i cannot get a credit card no matter what i do. i have no credit at all. i never knew it would be so hard!!!!?

Question

hey all,
im 21 yrs old. i have no established credit.
i have a couple collections on my report from the cable company but thats it.
for the longest time i been trying to get a CC card. From banks and online i cannot get one. i only can get a Secured Card and i get Approved for a card from First Premier Bank where your actual limit is only like 50$ after 200 some dollars in fees. i dont know where to turn. ive been turned down at department stores and best buys and such. im so confused. i got approved for a auto loan for 3,000$ but i have to put 800$ of my own money down and just dont think its worth it. what are my choices? the secured card only? i think thats it. i heard of banks offering Credit Building CD's is this true? it sucks for me. i turned 18 and got no offers in the mail my girlfriend just turned 18 and she already got two.
what should i do?
thanks for the help!

well the deal on the auto loan is through a company called franklin finacial. the terms are 2 years 200$ a month. if i dont have insurance its 245$ a month.
the car can be my choice. i can get a car for 6k. but they will only give me 3. so im keeping a eye out.if i got the secured card i would just use it for small purchases you know.

do i get the 200$ back that i put into the secured card?

i also have a savings account i have had since i been about 15 i think.
i have over 800$ in it as of right now.
thats at gauranty bank.
should i go in there and talk to them about my credit and see if theres something they have to offer'?

i have been at my current job now for 2 yrs and 3 months.
ive lived at the same residence for many years.
this has done nothing to my credit.

Answer 1

First, if the collections on your credit report are not closed - pay them off first. Anything still showing as an open collection KILLS YOUR CREDIT.

Second, yes you are going to have to either get the secured card - or buy the car. Personally I would buy the car.

Third, visit your bank, ask them to help you improve your credit, usually they can give a few pointers that help alot.
If you don't have a bank - get one. Because that alone could be why you can't get credit. Open a savings and put money in each week (even if it is only $5 a week). And open a checking - but NEVER bounce checks - so watch it closely. You will also need to let these accounts stay open awhile before they start to help your credit. Once again - ask your bank, usually the large branch of your bank will have credit advisors who will help you.

General rules of thumb for credit:
1. anything you owe - pay.
2. if collections are being disputed - call the 3 credit groups and put notes on your account about it so anyone looking at your credit knows you are disputing something.
3. Do not bounce checks.
4. When you get a credit card - only charge as much as you can pay off totally. Credit card companies will raise your limit faster if you are paying it off every month. They can't make money unless you pay interest so they will do alot to try and make you carry a balance. The higher your limits the better is looks on your credit - because available but unused credit makes your credit score go up.
5. Open accounts and watch the age of them help your credit.
(I have a credit card from 1991 - it was my first credit card and it makes my credit look better because I still have it.)
The older the accounts you have (credit cards, bank accounts, etc.) the more stable you look and the lower you look in credit risk.

This will take awhile - and when you get rolling don't do several 'credit check' things all at once - that hurts your credit. It makes you look like you are trying to overextend yourself $-wise, and having too many credit cards also hurts - 2 or 3 is a good number as long as your debt on them isn't increasing.

Good luck.

You will only be able to get high-interest rate credit cards at first. You do not have an established credit history so ANYONE who issues you a card it is going to be 20%+
DO NOT LET THIS SCARE YOU!!! If you pay the whole balance when the bill is due (instead of just the minimum payment) you will not pay ANY interest - that is how the system works - if you do not believe me - ask your bank.

Open a checking account with the bank you have the savings account with. Keep adding to your savings. And talk to your bank about doing things to improve your credit - if you have been a customer for them for awhile they will be happy to assist you - especially when you are increasing your business with them.

I don't know if you would be able to get the charges back with the secured card - call and ask them.

In general, anyone you talk to about getting a card/account etc, should be happy to answer any and all questions you have regarding their product - if they are not willing to do that, you do not want to do business with them.

Answer 2

Are the accounts in collections from the cable company paid? If they are unpaid you should work on paying them off. Any Unpaid bad debt will kill your credit rating.

A secured card is probably your best choice right now. You might want to try Orchard Bank they have a decent secured card and I don't think there are as many fees as the one you mentioned, but read all of the disclosures to be sure. Any card you get will have a high interest rate, but after a year or so of a perfect payment history you could probably qualify for other non-secured cards with lower rates.

Also, stop applying everywhere to try and get credit. Each request will hurt you after the first couple in a short period of time and just from what you mentioned it sounds like you probably are in double digits for requests.

Answer 3

Here you can compare different options

RE I cannot get a credit card no matter what i do. i have no credit at all. i never knew it would be so hard!!!!?

hey all,
im 21 yrs old. i have no established credit.
i have a couple collections on my report from the cable company but thats it.
for the longest time i been trying to get a CC card. From banks and online i cannot get one. i only can get a Secured Card and i get Approved for a card from First Premier Bank where your actual limit is only like 50$ after 200 some dollars in fees. i dont know where to turn. ive been turned down at department stores and best buys and such. im so confused. i got approved for a auto loan for 3,000$ but i have to put 800$ of my own money down and just dont think its worth it. what are my choices? the secured card only? i think thats it. i heard of banks offering Credit Building CD's is this true? it sucks for me. i turned 18 and got no offers in the mail my girlfriend just turned 18 and she already got two.
what should i do?
thanks for the help!

Answer 4

Dept management companies only take more of your hard earned money. I was in your position 3 years ago. I couldn't get a loan (secured or unsecured). I did not have enough equity in the house and the bills kept piling up. First of all, YOU MUST stop using credit to buy things. Using credit only makes you pay more for everything that you buy. Second, set a very tight budget. Third, take the budget you just set and tighten it up some more. A guarantee that you find money leaking out of your life that you didn't even know was there. Take all of the left over money from our budget (Whether it is a $1.00 or $600.00) and apply it to one single bill. Pay the min. amounts on all of the other bills. The easy way to decide what bill to pay first is take the total amount owed divided by the min. payment due. That gives you a number. Sort your bills using the divided number from the smallest number to the largest. Next take the extra money and apply it to only the first payment. This will focus your payments. Make sure you only pay the min on your other depts. When the first dept is paid off apply the extra money and the min payment from the first payment and apply it to the next bill. Keep doing this over and over until all of your depts are paid off. Run the numbers and I almost guarantee that you can have all your credit dept paid off in three years or less. You can get out of this, but it wont be easy, and you can do it yourself.

Answer 5

Do yourself a favor and don't get one. Try establishing your credit another way. The auto loan would be worth it if you need a car. What is the interest rate? $800 down really isn't that bad. You're probably getting a good deal for that amount. Is it a private finance company or a bank? ASK ALOT OF QUESTIONS!!! Check with www.kbb.com for a blue book value of the vehicle to make sure you're getting a good deal.

Good luck :)

Answer 6

Find the best rates for people in your situation at: WWW.MYLOANSRATES.NET

RE:I cannot get a credit card no matter what i do. i have no credit at all. i never knew it would be so hard!!!!?

Answer 7

credit card is nothing but trouble anyways... if you have bank account, i'm sure they will offer ya credit card.

well... even if you get the credit card, interest rate's gonna be really high.

try capital one, and discover card.

Answer 8

read the card conditions n regulations first b4 u apply 4 it.i think they turned u down cos of ur qualifications which r deemed essential.ok?

Answer 9

This site should help you