I have no credit history and I need an unsecured credit card without a co-signer. Any suggestions?

I have no credit history and all the credit cards that are available to me are a hoax. Most require of the credit cards atleast $200 of my own money to start the credit building process. If credit is provided there are charges that are first applied which take up most of the available credit until I pay them off. This credit building process is such a pain. I undertstand why no credit is equivalent to bad credit.

Public Comments

1. when i was younger my mom had a credit card that had my name and my mom's so she can actually build up my credit without me doing a thing. I dont know if you live with your parents this can be a great way to build your credit.
2. That's just the way it is. All loans and that's what credit cards are really are based on risk. People with no credit are bad risks. If you have a family member who has a credit card with a good pay history, you might ask them if they would consider making you a authorized user. This way their good history would show on your credit and vastly improve your score. That way after a few months you could get a card of your own.
3. get a retail card or go to www.creditcards.com this will help u get the card u want
4. i was in the same boat,i had no credit and because of that no one would give me a credit card so my mom told me to apply for a clothing store credit card that they always give you a card and she was right, even though i had to get an American Eagle card its still building up my credit.
5. Avoid First Premier, Tribute, Rewards 660, Imagine, Tribute, and Continental Finance. These are all high fee / low limit credit cards that amount to nothing more than a scam. Avoid Capital One. They do not report your credit limit and that damages your credit score. Example, they give you a $500 limit and you use $250, they will report your limit as $250. This will damage your credit score because instead of using 50% of your credit limit, it looks like you are using 100% of your credit limit. So far the best card I have found for building/rebuilding credit is Orchard Bank. They have a low interest rate (14.90, good for a sub prime card), low annual fee, no hidden fees and if you manage your account properly, they give excellent credit limit increases. You can get more info on Orchard Bank at http://www.creditcardindex.org/orchardbank.html
6. Are you in school or near a college campus? Many cards have special programs for new card-holders that advertise on campus. This is more in the fall, but you might want to try it out.
7. If you are a student then you can go for a student credit card. To know more visit http://creditcardbiz.blogspot.com and http://onlinepaymentoption.blogspot.com
8. listing of them http://www.wesayes.com
9. First let's look at the secured credit card for bad credit. A secured credit card requires that you deposit money with the issuing bank, and the bank will issue a credit card in the same amount for your use. Secured cards are guaranteed to be approved, because the bank has your deposit money in case you do not pay your balance. A secured credit card for bad credit operates much like a regular credit card. You receive a monthly statement, and you pay your minimum monthly payment or the balance in full each month. You are charged an interest rate, annual fee and possibly other fees for a secured credit card account. Be aware that with a secured credit card for bad credit, your charges are not deducted from the deposit you have with the issuing bank. The bank is simply holding your deposit in the case that you default on your credit card balance. You must pay your monthly payments, and owe the bank the balance that you have charged on the credit card. You cannot refuse to pay simply because the bank is holding a deposit without further damaging your credit. A second option for getting a credit card for bad credit is to get an unsecured credit card. Unsecured credit cards are available for bad credit clients, however, the issuing banks charge high fees to cover the risk of extending credit to a bad credit client. You can expect to pay anywhere from $200-$350 or more in fees which the bank will keep, you do not get that money back. Those fees are upfront costs for obtaining a unsecured credit card for bad credit. In some cases, the bank will allow you to pay the fees over two or more months. Apply online for a unsecured credit card at: http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/0_Intro_APR.html
10. Well here is my advice. Look into student credit cards (college). Some times financial institutions offer student unsecured credit cards. Take advantage of being a college student and see if you can get one. If you are unable to get a student visa. Try looking at a secured credit card with some one. That means you would put a deposit securing your visa. Example you may get a $300 visa and you may need to deposit $300 with that institution. Here is the key once you get a credit card. Use it and PAY on time Be responsible because the good, the bad and the ugly will show on your credit report for about 7 years. So now you have a card and after a year of payment history, reapply with the same company or if there is a better one with another company. If its the same company apply for a rate reduction and maybe an increase. If its another company apply for a better card with a better rate. Ty to avoid cards with an annual fee. If you are denied, and if you are able, call the company that denied you and ask to speak to a loan officer. Explain the loan officer what your trying to occomplish. Tell him/her that you have had very good payment history and your card and you think your credit scores are probably better than they were when you opened your credit card and would like your credit to grow and try having your rate reduced. Oh yeah I forgot to tell you while all this time passed (about a year) dont open any new credit because it will lower your score and it doesnt look good to open too many new accounts. Also two months before you re-apply try to payoff you student/secured visa balance to zero or have it very low becuse when you have a low balance your credit scores increase. And when an institution pulls your credit report, the information on it can be up to 6 weeks old. I would look into a credit union for a credit card first, they will most likely have better service too if you cant get into one look into the big banks such as bofa. I know this can be a lot of info. if you have any questions feel free to contact me....Big O aka Oscar oh yeah I am a loan officer :o)