I just got approved for my secured credit card with Citi, with a limit of $300. This video is insanely informative!!! I should've learned this stuff in High School lol....
You have started well. Just make sure that you pay on time and never spend more than 30% of your credit limit always. Very soon your score will rise to 700 and 800 levels
NothingXMuch101 ... Yeah! It’s so sad that they don’t teach important stuff like this in high school & college. Instead they force you to take courses that are absolutely irrelevant!!
Holy shit, in 13 minutes you answered questions iv had since i opened my first checking account when i was 15. seriously this video should be manditor in schools. fuck finger painting and gym. i cant thank you enough m8,
Good...im 39 and I wish i could go back with what I know now...lm coaching.my little brother now 17 to be mistake free with his credit. Money. So on...Good luck young brother
Brandon Galdamez *I've been in debts for a while now and almost lost my car and house due to my loan and credit card debts, ruma_telecom11 on !g helped me clear my debts and funded my account, the dude is Awesome*
Love this! I'm a realtor and I've seen so many people struggling with their credit score in order to get a mortgage to buy a house. Your channel is amazing!
Messed up my credit 8 years ago when it was at 760 and I had knew nothing about credit. Started this year in Jan at 494- July it’s now 620... I know it’s low but feels like a big jump in 6 months, hope I can get close to 700 by dec.
That is impressive! What was your card limit, how much did you spend monthly and how long did it take you to get that score? Also, do you know anything about Capital One secured card?
Metti Na card limit was $500 and I would spend $100-300 a month. This was a non-secured card, and capital one quickly increased my credit limits every few months. It’s been about 2 years and it’s at $3000 now.
I got approved for Discover It card of $1250 credit, how much should I be spending monthly? I have no credit at the moment, I’m waiting for my card to arrive in the mail. Please help
@@justus4331 i normally use abt 30% and pay it off every 2 weeks and repeat that. The best advice i can personally give is just rewatch this video and take a deep breath. Very simple stuff
As a 24 year old i have finally been approved for my first credit card (late) with a 300 dollar limit, this video really informed me on what i need to do and i thank you for that. I feel like ive asked countless people for their advice on building credit and they've never had any solid answers. They should've taught us this in school!
I DID IT TOO!!!! After watching your channel for a year my score topped at 722. It's dumped a bit after accepting the invitations from 4 great cash back cards. If you told me a year ago I would decline a pre-approval for Citi double cash card or an Amazon prime card . I would say Crazy! Just not fitting in to a 6 card plan. The best part of the last year was the the Discover secured chrome card. $250 cash back at years end. They gave me my secured $300 back and increased my limit to $2000. Also upgraded me to the IT 5% Categories! My regret Capitol one secured. After 6 months they increased my limit from $300 to $601. After that no love! After 15 on time payments they say there is no upgrade for this card. If I want I want my $300 back I have to cancel my oldest account! I don't need the $300 back so they can reside in the sock drawer and $10 a month it will be thru their no frills card. lol THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY JOURNEY TOO 700!!!!
This is a great video, as I had no credit 1 year ago. During September 2017, I applied for a BoA Secured card with a 300 dollar deposit, and after 6 months of on-time payments, they gave back my deposit while doubling my credit limit. As of this month, I have a 736 FICO score and was recently approved for an AmEx Blue Cash Everyday.
I'm in support of only few noted points and am only trying to get a credit score of a high 800. I'm already at 740 with the help of a credit repair company but i couldn't afford them anymore so am trying so hard not to add any other negative items on my credit report but do this on my own. Great information anyway but i now believe in pay as you purchase :-)).
@@harrythomas6477 I started with him when I had a credit score of high 500 about 550 thereabout, it took him more than a month to get me a 740 credit score then. Well, I stopped working with him after he made me understand what needs to be done for more increase of points. I have currently achieved about 30 points increase on my own if only I had all this knowledge then.
Sara Geralds thanks for the prompt response, are you trying to say I can do it myself without his help and get my credit score that high within 2 months?
I’m 37 years old and have never had a credit card. Every purchase I have ever made using my debit card. Basically, if I didn’t have the money, I didn’t buy it. And I’ve always been proud of that. Even bragged about it here and there. But now my wife and I want to buy a home. and guess what? No credit. No bueno. So thank you so much for the info! I’ve watched at least 15 videos, with this one being the most informative! Wish me luck!
A high score, regardless of income means you’re going to be paying less interest on loans for vehicles, homes, etc. Not that lenders won’t lie to you to get that extra .125 out of you. You have to be smart and live within you means. This is interesting tho. I was on my way to 720+ but a divorce sent me back to a 690. I’ll be using Shifu to get it back up again.
I opened my first credit card back in September with Discover. I have no credit history so I went with the secured card. I had my utilization as high as 67% but always paid on time. My credit score is currently 721
Im 20 as well with a 700+ credit score with one card. Ive heard its good to have multiple credit cards, but how do manage or decide what you spend on which card?
Jonathan Torres it’s pretty simple. Just add up the total of the cards get 30% of the total limit and then either split it between cards however you want
Jonathan Torres I’m a college student so I got the discover student card and they gave me 1k and the other card I have is my capital one play which was my first. Started around last sept
I just turned 19 and I got my credit score from non-existent to 720 in 8 months, I had a wells fargo account already so got approved for college card on a soft inquiry and have gotten my limit raised to $1600, I just recently got a second card the Cap One Quicksilver and now have a $3000 on that card.
Nala D My limit was $200 a month at first. It was a secured credit card. I could spend more if I payed off a purchase right after I bought something: normally spending $300-500 a month in transactions. Now, after about a year, they upped my limit to $1200. Congrats on your nice credit limit! :)
I started in August of 2017 with my first credit card it is now January of 2019 I’m happy to say that I am now at a credit score of 725 with 4 distinct lines of credit really all thanks to guys like you on RU-vid. Thank you
I opened my first CC one and a half years ago. In one year I got all the way to 840 credit. I might as well share how here. 1. Had a 55k salary job. 2. Born in the us, may be harder for foreigners. 3. Carried a balance under 30% of my limit and paid it off always. That was all I did! I didn't even apply for other cards. I used the paypal extras master card which has decent rewards (need to redeem them through gift cards for the best rewards though) and no fees. I think my salary had a lot to do with it too. Currently using the double cash card from Citibank. I have other retail specific cards that give 5% cash back too. Have a 5% grocery card but man are companies fickle about what they classify as! Most are supermarkets even if they only have food.
I learned more about credit from this one video than any other single source. Thanks for sharing your success story and making it so easy to understand. Woohoo!
This is very resourceful I'm 30 and currently have a credit score of 832 and it took a lot of my time getting here but you really don't need to wait for a year because it took credit streamers about 25 days before I started seeing positive changes.
Great job although the biggest thing you did right was being married and becoming an authorized user on your wife's accounts lol. Not to take anything away from you, what you did was really impressive but it is much easier to start from nothing and get to over 700 in a year than it is to go from 700 to 800. The good thing is once you get to 740 there's really no huge advantage to being any higher. At 740 you're getting the best interest rates and are able to get almost any card you want just like the guy over 800. I was in the financial business and we use to say the only advantage to being over 750 was for your ego.
I actually managed to get to 720 in 6 months without any history. Did a short 6-month internship in the States and got a Bank of America current account. Deposited my salary there and applied for a credit card, but was obviously denied. After two months and 4 direct deposits, I tried again and got approved for their Travel Rewards card (even got the 20k bonus after asking their social media team). Then used it for 4 more months as my daily card and made sure I always made on-time payments (at one point I always had negative balance on my creditcard, effectively using it as a debit card). I moved back to Europe after 6 months, and score was 720 at that time. From time to time I still use the card here to keep it active (no conversion fees or other annual fees anyway) - and the score is still slowly climbing. Now- 1 year after initial application I'm at 735.
I watched this video after applying for my first credit card in February 2019. No credit history. I have a 725 now about 15 months later with only 2 credit cards on my history
It helps a lot if you're trying to build/rebuild your credit by not having any derogatory remarks on your credit file. I once had a credit rating of around 780 when I finished paying off a five year car loan, but since I wasn't aware, I closed all my credit cards too. I did that to keep away from cc bills and paid cash for everything! Fast forward 12 years and when I applied for a credit card from my own bank, I was denied and was offered a secured card, I said 'hard pass'. I applied at Capital one and they gave me a card with a $300 limit. I kept my utilization below 5% and paid my balances in full every month. My credit score started at 673 and in nine months it was at 705. In a year it was at 744. Discipline is all it takes and don't spend more than what you can pay in cash unless it's a dire situation.
I got the Discover student card 2 months ago and I'm at 700. My utilization is about 2% (I buy gas/ food and pay it off every 2 weeks) my income is about 7k/ year (part time restaurant job and student) I'm new to this and I don't know much but I feel like I'm doing well. 0-700 in 2 months seems good right?
You had no score before. Which is DIFFERENT than 0. 0 doesn’t exist and if it did and you had that score that would suck. No score isn’t a good thing and it’s not a bad thing. Just means you’re new to credit, or you’ve abandoned credit for some length of time.
I’m 17 I turn 18 in May thanks for this video I’ve been with regions bank for almost a year now so I will open my credit card through them I have a good paying steady income to pay back what I spend hope I can get to 700 by 1 year
I received the same capital one credit card ($300 limit), I just recently passed the 5 month mark and now have $500 limit. During those months I would use 100% of the card and pay it off COMPLETELY the next day (or whenever the transaction stopped pending). This is my only card still and at this 5 month mark I currently have a 700 credit score. I think the reason this works for me is because I only purchase on my card to show usage and never buy outside of my means. At the end of the cycle my balance is always at $0. I will update at my one year mark!
What a detailed video that you make. It is so easy to follow with your specific story. I have done research for this credit world and still very much confused how to build credit. Other people just say "You should do ABC". But you gave such an amazing example. Now I know what to do. Thanks man!
If you have zero credit and want really good credit within a month, go to a bank, put $2500 in a certificate of deposit, than take out a loan using that as collateral. The interest rate will be very low, so your outlay will be minimal. Don't spend this money you borrowed. wait a month, then pay back the loan in full. Instant good credit. Improve your score by doing this again. I'm not sure what my credit score was at that point, but I went to a department store to apply for a card and the girl's eyes bugged out when she saw my score. I got approved instantly.
His explanation isn't as simple as he makes it seem. The letter of recommendation he is referring to is called a Reconsideration form that the banker just simply prints out. There are two reasons why the banker would submit it. 1. Applicant does not have a social security number and 2. The most common is the declined applicant has $10,000 or more with the bank (checking, savings, investments etc.)
I did not have 10k in the bank here in the US, but I had a record of about a year's worth of salary going in to my account every month. That gave the banker an assurance. I think basically they are looking for something to show you have the money to pay it off or you are responsible. Are you referring to a policy at a specific bank?
I have just turned 18 1 week ago and I am a high school senior soon to get my first job in the next weeks hopefully I can progress my credit and this video is helpful for me I shall check in on this video after a year or so
Downgrading chase cards.. would that work with American Express "charge cards" as well? My primary card used to be the AMEX gold, now I got the AMEX platinum and the gold is of no use to me anymore. I was going to cancel it but would that be the best idea? I live in Canada so I do not get the 99 gold cards with no annual fee as offered in the US.
Great Video. I followed your advice and started on my journey in December of 2019. My score was 621 at that time. My first card was Capital One for $300, after 5 months it went to $500. 2nd card was Discover it, $1000. My score was 665. It also added self credit lender account and now my score on Friday was 706 in about 7 months. Thank you
When I applied for my first credit card, I was just finishing high school and I had no money and no income. My bank account was sitting at $0 for months (I was living with my parents), and they still gave me a credit card with one thousand dollar limit, no deposit, no annual fee, and no signature from my parents. I'm surprised that you needed a recommendation letter to get a credit card.
I have a cap 1 bank account and never had a CC. I decided to start with the cap 1 platinum. I raised my score 100 points in a year solely by using my bank card as credit instead of debit and using the Platinum here and there making on time payments.
i started with a capitol one secured for 2 months and then got my credit up from 0-610 then they upgraded me to a reg credit card with 750$ limit and at the same time Discover IT sent me an invitation with 1500 limit. Used them both and payed on time for the next 2 months or so and got score up to like 710 and got a chase unlimited and used that and the other 2 for exactly 3 more months and @ 7month few days i was at 749 equfax and 746 transunion thsoe where on credit karma. On discover it FICO i was at 746 also All this was done in 7 months i tracked it. Also my credit was shit and i mean shit from student loan and some unpaid stuff that went to collections. Oh and also i never had a credit card before my first secured card only a debit card. Capitol One turned me down 2x on the secured card before they said ok lolol. So 3 cards in total but probably could of done with 2. All i did was pay 1 week before due date on all the cards which is easier if you have a few cards. If your only working with 1 or 2 then your credit limit is probably very little like when i had capitol one and discover it. My chase unlimited which was my 3rd card at the time gave me 8300.00$ limit which blew my mind becuause i got so little with the other 2 and it was only my 4th month in.
With the Cap One secured how much would you say you were spending per month or how much would you recommend to spend looking back looking to get my first cc very soon
@@ScotchTapeMafia It does sound right. I pretty much got to a 748 credit score from a 600 by doing similar things to what he did. Secured credit cards are a lifesaver and force you to pay everything on time. Student loans don't really add to your credit score, it's all about revolving credit. But his story is 100% plausible with secured cards and discipline.
I am based is Australia and just received my Amex Platinum. I was also told I can get the Amex Platinum reserve at no extra cost to go along side the Platinum charge card. I can't find many videos for the AU Platinum features and perks 😭
This so good to know! I watched with my fiancé who knew most of this and said it was a great video. We also learned that you can downgrade a credit card rather than closing it! Awesome information! Thank you so much!
I just turned 21 and within a year starting from 0 I now have a myFico score 755. I started with the Discover IT card and still today is my only card. The way I used my card month to month was utilizing no more than 30% then immediately paying it back fully before the month ends.
How bad is it if a company (Credit1) specifically has zero grace period. And a stinking $99 a year membership fee. it had been $75 but the slime balls increased it after one year of having their hwy robbery account. HELP please
Cancel your account with them immediately! They are junk and a scam. NEVER use them. Go with a secured card at your local bank or one of the ones Credit Shifu recommends. He has a video on them.
Yeah I don't recommend Credit One. They have a lot of fees. Their one advantage is that they report to all three credit bureaus, but you could still do better getting a secured card.
The Credit Shifu Thank you. You know I had asked C1 for an increase, but even after 12 months they said sorry no. Lol But with them they most likely will charge you a fee for accepting the CL increase. Now that's just NUTS!
That's just plain NUTS!!! I felt bad applying for a Capital One Platinum secure card. No annual fee. I use the Capital One Wallet app. I can pay instantly from my Chase Bank account. Capital One is far better, in my opinion. I read the Customer Reviews at length of any card I am considering. I Google news stories and/or any reliable source. Cap One is very well funded & I would certainly consider applying for a non-secure card.
Gladys Lam, 1 card with a $300 limit and a balance of $11, then it when down because I applied for a amex and a Discover card, If you what a good credit score you need 3 card with good credit limits (it can grow over time) but only report balance in one card, the other 2 keep it in 0 (pay it before the balance reports)
@@aaronmatz1586 I think it's okay to leave a balance each month, provided your statement balance is paid in full by the due date. People conflate "Statement Balance" and "Current Balance". Statement balance is just a snapshot of your current balance at that particular cut off date, and as long as that is paid in full by the due date, current balance doesnt matter (putting more charges on the card AFTER the statement cuts)
Hey man ! I'm very thankful for this video because it showed me it was possible to go from nothing to good credit in a small amount of time. But I'm happy to say I beat you by following your and other youtuber's advice. I got from 0 to 750 in about 7 months. Thank you for the great content!
I'm 18, My first card was the discover it chrome student with $1,000 credit limit and now 2nd card is the American Express blue cash everyday with $2,000 credit limit. Under a year current credit score is 666 and hopefully withing next 12 months ( 1st year of credit) I'll have a mid 700's score.
Quick question, my FICO was 714 and 726. I looked at my Credit Karma and it went up to 751 and 795, this was Friday 9/22/17. Why are the 2 credit reports have different numbers and where is the 3rd one. I haven't seen it in such a long time, I forgot its name, lol. And would you be able to see that score without a hit? By the way, this was because you, Sebby and Mandy.
Credit Karma calculates a score called VantageScore. A FICO score is the score banks and CU's use to give credit. VantageScores' are good for finding out about your overall credit usage but are not accurate. FICO scores can be found on your credit card statement through certain banks and through your free annual credit report.
Credit Karma is good for daily (or to save you some anxiety, weekly) checks on your overall credit health and to potentially catch any fraudulent activities. But to get your accurate FICO score, you need to get a proper FICO rating, which many credit cards give you for free annually if you ask.
Those are not accurate that's why. Only look at the FICO credit scores provided by your bank for free (Discover and Paypal Mastercard have a good FICO score) or the credit scores on your annual credit report. Credit karma gives you a very loose look at where your credit score might be, but it's not accurate enough
It is odd because I thought the Americans use Equifax and Experian? Don't we use those in the UK??? Our information doesn't transfer at all to the USA (seems unfair;)???
It doesn't transfer at all, but one thing that might be of use to you is if you have had an American Express card in the UK, you can apparently call up and get them to transfer some of your credit limit from the UK over to the US so you can open a US card. They told me I could do this on the phone, but I didn't do it in the end.
I'm not sure but ,if anyone else trying to find out drowning in debt try Magonsi Credit Magic Expert (just google it ) ? Ive heard some super things about it and my neighbor got great success with it. REPLY
If you guys want to raise your score faster, you can pay off immediately (1-3 days) after a purchase. Your utilization will move toward zero, and you will have about an extra 10 points in your credit score.
will credit limit still rise if you keep a low utilization? Won't credit companies assume a rise in credit limit is unnecessary since only a small percentage of the credit already given is being used.
+Alex German that can happen, it depends on the company. Sometimes they raise your limit automatically, sometimes you need to ask for it, especially if you have low utilization
This is really good advice. I open my first CC with BoA around Aug 2018. After six months my score finally got posted and I astarted at 665. 10 moths in and I'm at 699, with a CL of 2500 for BoA and 500 for citi double cash.
So it doesn't hurt your credit score if you have a card but never use it? Or should you always try to make some sort of purchase on each card so that it shows that you're still using them?
Helpful little tips. He mentions calling up the credit card company and requesting a credit limit increase. Before having them continue with this, just ask them if it will result in a hard credit pull. I've called up AMEX and Citi in the past asking prior to putting it through. Credit card companies are always pulling your credit but they result in softpulls as if you were looking at your own. Not having it pull a hard inquiry is pretty huge since it's not making any type of negative impact and making a much larger positive impact toward available credit\utilization. Second tip is how to get a credit card without any hard inquiry on your account. Go to your bank that you have a checking account with. I was with bank of America for over a year. I went into the branch interested in one of their rewards cards. I was pre-qualified\pre-selected because of my good standings. I received a 10k limit and never had an inquiry hit my account. This won't work with every bank but I know that Bank Of America and Citizens Bank does this.
Hugo Lizardi what's the credit limit on it? I currently have a 710 credit card have an idea what credit limit i Get? im trying to get my credit utilization up
I recently applied for my first credit card with discovery it was a discover chrome for students in college I'm 19 and I haven't gotten it yet but I'm sure I'm excited
Great video, I like the way you walked us through the process. All the things you talk about is very important ie: secured cards, paying on time & credit utilization.
Was homeless and lived a rough life. I'm 26 now and have my own business flipping houses and have my credit score at 736; i started and have a Discover IT secured card with credit limit of $2,500.00. In two months I'm hoping they release that $2,500 and turn it into an unsecured card.
Hypothetically speaking, if i have a $1000 limit card, and utilization must be under 30%, can i spend $950 as long as i pay it back in FULL before the statement due date so that it doesn't collect interest? Or Should i spend under $300 to stay under the 30% Utilization limit, and pay that back in full?
Pay it off before they send you a bill. (for utilization they only account the utilization that would show up on your credit card bill because that is when they report to credit bureaus)
Credit Shifu, thank you for your videos. Quick question: Should I prior to bill posting even if I use >30% utilization? Or should I just keep the utilization until bill is posted and pay it? Thanks in advance!
Thanks, maybe I'll give that a try after I've been with my current bank for at least a year and actually follow through on what I intended to get a checking account with them for. I was asked what I was going to use the account for when I was being interviewed. I told her I planned to see if I could make any money in the stock market. Looks like I might get around 350% the money back in the Summer of this year that I put in the Fall of last year if the trends hold.
You can also check if your bank have a US branch. I opened a US account from Canada trough them when I was a student. When I got a steady job, the bank offered me a US credit card. They imported my Canadian credit score... So you can build a US credit history without living in the US. The important note is don't use the US card for paying stuff in your country. Only pay online for stuff from the US to avoid foreign currency fees.
Good video, but closing credit cards does not harm your credit score, common myth. Closed accounts stay on your credit report for upwards of 10 years. Therefore, it still factors into your AAoA (Average Age of Accounts). By that point you will have had other cards age.
That is not true. There is a difference between open and closed because closing an account lessens the amount of credit available to you and thus lowers your score.
I worked for Experian for 15 years so i know for a FACT that closing credit cards with a long history in good standing most definately lowers your score. It will gradually go up as the other cards age but, if kept open and used minimally your score will remain higher.
As i get older i have realized how important credit is; By just paying on time and staying in within means and using the credit cards i have wisely my credit score is slowly rising.
As a highschool Grad, I had a 740 and could not get any credit cards. My recommendation is (it will suck) but go look for a high work high pay job and keep careful records of your pay. Until I had a job paying me over 10/hr credit card companies did not want to touch me even working full time.
My brother moved to US 1y and 3m ago.. He signed up for his first CC after he got his first pay check (3 weeks after moving). Card was discover secured. Graduated after 8 months. He was just approved for Saphire preferred..
Soft inquire will not affect you credit (When company just want to know your score). Hard inquire will affect your credit negatively (When you apply to credit card, buy a car, etc) and it takes from 6 to 24 months to be removed from your history. Credit limit will increase your score the higher it is Basically the more you know about all this you can even make money out of your bank besides increasing your score. *Avoid 100% paying interest fee*
I have my first credit card for little over a year and I managed to get a credit score of 777. Spend what i needed not what i want and pay it off fully at the end of the month
Amazing Ben .. Love hearing your story ! Thank you for sharing I also took my score from the low 500's to over 770 within 1 year by obtaining all 3 credit reports review them for errors, disputing any incorrect info. I too keep my balances very low ! Keep these video's coming Ben !! Jose P.
I got my first credit card when I finished high school and had a summer job before college. Throughout my first few years I used it and paid it off an have never had a late payment. Last December I applied for the chase freedom unlimited, got it, and paid for my NY trip to vegas. I then heard time was running out for the Chase Sapphire Reserve and I applied and...I got it. I then applied for the Amex SPG and...got it. I am about to graduate with a credit score of 752 and all it took was being responsible and time. A lot of time.
Even if you don't have a SSN, you can get Deserve (formerly SelfScore) credit card. This generally helps international students to build credit history in USA.