Denied Credit due to no credit score help.....?
I applied for an Amex for students. I have a checking account and I am a part time student and take in $8,000 - $19,000 a year. I was denied because they said they could not locate a credit score from equifax and the other major credit bureau. I am not sure what this means help please!!!!!
Public Comments
- I would suggest calling Amex and talking to them. Tell them you are young and if you don't have a credit score its because you are young. Tell them you are honest, etc. Do you have any bills you are currently paying like rent, school store, etc. If so, tell Amex about it. If you can't get Amex to give you the card, try calling Equifax...but I warn you its a bureaucracy.
- If you do not have any credit, there would be no way to rate you. You can do 1 or 2 things. Go where you have your checking account and ask if they could approve a credit card for you. Or you can take out a 24 months loan and pay it off in 12 months. If you do not have any funds in a savings account to secure the loan, perhaps your family can put it up for you.
- This means that you have nothing on your credit report. It is a good thing and a bad thing. Good because that means you have no collections or other negative items, bad becasue you have NO credit history and many companies are weary of being the first. THere are three major credit bureaus that companies report to: equifax, transunion, and experian. THese bureaus then determine your score based on their calculations. Without any companies reporting to them, you have no scores. There are a few things you can do to get scores. First, have one of your parents put you on as an authorized user on one of their credit cards that has a perfect payment history. You won't necessarily use this card but all of their on time payments will be reflected as your credit history too. I have heard some places frown on this but I think that is more for when people try to qualify for home loans. Second, go to a bank and get a secured credit card. BAsically, you go to them and give them $500.00 and they give you a credit card worth $500.00 that you need to pay on. It defeats the purpose of "credit" i guess but it does allow you to demonstrate your ability to make on time payments. Third, apply to the card advertisments in the mail. Most of these send apps to everyone but some actually do pre-approve you through a screening process. THese cards will help you establish credit. Some warnings, I personally will not do business with Capital One. I applied YEARS ago and never received a card but recently checked my credit with equifax and cap one has been pulling my credit every month for the past few years now. When you do get cards, if you aren't able to pay them off every month then try not to have your balances over 60% of the total line on the card.
- Your Credit Score is calculated off of various aspects of how you've handled money in the past. If you've not handled money in Credit form in the past, you won't have a credit score. "But then how do I get credit?" You're moving in the right direction. A student Credit card (typically applied for in conjunction with getting some free goodie) is often a good way to get going. It's also a good way to get into a lot of trouble. Manage your Credit Score, don't let it Manage you! One way to boost your score (after you get one card you'll get a flood of offers from others) is to keep a revolving balance of no more than 25% of your credit limit on a card and no less than 10% of your credit limit. This shows that while you do spend money, you are very controlled and careful about it. This gives you a higer FICO. A higher FICO score gets you lower Interest Rates. Lower Interest rates means a lot more money remaining in your pocket!
- Get a Visa card or a Mastercard. They are more widely accepted anyway. If you pay the balance on them in full every month, they are often a better deal than Amex, depending on which bank you use.
- Odd, considering Amex actively pursues students, few if any of which would have a credit score yet. I'd contact them and find out the real story.
- this will definitely help http://gsx1.com/improve-credit-score.html
