Applying For Your First Credit Card With No Credit History

Whatever your reasons for deciding to apply for your first credit card with no credit history, it can still be a challenging experience. These days a credit card is required for so many different things such as applying online to make a reservation for accommodation, booking a flight, buying on EBay or making a purchase that you just don’t have the ready cash for at the moment.

You may just want to start establishing a credit history for yourself and the simplest way is to apply for a credit card. However, banks are often reluctant to approve someone applying for their first credit card with no credit history.

The best way to get your first credit card

  • Quite often credit card merchants will offer students their first credit card. Usually these types of cards will have a fairly low limit to ensure you don’t overspend.
  • If you are an existing customer with a bank and your account is in good standing, you may be offered a card with a pre-approved amount. Sometimes one of the conditions of being the card holder is that you retain your pre-existing account with the bank.
  • Normally it is quite easy to obtain a credit card through a store as they are not so rigid as banks with their lending criteria. However, the downside is that stores often have high interest rates.
  • There is an option called a secure credit card offered by some banks. This entails you lodging a deposit equal to the credit limit on the card. Not the best of solutions, but one way of establishing your credit history.

The value of maintaining your credit status

For many people establishing their credit history is done by means of their first credit card. Therefore it is important to keep your credit in good standing, don’t overlook payments when they are due, and don’t exceed your limit.

You never know when your circumstances might change, and you might be in a position of wanting to borrow more, consequently it is important to maintain a good rating by making payments on time and keeping your balance below your limit.

You may find that because this is your first credit card with no credit history the bank will charge a higher than normal interest rate. Keep this in mind when carrying balances over from month to month. You will find that when you have established a good rating you may become eligible for a lower interest rate.