19-yr-old, no debt, trying to build credit?

Kitty: 19-yr-old, no debt, trying to build credit?
I applied for a credit card through my bank in an attempt to establish credit, but was denied because of ‘insufficient credit history”, meaning that I’ve been responsible and haven’t gotten into debt. I have no need to take out student loans at this time, and really don’t want to get into debt, but I’m hoping to get an apartment in the next year but can’t do that without good credit. I’ve no idea how what to do to get some credit, any suggestions are appreciated.
i’ve had the same response from various stores, always denied cards. certain gas stations offer credit cards, would this be a reasonable option?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Mike
Yeah I had that problem too.. Apparently it is better to have a terrible credit rating than no credit rating. When I asked how does anyone get their first loan they didn’t have an answer.

Answer by Ted
Start with a store credit card if you cannot get a bank credit card. All the stores have their own credit cards and are pretty easy to get. Just make sure you don’t end up in the trap of overspending. Use it very little and pay off the full balance each month. Once you have 1 credit card everyone will be sending you applications.

Answer by susta1951
try joining a credit union. start off with a small personal loan. don’t spend the money. repay in 6 months in full. then apply for a larger loan and repay in full in 6-9 months. this establishes credit. it will take time to establish you credit worthiness. once you get it don’t ruin it. that’s how i got started with my credit . the banks have always seemed to be the hardest to obtained credit from. hope i helped you. good luck

Answer by knitting bear
Go back to your bank & ask to open a secured credit card. This will require a monetary deposit. Make small purchases & pay off the balance in full each month. After a few months, you will have a credit history.

Answer by Valeria
When obtaining credit whether it be filling out credit applications for new purchasing or you’re requesting loans, the business you are dealing with will consider your credit score and history. It is easy to get credit in most cases with a high credit score, however, many factors go into your score. If you have been denied, here are ways on improving credit score for a successful approval. The make up of your score takes several actions into consideration.

A lot of people know the meaning of a credit score, but don’t understand how it is calculated. The score is arrived using a formula. The number of accounts you have that are open falls into one bucket. The varied accounts fall into a bucket. How you pay and the timeliness is another area. The last one is paid off balances with the accounts still open for future transactions is another one.

Answer by Nick
Get a credit card from local bank and pay it in time. You also can use this service to avoid common mistakes while buiding credit and pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of payments – creditreport.imess.net