Great credit card to build US credit.
 

I have been in the states now for 12 months and building credit has been a nightmare. (I got refused a target store card 4 months ago!). However, things are looking up, i managed to get a co-signer on a car loan, and tonight i got approved for a capital one - Cash Rewards for Newcomers credit card.

Looks like a good option for new expats. You even get 1% cash back

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

Do you have a link?

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

I got a proper credit card 1 month after we arrived in the states, it helped that we brought over some money and opened a BOA bank account.
Rang the bank after a month and asked for a credit card, got one with $1000 limit, didn't need to put any money onto it either.

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

how some is some?

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

It's with BoA, so it's the same as signing up with the devil, so amounts don't mean to much :D

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

Lol. True that.

My point was, there is no point comparing a case where OP wants CC and has no credit vs someone who brought in say 100k from UK. Of corse BOA will bend over backwards.

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

It was 60k.

Who cares if it BofA or another bank, it is still a credit card, as long as you pay it off in time you will get no trouble from the bank.
And it builds up your credit score as well, so we are not complaining about the bank.

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

also forgot to add, we are getting a house mortgage through HSBC as well.
They seem to be one of the only banks that will use an international credit rating.

We do have to provide quite a lot of paperwork though to the underwriters (ie tax returns, proof that we are renting out our house back home, employment letter, breakdown of pay for the past three years etc etc).

We are only putting 25% down payment, and the loan is quite small, about $115,000.

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

You could say that about any banking product. Everything is fine until something is not, and then you find out who the good banks are. BofA is not known for being one of them.

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

Capital one was a first credit card that I applied for when I got my SS number and believe it or not my credit limit was 10k. Yes on first card. I couldn't believe it too. But I believe it had to do with something that my ex-wife put me on her credit card (Citi bank I believe) so that is why they gave me 10k. However, a friend of mine, when she got her SSN and had no credit at all she told me she applied with capital one as well and they approved her for 1000 dollars. I think thats pretty good for a first card with no credit history.(it was Capital One as well) So yes Capital one if I was you I would deff. give it a try. Let us know how it went :-)

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

The piggy backing trick of the past, which was what helped you, won't work these days.

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

I thought this Capital One card sounded good and decided to apply. After a week I got a letter saying I had been declined. The reason was - Based on the credit report from Equifax/Experian/Trans Union for x, credit bureau information is missing or unavailable.
How the hell can they advertise the card as -

New country, new credit — start building today!
Summary of Key Benefits:
A card designed to help those new to the U.S. build credit
with automatic reporting to three major credit bureaus

A complete waste of time!

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

Sooner or later all banks are a big shower of shit.

Try a BofA secured card, and then switch your business to a better card as soon as your rating's up (but don't cancel the BofA one, just convert it to a fee-free product).

Re: Great credit card to build US credit.
 

Nightmare!

We just got one through HSBC (via AIG/Travelguard expat programme) with a 10K limit, oddly it's the first time I have ever had a credit card ...I feel the shops calling me :eek::eek: