I totally agree with Shark6 once you have your BOA secured card and start building history so will your score build. Then the doors will begin to open for you to get other ccs as well. I wish you all the best and please keep us posted

I can tell you right now that you probably won't get approved for personal loans with no pre-existing credit history and no income. That is like going to stage two before getting of the ground.

GEt your BOA secured card going for about 3mths. Keep the utilization down to 30% or below, do not pay late and do not go over the limit.

Once the card has reported for about 3mths, you should be able to try for some cards. You can try the Capital One card pre-selector after about 3mths of the BOA reporting. It will tell you if they have an offer for you without pulling a hard inquiry.

Again, see if you can get someone to add you to their already established credit card with no baddies.

A credit union would be able to give you an installment loan for about $1k against your secured funds. This would report as an installment loan and give you 2 different varieties of credit.

Let's see...this is what I remember applying for ( I regret my lack of knowledge..I'm only a teenage college student -_- )

1. Sallie Mae School Loan- Approved through cosigner (THANK GOD)
2. Capital One Personal Loan (Declined)
3. Some other Personal Loan (forgot exact name) (Declined)
4. Yet another personal loan (Declined)
5. Bank of America personal loan (declined)
6. Bank of America Student Card (declined) - counter offer of secured card offered (Waiting for them to send me card)
7. Capital One Student Card (declined)
8. Hello Kitty Credit Card (stupid move, as it is probably for people with excellent credit) (Of course, Declined)

Yeah those should be all the places I've applied for. I can't pull up my own credit report so I don't know if someone unauthorized went to check my report. But those were the ones I allowed. And like 7 of those were within a 1-2 week period.

Thanks guys. I'm preapproved for the Bank of America secured card and already sent them my deposit yesterday (it was a counter offer from them when I got denied for (believe it or not)..their student card.) Yes, I got denied for the student card...and I think I applied for the Capital One student card too and ALSO got denied. I am a student currently and will get a job very soon, once I get settled in California.

But yeah, why can't I pull up my credit report? They all say they have no record of me and all my information I typed in there is correct...weird, much?

I don't even want to bother anymore in trying to apply for other cards...as I'm probably going to get denied again. And, as you guys said, there is (sadly) a penalty for guessing in the financial world.

The reason I want another card is because I've read a guide somewhere that says that having 3-4 ongoing lines of credit in excellent standing at once can help build excellent credit. That's what I want to achieve. But it's so hard getting approved for even student cards. I haven't tried a department store card as of yet, but should I even bother? :sleepy:I was planning to get approved for one small, tiny tiny personal loan somewhere, getting 1 secured credit card, and 1 department store card, for starters, but unfortunately, I've only accomplished step 1, which is the secured card for now. :

Even if I'm unable to see my credit report, if I was able to see it, I would have like so many inquiries already, I'm still trying to figure out why I can't see my own report.

Gas cards are also a good way to start building credit.

Sounds good to me Shark6, let's wait for her feedback!

The last option would be applying for a secured credit card at a local credit union or getting an invitation for BOA secured card. Kay jewelers should be a good one as well.

Hi Meya,

It is my understanding that Fico08 has not been implemented across the board by the big 3 CRA.

I added my daughter to my Cap 1 account over a year ago which gave her over 5yrs of history. she had no credit except this and not long after (perhaps a few months) she started to get pre-approvals in the mail.

BOA was one of the first ones to send pre-approvals. She didn't apply until after her 3 or 4th offer. She got approved for $5k. Soon after, Citibank, JcPenney, and Cap one came calling with pre-approvals. She got all of them. Citi came calling with their citiflex line about 2 times and then the credit card which she accepted.

I believe that the only way that she got these cards was because of the CAP 1 line showing on her report.

Amex Green came in between the BOA and Citi and she got that one as well. The same day, within minutes she applied for Amex Delta Skymiles and she got that as well.

At this point, I would strongly advise getting on as an AU, waiting about 2-3 mths and then applying at say CAP 1 or waiting for a pre-approval.

CUs are also very good to college students.

Hopefully, the OP can tell us how many inquiries does she have sitting on each of the CRAs.

Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone, I love to see when we build up to help someone out. This is what you call serious teamwork. Lets keep it going, I love your inputs.

Hey Shark6, just one question, do you think she should apply as an AU since FICO 08 is rejecting them? Would hate to see her get a hard hit which can cause discouragement. Now, I did think what you said is a good foot to put her in the door for her own cards. If she does go under as an AU, maybe she will get better approval rates, but my only fear is that will they know that the inq's she already got was a denial from applying as an individual. Could you please respond to this (or can anyone put in a recommedation?)

This is what I would suggest to counter this problem?

1. If you can get someone to add you as an authorized user to their cards, this will help you tremendously. Can u get your mom, dad, family member, spouse or friend to add you on to one of their established trade lines with no baddies? This will instantly give you some credit history.

2. Also, if you are a student, go to your local credit union or teachers/student credit union. They ususally have credit cards for students starting at $500 if you show your registration.

3. Try for one of the student cards that Meya listed above. You may want to see if you have generated a Fico Equifax or experian score.

Other than this, i would not apply for c redit anymore if you have more than 3-4 inquiries already. They will start to hurt you.

Yea I agree w. Meya.... Aint she fanstastic?

By listing the cards you have applied for and when will help us with the next step. Which is telling you which card to apply for next and which have higher rates at getting approved. Click on the links provided above ^^

If you have a checking account, try applying for a cc with that bank...

I think that the inquiries will hurt your score once you start building and get a score. Right now it can hurt you when other creditors pull your CR and see that you have gone on an applying spree.

Ewwww, this is the hardest part I have ever ran across, helping someone with no credit at all. Ok, let me tell you this first, getting credit for the first time or with nothing on your report is worse off than having bad credit. NO one wants to go first. Let me tell you where to start first. If you are a student you can get chances at nice tier one banks like Bofa, Chase, Citibank, Discover, Wells Fargo (they are pretty good with no credit students) etc

1. Capital One
2. Credit One
3. Hooter's
4. Mervyns
5. Macy's
6. Walmart
7. Jcpenny's
8. Orchard

I can go on fourther, but I just reread something, you said that you have been turned down for credit, who were the creditors you applied to? Your scores are not because you should not have any. The inquiries will hurt you because creditors will see that you have been applying for too much credit in such a short time.

Cresent Jewels, Kay Jewelers are good starters for no credit. Bofa, secured card is excellent because there are too rewards you will receive. 1 is for reporting to the 3 cb's for you, and the other is a chance at the card being unsecured in a year. I would start with the secured card if I were you, at least you will have a tier one bank on your credit report.

Hope this helps, until then please take a look at the links provided, it will guide you through the network very easily. Welcome aboard, we are always here for you.

1. Short cut to how to post https://www.financeglobe.com/SocialNet/forum/showthread.php?t=532

2. Short typing (code words you may see on the site) https://www.financeglobe.com/SocialNet/forum/showthread.php?t=366

3. Nice cards to apply for https://www.financeglobe.com/SocialNet/forum/showthread.php?t=361&highlight=Nice

Hope this helps!

I want to try applying for a department store credit card, but I'm afraid that it's going to hurt my credit history, even if they have no records of me (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion). I tried pulling up my own reports and all the information is correct and everything, but they still say they have no record. Also, the reason I keep getting denied for loans and credit cards is because that I have no credit history (as stated in the denial notices).

well i dont think they can hurt what you dont have

Hi, I'm new to this credit stuff and I've heard that if lenders/creditors pull up your credit report, it could hurt your score and chances of getting approved. But the thing is, I have NO credit history, hence NO credit score. I can't even pull up my own credit report online from all the 3 major bureaus as they have no records of me. They say at the end of the online session that I can request a report by mail, but they probably aren't going to find anything. (I am sure all the personal information I entered is correct). So doesn't that mean that inquiries will have no effect on me? Thanks ;o