How soon should I apply for another credit card after getting rejected?

Question

Hello all! I was wondering how soon should I apply for another credit card? I applied for a Victoria's Secret card but got rejected twice, and just today I applied for an amazon card but I think I might have gotten rejected as well. I'm 19 and I want to start building my credit but I don't know how anymore if I keep getting rejected. I was thinking of signing up for a Target card but I don't know how soon I should do it. I purchased my own cellphone but I chose building credit, so I believe that might be helping, and I've been paying my bill on time as well. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Answer 1

Stop applying for store cards. They are NOT easier to get. If you have no credit history, you will have problems qualifying for any card. What did the letters turning you down say? Has anything changed? If lack of credit history or lack of sufficient income was the reason, you won't get approved for any other card either.



Applying for mulitple cards within a short time will almost guarantee you will be turned down. It appears you are trying to take on too many new lines of credit. Wait at least 3 months (6 would be better). Then go to your bank. They are the most likely to extend credit to you. You will probably have to start with a secured card.



By the way, cell phones and similar bills do not report to the credit bureaus and do nothing to build yoru credit. You need actual loans or credit cards to build credit.

Answer 2

You should wait more than a year. If apply after less than a year, then they can reject you because of your history of applying too recently.



You have applied at least three times already, twice for Victoria's Secret and once for Amazon. Applying three times over the course of several years, but it would not be all that bad, and you could recover from it in a year. Applying three times before you turn 20 is horrible for your credit. You probably can't get any credit cards now. Stop applying.



You are not building credit. You are destroying, tearing down credit, by applying too much. A cell phone can't help enough to counteract the consequences of constant applying.



Wait more than a year, and then apply only one time for only one card. If rejected, immediately stop applying, after the very first rejection, and wait more than a year before trying a second time.

Answer 3

At this point (with 3 rejections on your credit report) you need to stop applying for credit. You are 19. Unless you have a very good paying job, direct deposit and established bank accounts for the last 2 years... it isn't going to happen without a parent as co-signer.



Right now... that might not even happen. Wait at least 1 year to try this again and then you need to talk to your own bank, that knows you better, and have a parent as a co-signer.



Your cellphone contract does nothing to build credit... btw. It isn't recorded on your credit report that you pay that bill on time.



You need : good paying job for at least 2 years, well handled bank accounts (both savings and checking), some money saved up in that savings account and then you can talk to your bank about a credit card.

Answer 4

As of February 2010, you have to be 21 and employed full time time 12/18 months without a cosigner