Now that you have moved to America.Have you appiled for any credit cards yet on your own?If so what credit cards did you find to be the best to apply for? (That you were appoved for)Visa, master card discover etc..Im just wondering my wife just moved here and has no credit history in the USA yet and trying to find the best card choices for new card holders.Thanks

My husband added me to his credit card when I first got here... I started to get offers for credit cards in my own name about 1 year after that... I now have my own credit card with American Express..

Kezzie

I added Marlene as an authorized user on my Mastercard a few months ago. We bought her a new car together on Saturday and found that she already has a credit score of 785 based on that alone. I imagine she will be getting offers in the mail soon for her own card.

I saw previous postings on this subject, so I think the most "common" way to establish credit are:
- get a joint loan (car loan, etc)
- add as authorized user of existing credit card
- get secured credit card ( I know Bank Of America has secured card, and I think I saw other people mentioned Wells Fargo) - bank will basically issue credit card secured by a deposit.

Good luck

borninabarn,

Some store cards are very easy to get.

Yodrak

capital one

We first got a secured visa card as my hubby had never applied for any kind of credits before (hard to believe, but it's true ... ). Then I got a Kohl's card, followed by Discover card. Now hubby has a BoA visa card and we cancelled the secured one.

If you have a couple thou handy, a secured credit card is an excellent way to establish credit.

I have no idea what being gone for 5.5 years has done to my credit rating; I'm guessing nothing pretty; and my husband won't have one at all, so we BOTH may go the secured route. I'm hoping we'll be creditworthy enough to purchase a house after a year.

Bank of America offers a secured card as low as $300.

An American Express, which I applied for by filling the CANADIAN form on a TN-1 activation visit to Calgary (due to address, it was transferred to US and processed there; they asked me the SSN where I had put in the SIN).

I tired applying for a Walmart card but I didn't get it...

lucky you sister fraces

I added my husband to my account when he arrived. About a month later, he was able to get a Best Buy credit card. Since then, the advertisements in the mail haven't stopped.

huh?? Sister Fraces?? read carefully before posting , almaty...

and I like shopping at Walmart...

Was a citi-bank CC. They had (maybe still do) had a CC for people that had just moved to the USA. Had a $40 fee. They told me it would be waived for the 2nd yr. NOT!! Recently got the statement and they charged me the $40 fee again. called them up and nicely asked them to remove it, they wouldn't, so cancelled the card. (ddint have to pay the $40)!! I applied about 6 months after enetering the USA. have applied for 2 others with suceess and didnt have to pay any fees.

Secured credit card, bank of america.


stewart gets about 5 offers a week now.

My hubby added my to his Capital One and Discover cards when we got married, I took out a Macy's and Lane Bryant card, and a little over a year later I have a Citibank credit card in my own name with a credit limit of over $6500. And I had truly appalling UK credit, so that's categorical proof that they don't check it!!

After I was added to my Wifes bank account (as a joint holder) and as a named user on a couple of her credit cards I started receiving credit card offers in the mail.

The first one I applied for was from Bank Of America and the only reason I applied was because it had an online application with instant confirmation and it asked about household income, not individual. I was not working at the time (had only been in the US for about 3 months) but was approved instantly with quite a decent line of credit, 0% on balance transfers and purchases for 12 months and no annual fee.

I KNOW that if it had wanted individual income information I'd probably have been denied but the household income info worked like a charm. If you are not yet receiving credit card offers in the mail then I would suggest that the secured credit card route through your bank would probably be the best way to go.

Since then my number of credit card offers is up to around 2 or 3 per day. We have managed to move our balance from the Bank of America card onto a Chase card and will be credit card debt free by the end of next month !!

Mark

If you get tired of all that paperwork for pre-approved cards you can call a number and get on the do not mail list. I did that and the mail stopped almost immediately.

Mom says I still get credit card offers in the mail even though I haven't lived in the US for over 5.5 years. I guess that means my credit can't be TOTALLY trashed, eh?

It doesn't bother me that much and the offers have yeilded 2 cards that have enabled me to both generate a decent credit score and get us out of a bit of debt hole. I just file it with all the other junk I receive in the mail... in the trash !!

Mark

JC Penney's is good to get started.

I added my wife to the AmEx account. She has been using that. Now that she has a couple of months worth of reportable income, she will apply for the Sears card tomorrow. Cross your fingers! I'll report back later on what happened.

Daniel

good for her..and good luck

first one I got in my own name was an MBNA mastercard. I had one in Canada, and so I sent in the application to the American one after I got a job, with a copy of my Canadian account statement attached. (I had kept my Canadian one active and just changed my address when I moved here) They approved me with the US $ equivalent of what my limit was in Canada. And they've since raised it twice!

Just yesterday I was shopping in Belk's and I was approved for a store credit card with another insane credit limit. I got 10% off my purchases too

Once you get your first card here, it seems just way too easy to get more.

Secured card. $300 credit limit.

update: they gave her the credit card. simple as simple can be. amazing.

I want to get her a Visa, as some shops do not take the AmEx. We prefer to put purchases on the card and pay it off at the end of the month.

Daniel

i am such a chopf##k

i concur.

Daniel

Dave transferred his CDN Amex over to the US. they gave him new cards and a brand new credit limit. he also got a secured card thru orchard bank. Which as soon as he gets more credit will go bye bye!

my first credit card on my name is from Capital One.... with $300 credit line (now $500 lol) and then next is Chase with $400 credit line and then American Express with no credit line but have to pay off everymonth.

Before that my husband apply for a credit card for me under his name.. and i used that twice i think then i got my own credit card offer ...

Hrm I think I'm missing something here.
I've been getting offers for credit cards for months now, but I've never applied for any credit cards or have any credit history whatsoever.
What's up with that? o.O

Just because they send the "pre-approved" applications to you, does not necessarily mean they'll give you a credit card. It just means they bought a mailing list with your name on it.

And remember, the more you apply for credit the worse your score will be.

Thankies, Reba.

I was wondering whether I was missing something here as I didn't think there was a connection as some suggested.
Soooo what really is the best way to start building credit? A secured card with a bank?

I honestly don't know if secured credit cards even get reported to the credit bureaus. Check with the bank I guess.

Reba yes, they do..........

This is how I managed to get a real unsecured cc YESTERDAY (3500CL).

I have had a secured cc for 6 months and I guess it worked


Regards,

Ana

It does work.

My credit score is actually existant now that I've had the secured credit card. It takes time, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Ana