Finding Your First Credit Card
Everything in life is a mystery when you haven’t done it before. Do you remember riding your bike for the first time? It was kind of hard, wasn’t it? The same goes for a credit card. I hear this all the time when it comes down to credit, “How do I get a card when I don’t even have established credit?” Well, you can get a credit card but the problem is that many people look to the wrong place.
When I was 18, I made the same mistakes my friends and I did. We would either respond to junk mail card offers or I would simply apply for a card that required a good credit history. Were any of these cards good? No, they weren’t good at all. Some of them had awful fees and most of them wouldn’t even accept me simply because I was too young and had no credit. I almost wanted to give up but instead, I did more research.
What I found out when it came to first credit cards was that you needed to attend college to have a great chance at getting one. The credit companies loved seeing kids going to school, getting their degrees and taking action in their lives. These are the perfect candidates because they are smart enough to go to the next level and the companies figure these are the same kids that are going to pay their bills off in time. Not only that, they believe that if the student can’t pay off their bill, their parents can bail them off. While this is true most of the time, it isn’t true all the time.
By now, you have probably tried the regular cards, the prepaid cards, and every other card under the sun and bet you it isn’t working. I know, you’re probably a student who’s making less than $1,000 a month and you can barely afford to pay rent and cook dinners. Do you want the annual fees on the card? No. Here’s what you’re going to do and I promise you that you can find a card by the end of this day.
Start by looking at student credit cards: As I already mentioned, you’re going to have a great chance at getting approved. You’re going to need to apply and prove that you’re going to school. If you’re not going to school, you’re going to have a harder time finding a card. If this is the case, I recommend you try out a department store card or even a low credit score credit card. These may work.
Look for what you want: When you’re looking at selections, you’ll soon realize that there are many to choose from. There will be rewards, perks, and much more. Make sure that you do your homework so that you can find that perfect card.
Once you do your homework, you will soon be able to use it. It will take about 4-6 weeks to come in the mail. Once it does, use it responsibly and remember to spend only what you can afford!
Find great articles like this and more all on Tom’s college student blog.