Morgan Hamilton asked:




Getting a visa card, whether your first or your fifth, is an exciting prospect. Filling out the application can be just as nerve-wracking as getting the card is exciting. Several things can improve your chances of getting that all important visa card credit application approved including complete and truthful information, knowing what cards are out of your credit range and applying for a secured card if you can’t get an unsecured one. What follows is a look at the things you should pay attention to when filling out your visa application.

1. Know the requirements before applying for a card. Know the criteria for getting a credit card at all. First you must be eighteen. Next you must have a steady income or be a full-time student who has some dependable source of income.

2. Don’t apply for cards out of your league. Many of the online directories for credit cards will show you straight out what type of credit you need in order to qualify for that card. If you know your credit is less than perfect, don’t apply for a visa card that requires excellent credit. By concentrating your efforts on visa cards that match your current level of credit rating, you have a better chance of getting your visa credit card application approved.

3. Fill out all of the information required. Many times applicants will skip over questions they don’t know or don’t want to ask. Don’t try to hide anything by leaving a section blank since that will only result in you getting declined for credit. If a question is asked that you don’t know off-hand, hunt up the information rather than risking a rejection from the credit company.

4. Be Honest. Some people think credit card companies ask question on the application and then don’t check whether the answers are true. Nothing could be further from the truth. Know that every application is followed up with a complete credit history check and income verification process. You won’t be able to fool anyone so don’t bother trying.

5. If all else fails, apply for a secured visa card. A secured visa card is an excellent way to build up credit when your credit score is so low you can’t get an unsecured visa card credit application approved. A secured card will require a small monetary deposit to back up the credit limit on the card, but it will get your foot in the door.

Rosa

Paul Sarwana asked:




A credit card application can feel like a shot in the dark, what enables a consumer to get approved for a credit card? There are several factors that will prevent a person from getting a plastic money. Remember that companies want to approve you, after all, you’d be their customer. Don’t give them any reasons you don’t have to turn you away.

The first thing that some people overlook is age. To get a card you must be at least 18 years old and either a full time student or have a source of steady income. When a credit card company invests in you they’re doing so with the belief that you have the maturity to operate a card and not abuse it.

But what is maturity? To a lender, maturity is stability and proof that you pay your bills on time. Paying bills on time, even for a few months, can dramatically improve your credit history and your chances of getting a card. Not doing so can be fatal to any credit card application. Holding down the same job and residence is another important factor. Stability is also seen as maturity and reinforces your image to the company that your income will be secure.

Depending on how well you do paying your bills on time and your income level, some cards maybe out of your reach. But there are cards that are within your reach and establishing your ability to use those plastic money responsibly.

Using only 50% of the line of credit dramatically improves your credit score and thus your ability to get ones that offer more options and rewards. However, having a large number of credit cards that are constantly at their credit limit is counter productive as it will lower your credit rating. Remember that the key word here is responsibly.

In applying for a card you have to assume that every question they ask will be verified. The issuer is giving you the opportunity to run up a debt as high as your credit limit. They want to make sure that you’re a sound investment. All the questions need to be answered truthfully and completely. Leave nothing blank. At the very least you own it to the lender that’s going to run the checks on your financial background.

In dire cases you can turn to a guarantor for your card. In essence this means using someone else’s credit to allow you to use your own card and build up your credit history. However, there might be times when even that option is closed, and for those individuals, there are secured credit cards. Secured cards operate like normal cards except they require an upfront deposit.

Armed with this knowledge you’ll be better able to understand how the credit card application process works and better able to get a credit card approval.

Audrey

VLG asked:


Around 7 months ago I got into quite a financial mess. In the end I ended up missing my credit card minimum payments about 3 times or so. Since 4 or so months ago I caught myself up, paid what I owed from the missed payments all at once, and havn’t paid any payments late since then. Actually pay them earlier than the due date.

I also had a incorrect report on my credit profile. Best Buy’s credit card company had kept reporting me as not paying my balance for 60, 90, 120 days, when in fact I paid that credit card in FULL almost a year ago. Finally they reported me as a collection charge-off, and that’s when I called them and they got that removed, and changed it to account settled in full.

I’m thinking of applying for a small student credit card, from CIBC. Since I am a full-time student, and having a small credit card can come in handy sometimes. (I don’t have the credit cards I mentioned above anymore, I just pay them down, they’re not in use).

What are my chances of getting approved for the $500 Student Card? I don’t want to apply & then get declined again.

Thing is, I got laid-off from my summer job, and now i’m unemployed until I start school next month, when I start my part-time job at the hospital there. So right now I have nothing to put in the employment information section of my credit application.

Lillian