & everything will work out.

 

[SpareDomains]

apply for a secured card or a small store card just to get a start, make your payments on time and better cards will be approved over time, avoid filling out applications for cards that you are 99% sure will be rejected as tons of inquiries show that you are desperate for credit, start small with a lower credit limit and higher interest rate and over time you will work your way up, just found a young adult card at capital one, maybe try that or student cards in general, if those fail small store or secured to get your foot in the door.