credit cards for students with no income

Has anyone gotten a credit card recently with no income? I'm looking for a rewards card of some sort, but I'd really rather avoid those Capital One cards that look like they were designed for 14 year old girls. Won't ever be carrying a balance, would just like to get the reward benefits when spending the money I've already got.

Problem is obviously that I'm a student, and won't have any income to report for this year. Surely some companies are willing to offer upper middle class college students some sort of decent credit card? I've seen a few offers through Citi that don't seem to ask you to list anything other than household income and student status, but does anyone else have some experience with this? Specific cards I should take a look at?

Thanks.

 
Best Response

When I was 19 and had no credit at all, I got scores of letters in my dorm mailbox from Citibank, Bank of America, Capital One, and (i swear to you) American Express. Each with a $800-$3500 limit.

I reported $0 in taxes; had no income; nothing. If anything I already had $12,000 in student loans for my private school.

All the offers said I was "prescreened" and I had to type in some code on their website. I was approved in about 30 seconds, for each.

2 weeks later I got a Citibank credit card and an American Express Green card in the mail. (the american express assholes slapped a $59/annual fee on my irresponsible, exploitable, naive 19 year old ass, but that's another story)

When I went to Best Buy 2 months later to buy a new laptop, the guy asked if I wanted to sign up for the Best Buy credit card. AGAIN I was approved IMMEDIATELY. The $899 laptop got slapped onto that card and soon enough I was paying $22/mo for it. At the end of the cycle, I had paid almost $1500 for a $899 laptop due to the rolling over.

I went shopping for textbooks on Amazon.com. I entered to get the Amazon Credit Card. Boom. Accepted immediately. That was another $800 on a credit card.

Then (and this is a true story), after 2 years of college of this shit, I had racked up over $8000 on all my credit cards...they were delinquint by now and I eventually had to get my parents for a "bail out"....and let me tell you, I do NOT come from a rich family.

The $8000 came from Starbucks Coffee, a nice laptop, beer, eating out at expensive Upper East Side NYC restaurants, taxi cab rides, getting into clubs and lounges in NYC (I go to Columbia, despite what my profile says), buying 3 Blackberries, an iPhone, some suits for interviews, tons and tons of polo and lacoste shirts, a nice watch...basically SHIT I NEVER EVEN NEEDED, AND DEFINITELY SHIT A 19 YEAR OLD WHO DID NOT GET HIS SHIT FEATURED ON DISNEY MUSIC DID NOT NEED AT ALL.

So..moral of the story? get one credit card. pay it off every month. and fuck the credit card companies for accepting people without income. actually, the huffington post had an article about how elite colleges get paid commission for every student signed up for a credit card. columbia apparently made 5% off my stupid immature reckless ass.

 
kraynro:
the green amex debit card, great way to build your credit and not that hard to get because you have to pay it off every month. If you handle that well, you can easily get a regular amex cc.

I'm sure there may be better ones though.

I'm pretty sure you need a Visa / mastercard prior to getting an amex. Charge cards require you to be more conservative and attentive to balances since you need to pay it off at months end. I'd first start with a small limit $500-$$1,000 Visa. Don't use it much, then you may be eligible for an amex in 6-12 months.

 

i have 2 credit cards and just finished sophomore year. chase freedom and bac secure card. helped me get a 750 credit score

"Look, you're my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way. In twenty years, if you're still livin' here, comin' over to my house to watch the Patriots games, still workin' construction, I'll fuckin' kill you. That's not a threat, that's a fact.
 

I used a Discover card primarily, and have had two friends get accepted without ever having a credit card before. These are the student cards. A Chase Freedom card isn't bad either with the cashback benefits. Overall, I have been happiest with my Discover and I use it the most out of the cards I have. Capital One usually will give you a card even if Discover won't. Had one with a low balance for a while to build credit but didn't have many perks so got rid of it eventually.

 

I had a BoA Visa, I got it before the bubble burst so I had a pretty sick credit limit (which I never go near). Your best bet is blue for students. The limit is 500 and you can just run up student expenses at the drug store and pay them off to build credit. I also got cards at Saks and Bloomingdales (originally for the discounts), but I still use them, so maybe a store card might be good if you shop at a particular chain a lot.

looking for that pick-me-up to power through an all-nighter?
 

Honestly you're good to go with pretty much any credit card. I don't know if an Amex is worth it for your college years, as your minimal (I'm assuming) spending won't really justify the membership fees.

All I did was open a BoA account, got a debit card and mastercard and used it faithfully for four years. As a result, I have excellent credit (750+ last I checked). That being said, anything with cashback will probably be your best bet, but beyond that, you can't really go wrong.

 

I have a 750+ credit score out of college and I started with a credit card under my own account/name which was Chase Freedom (excellent rewards: 1% back everywhere with 5% back on rotating categories) should be relatively easy to get and my 2nd one is an AMEX Fidelity Investment Rewards card. AMEX is probably harder to get but it's got great rewards (2% back everywhere) and can be linked to your brokerage account or rothIRA. both have no annual fees which is key.

Every morning, there is a bank called time. It credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
 

Amex is always nice because of their warranty extension, if you look at one of their blue cards, that might be a bit easier to get for a student rather than the green/gold type card which you will have to pay in full every month

There are quite a few sites that talk about cards in depth, id check out:

http://www.cardratings.com/

http://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards.aspx

http://www.creditcards.org/

Also consider maybe trying to find something that is going to give you cashback, airline points, etc. Depends on what you want. I got quite a lot of miles helping out my fraternity by putting expenses on my credit card when possible, and then having the treasurer pay me back. Helped me get an increased credit limit as well.

 

Chase Freedom.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Don't bother applying for the Capital One Journey student card. I applied for it, and even with my annualized income from my internship (over $10,000), minimal rent, and no debt, I was automatically denied. I even chatted with a representative to see if they could have an actual person review my application and potentially reverse the decision, but nope, no such luck. If anyone knows of a credit card that's easy for a college student to get or has any advice for when/how to start building your credit, feel free to speak up.

 

If you're only interested in building/rebuilding credit for future big purchases, I recommend looking into Fingerhut.com - store credit card. I had my credit go down 80 points because of a personal event, and this site has been really helpful in building my credit. Make small purchases and pay your balance every month, they increase your credit line as you make payments, increasing your credit fast.

 

AMEX Blue for Students. That is what I have... not a high limit (its like 500, and I have an income lol) but its good. I would get a Discover if I didn't have an AMEX

looking for that pick-me-up to power through an all-nighter?
 

I'll also recommend the Citi mtvU card. I got it right when I started undergrad (4 years ago), and if you pay off the balance every month, the rewards are pretty good. You get approximately 5% back for movies, restaurants/take-out, bookstores, music stores, and I think movie rentals - all things that you likely spend a bunch on as a college student. approximately 1% on everything else (I say approximately because you get points, not cash back, so it depends how you redeem them. If you redeem for flights on Expedia, or certain gift cards, the points are worth just about $0.01each). I think right now there's also a $50 statement credit if you're approved.

 

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