Please Help!? What am I supposed to do? I have no credit history yet no one will approve me for a card to build any. How am I supposed to get any credit history? I have applied to many different companies and they all say insufficient credit history. Plaes tell me what to do? Mary
From a little bit of experience and word of mouth... I recommend you try Capital (www.capitalone.com) one or Providian (www.providian.com) for one of their sub-prime card offers... be ready to pay a deposit on a secured card (or maybe you'll get lucky and they'll give you an unsecured one). After they approve you,.. use the card a couple of times, pay it off. Wait 4-6 months and apply for another card this time around they should give you an unsecure card... build up from there on, and make your way into the prime world in less than 3 years. Pay on time and check you Credit report at least twice a year. For faster credit building, follow Michael's instructions on this board, and you could build up A+ credit in 15 months, that is, if you fall under his criteria... Good luck.. keep us informed.
Yep, Larry's right Try to get a secured card. Capital One is nice. Then STOP APPLYING for anything else for 3-4 months. Use the card and pay in time. Then you can apply for unsecured cards (that is if you won't receive any in the mail by then ) Don't get more than 1 secured card, even if you receive offers. I don't think it's worth it... Check Michael's plan on this site, it's working for me...
Also, when you start got get offers in the mail, read them very carefully. There are some real rip off credit cards out there which offer something like a 300 limit, but with around 200 in fees. Avoid application fees if you can, and I would definitely avoid cards which have monthly membership fees. Often credit card offers say 'up to 1000' but in the small print they say 'minimum credit line 200'.
Mary, I would recomend FIRST CONSUMERS NATIONAL BANK in Oregon for your first secured card. (Toll Free Number Listed in 800 directory) They require a deposit to secure the card but will with employment verification offer you 25% more credit than security. Therefore, if you can come up with $400.00 you could get a credit line of $500.00 which is all you need to get started on your way. Make sure you pay on time, and use the card somewhat. Also they do allow you to add to your account so you can start with $250.00 or so and add $50.00 here and there! This account once listed in the Credit Bureaus (takes about 3 months) will get you a gas card usually, and an Aria Visa Card. Aria charges a fee but it's worth it to get started as they doo give good credit lines. Lot's of luck.
