<p>I want to get a credit card to purchase a mac book and possibly pay for other college expenses (I have an on campus job but it would help in emergencies). Are their any good credit cards that would approve an 18 year old with no credit? I've tried the discover card for students but I did not get approved.</p>
<p>You’ll either need a parent to be liable, or start building up credit with reserve cards that you have a limit equal to your savings, and if you don’t pay they automatically take the money ( which slowly builds up credit ). Then after a year or so you might have enough for a credit card (but maybe not enough for a Mac laptop).</p>
<p>Citi has a few student offerings (Forward, Platinum/Platinum Select for Students). American Express also has a few decent entry cards (the Blue series) that adds an extra year of warranty onto purchases like a Macbook.</p>
<p>Multiple hard pulls will hurt your credit score, so choose wisely.</p>
<p>Try a credit union by your school or associated with a school. Few things: you’re likely going to need a cosigner especially if you have limited/no income, you’re going to get a terrible rate so pay it quickly, and you’re not going to get a limit high enough for a MacBook.</p>
<p>I have two through a local bank, one through Cap One, and one through my credit union. I love my ones through the local bank.</p>
<p>Most banks will have college programs set up to help you get your first credit card. They’re pretty good with people who have no credit as long as you prove that you are a student. The cards aren’t great and have pretty low max spending amounts but it will start you out and you can build credit. Just shop around at banks and see what they have to say.</p>
<p>^ yea it is going to take a while to get a card that is going to alow you to do a lot</p>
<p>I got a credit card from Citi with a $4,000 limit in college. </p>
<p>When you fill out your credit card application, think hard about what number you want to report as your income. Citi’s application explicitly said that students can include scholarships or spending money from parents as income… I included all income and grant-based financial aid beyond tuition, which came out to about $16,000 a year. </p>
<p>Before I applied for my Citi card, I had applied for two credit cards with only my “income from work” ($8,000 from a summer job and work-study during the school year) and both got rejected.</p>
<p>Though I do agree with the concerns of other posters: if you need a credit card to purchase a Macbook, you are doing something wrong.</p>
<p>If you have the funds to purchase a Macbook, you could buy it with your debit card. If you do not have the funds, you should either get a cheaper computer or look into better financing options. Why pay 20% interest on a credit card when federal student loans come at 3.4% interest? You might also get a financing offer from the retailer selling your laptop.</p>
<p>I like charging large purchases to my credit card for the fringe benefits (reward points, extended warranties, better protection in case of fraud), but I always pay off my balance in full at the end of the month.</p>
<p>Seconding b@r!um. You shouldn’t use a credit card to buy things you cannot afford. If you don’t pay off the full balance at the end of the month, you get charged interest, which is pretty high for student credit cards. You should use your credit card just like your debit card (except MAYBE if you know for a FACT that you’ll be getting enough money to pay it off before the end of the month). You just want your credit card right now so you can start building up credit. You do NOT want to be charging things that you can’t pay off because that is going to hurt your credit score.</p>
<p>XXXXHowever, you shouldn’t need a parent to cosign or anything. I got my Discover Student Card a couple of months after I turned 18 without my parents having any part in it, and I didn’t have any credit.XXXX</p>
<p>And as others pointed out, you probably won’t have a big enough limit to purchase a Macbook anyway. I think I started out with a limit of ~$250 (I might be wrong on this…). I’ve had it for a year, and it’s now at $1250.</p>
<p>EDIT: Guess I was wrong about cosigning. My bad!</p>
<p>Although, wow, I did not realize that you could report scholarships and grants as income. ****, I could have reported about $30k more!</p>
<p>crist- when was that? They have MAJORLY cracked down on people under 21 getting credit cards without cosigners. I too got credit cards without cosigners at (and under) 18. However, that was before new laws went into effect.</p>
<p>And the income depends on the policy of that bank/credit card company.</p>
<p>Uhhh, maybe I’m wrong about the cosigning, then, because this was last year. I just remember being scared about getting loans because my mom has got pretty bad credit and I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to cosign them (it didn’t end up mattering because I didn’t need to take any private loans). Sorry about that!</p>
<p>^^^I got a wellsfargo credit card without a cosigner. I just said that I got a bunch of grants and loans from my school :3. The banker didn’t even confirm any of it.</p>
<p>Great! And yeah I do have the money to pay it off every month. I have an on campus job.</p>
<p>I got a Chase Student card without a cosigner right before college (5 years ago). I also got a Sapphire without a cosigner my junior year, 2 years ago, probably because of my 3 years of credit history.</p>
<p>It was in 09 that they passed the law that made it very difficult for those under 21 to get cards without cosigners unless they have sufficient income. </p>
<p>Advice-don’t apply for a bunch of cards. If you have a checking/debit account with a bank already, try there first. Without applying, they’ll often tell you whether or not you’ll need a cosigner. Every time you apply for a card you get a hit on your credit which lowers your credit score. This is why you want to keep applications to a minimum.</p>
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That would go for any authorization for your credit to be officially accessed - new rental lease, auto loan, etc. It’s a couple points each time, but it can add up if you’re doing a lot in a short time period. However, most banks will honor your credit report for 30 days from time of access/application. Therefore, you can apply for multiple cards or services through the same bank within a 30 day period and not take extra points hit on your report.</p>
<p>I got a Discover card when I was 18 without a co-signer (this was Fall 2009), and still cannot get any other company to extend me credit. It’s very strange (and annoying), since I have a credit card, a job, a checking account and debit card, and I am full time student. Bleh.</p>
<p>But, for you, I would try your bank first. And you will not get a high enough limit to pay for a MacBook. I don’t after three years, which is why I am paying off my parents for the computer instead of the credit card company.</p>
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<p>I was also able to get the Wells Fargo card with zero credit history my freshman year. I wouldn’t recommend lying about your income. I had $20,000 worth of pure scholarships and grants, though. Luckily, my university is affiliated with WF, so they seemed to be able to get my income from that automatically when I applied or else I wouldn’t have known it counted. My first card had a $1,000 limit that’s at $1,300 now. I also got another $1,000 card later on. I save both purely for big emergencies.</p>
<p>But yeah, using it to buy a Macbook is really dumb, especially when student loans are good for that. Not only because of interest, but having a high balance will wreck your credit score in the meantime.</p>