Never had a credit card, how can I get one?

Bobby B: Never had a credit card, how can I get one?
I’ve never had a credit card. I want to buy a Tv. I’ve applied for online cards and many store credit cards like Best Buy, Walmart, etc. I keep getting turned down because of “Insufficient credit history”.

So what the heck? How am I supposed to establish my credit if I can’t even get a credit card?

I’ve heard about getting a secured card with your bank. But I don’t want to do that. Does everyone starting out have to do that? This just doesn’t make sense.

Btw I’m 20 years old.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Brian S
Go to a sporting event and apply for one… you can get some free stuff while your at it!!!

Answer by Jack
If you’re a college student, some companies have special cards that target college students without previous credit histories.

This is the one i got when I first went to college:
https://www.mtvu.com/
Good card.

Answer by Sarah
capital one is good…they might ask for a $ 75 deposit or something but they’ll send you one for sure and you will be able to build credit.

Answer by evilmunkees
Get a co-signer and apply for a joint account. After awhile, you will have built enough of a good credit history to apply for your own.

Answer by E
Don’t put a tv on a credit card unless you can pay it off at the end of the month. If you are able to pay it off at the end of the month, then wait and pay for it in cash. Do not not notice all the people around you drowning in debt? Don’t do what they have done.

Answer by M W
My first CC was Sears. Try for a jewelry store card as well.

Really you ask a good question that most of us have pondered upon at your age.

Finally, go to Fat Wallet on the internet and get to the financial forums. There are cards out there just for students and only for students (Baylor I think has one and you need not be a student there necessarily).

Answer by Old Cynic
You should use a price comparison site to look for introductory cards. Though these cards are easier to get, they often carry a huge interest rate.

My advice would be to ask your bank for one, though they may open the account with a low credit limit.

Try saving for the tv and paying cash for it. It will take a little longer, but cost less in the long run, because cash transactions incur 0% interest.

One feasible route you could go down to build a credit history is hire purchase, though you will pay hugely inflated prices in the long run. I wouldn’t touch HP with a barge pole.

Answer by GQcredit.com
There are a few ways. Get a guranteed line of credit:

You can get a secured card. Or get added as an authorized user on someone that trusts you and has good credit.

Answer by Ralfcoder
Do you belong to a bank or credit union? Apply there. They know your financial history, and can best judge your credit worthiness.

Answer by southman2010
Easy one here….You Don’t….A credit card, secure or not will lead you down a dark troublesome road that you will regret. They all charge between 20 and 36 % on what you owe them, many have annual fee’s(yearly).They can raise the interst they charge you whenever they want…its basically legalized lone sharking. Listen, you can get credit other ways besides credit cards…You can buy a stereo system on time with elect express..radio shack…these are just examples…they will charge you some interest for buy something on time..but not as much as any CC. You have a new stereo paid off in say 1 year and then you have some credit, point is you have somthing to show for it and much lower interest and shorter payments…do some purchases like that for awhile…you really dont need a CC to survive…save money and buy everything with cash…..if you havt noticed…the country is going thru turmoil right now because of the banks…this includes the CC companys….

Answer by Benjamin B
Well first off you should get a bank account if you don’t have one already. From there it’s pretty easy to get a card from through your bank, although you say that you don’t want to do that. Honestly I’m not really sure why, because they work just as well as any other credit card and are usually easier to keep track of via your existing bank statements. Plus, once you have a card through your bank, you’ll be shocked how many credit card offers you start getting in the mail simply for existing on their radar. I wouldn’t recommend taking many (if any) of these offers, but they’ll pour in nevertheless.

My first card was a Student Visa through my bank. If you’re in college (or are willing to sign up for some classes at your local community college just to qualify for student programs) many banks will offer a special “starter” credit card with a relatively low limit and low interest rates that are designed to be relatively easy to manage. Even so, you can build your credit with these cards just like cards with higher limits, so they’re good to start with.

All that said, I would recommend against buying a TV with a credit card unless you know for a fact that you can pay it all off in a month or two. Major purchases like that can get out of hand quickly, and if you can’t make all the subsequent payments on time, it could completely destroy your credit score very early in your career. If you know for a fact that you CAN pay it off very soon, by all means go for it, but the fact that you need a credit card to make the purchase in the first place usually means it’s a bad idea.

Once you start accumulating a credit history, I recommend checking out sites like for in depth advice on improving your credit score and avoiding debt. They’re where I get most of my information and they’re generally pretty useful. Also, you should talk to a teller at your bank and get everything they know on starting with credit cards. You don’t have to open a credit account with them to profit from their advice.

And, you know, just be selective. I’d really like a better TV, but it’s not worth having to live in a crappier apartment and drive a junky car down the line, you know?

Answer by leamericanos
Providian was my first card but now is part of chase ,
but because of today’s economy i think they want to make sure , that you are going to be able to pay , so Don’t Apply to many cards , if you alreday did , then wait for a long time now because your points went down . if you want to start your credit history and if you have a bank account it would be best and easy to get it pre-paid and allow a maximum credit limit of 1000, with your bank . the more you apply for credit the less point you’ll have I only have one credit and I apply to one credit my score is high and I never use credit card , I’m poor like the rest of us , but I know I don’t owe anything thing so if you want to buy something just wait until you have it to pay it cash …

Answer by Bimayw
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