How do I apply for a student credit card?

The easiest credit cards for students to get are student credit cards for applicants with limited or no credit history and secured credit cards, which are available to people with no credit or even bad credit. Since college students tend to have higher incomes in the long term, issuers are willing to extend them better offers than most people without established credit could get. Think of it as an investment in a student’s future financial needs, which could prove quite profitable for a bank that gets in on the ground floor.… read full answer

The best student credit cards, including Capital One Journey and Bank of America’s student travel rewards card, will be easy to get as long as you’re enrolled in school and have at least a small income as well as a credit score that’s anything but bad. In fact, you can get them even if you don’t have a credit score yet because you’ve never had a loan or line of credit before. And if you do have bad credit, a secured card will still be pretty easy to get.

Here are some easy credit cards for students to get:

• Journey Student Rewards from Capital One: No annual fee or foreign transaction fee. 1% cash back on all purchases (1.25% when you pay your monthly bill on time). You can get this card with limited credit.
• Discover it chrome for Students: No annual fee or foreign transaction fee. 2% cash back on $1,000 spent on gas and dining at restaurants each quarter. 1% everywhere else. 1st year earnings matched. $20 bonus each year your GPA is 3.0+. You can get this card with limited credit.
• Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card for Students: No annual fee. 3% foreign transaction fee. $150 bonus when you apply online and spend $500 in the first 90 days. 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, plus 3% on gas (first $2,500 in combined purchases). 1% cash back on all other purchases. You can get this card with limited credit.
• Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card for Students: No annual fee or foreign transaction fee. 20,000 points when you apply online and spend $1,000 in the first 90 days. 1.5 points per $1 on all purchases. You can get this card with limited credit.
• Capital One Secured Mastercard: No annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. No rewards. Minimum security deposit of $49, $99, or $200. You can get this card with bad credit.
• Discover it Secured Card: No annual fee or foreign transaction fee. 2% cash back on $1,000 spent at restaurants and gas stations every three months. 1% on all other purchases. Discover matches all your cash back from the first year. You can get this card with bad credit.

The easiest credit cards for students to get allow young people to begin building credit before entering the real world. If you use your card responsibly and pay your bills on time, you should be able to get a better deal once you graduate. And that’s true whether you’re starting with a student credit card or a secured card.

You can get a credit card without a job. Most credit card applications have a section for employment information, but you can also put student, homemaker or unemployed. Annual income and assets are more important than employment status when applying for a credit card, though.

Income is usually from a job, but it can also come from other sources like an inheritance or investments. Your assets are anything of value that you own. For example, if you have a rental property, the property would be an asset. And the rent you charge would be part of your income.… read full answer

If you’re under 21 years old, you’ll need your own income source to qualify for a credit card. That could include a regular allowance from your parents, though. If you’re over 21, you can list household income that you have reasonable access to. For example, a stay-at-home parent could list their spouse’s income. Without a job or any income, a credit card will be much more difficult to get.

How to get a credit card without a job:

• Put down non-employment income: You can list alimony, disability benefits, certain scholarships, and investment or rental income, for example.
• List shared income: If you have consistent access to someone else’s income, you can list that. For example, it could be an allowance from a relative (if you’re under 21 years old) or your partner’s pay (21+).
• Become an authorized user or get a joint account with someone else: An authorized user can make charges on someone else’s account. But the primary cardholder owns the account and is legally responsible for paying the bills. This option is the easiest way to get a card and start building credit. You can also get a joint credit card from U.S. Bank without a job, as long as the co-owner has enough income. But in a joint credit card arrangement, both people are liable for the debt.
• Get a secured card: To get a secured card, you must put down a security deposit (usually $200+), which serves as the credit limit. Since there is no possibility of borrowing more than you can pay, secured cards are easier for people with limited income or bad credit to get.

You can get a credit card without a job as long as you have enough income or assets to pay your bills. So being out of work doesn’t mean losing out on the opportunity to improve your credit score or enjoy the convenience of plastic.