Does anyone know if they cater to the recent immigrant? The USA credit score system is totally broken for people who have come recently to the country.
Also, if you've got an Amex card in your home country it might be possible to use it to get another card in the US: https://www.americanexpress.com/global-card-transfers/united...
In addition, you can also apply for a secured credit card (e.g., from Capital One) which will help you to get a credit score.
> Once you get it, always pay your balance before statement cuts and let only 1%-9% of the balance report to the bureaus.
...what does this mean?
A rule of thumb is to always keep utilization under 30% for a good score. The credit score like all other things are /can be manipulated. So the 1%-9% balance reporting instead of 30% is the best to get the best percentage of the amounts which is factored into getting your overall credit score.
This is how scores are calculated - Payment history[35%], amounts owed [30%], length of credit history [15%], new credit [10%] and types of credit used [10%].
The balance owed counts for 30% in calculating the overall score. So the lower the balance, the better.
It has good info.
For anyone else, pretty much anyone with income can more or less fix their credit in 6-9 months if you just work at it. It's a game, you can game it, and get a good credit score.
(If you scoff at the notion of credit scores being "a game", realize that it's the whole point. People who "care" enough about their credit score to learn the game and play it are—by definition—good credit risks. So doing well "at the game" is exactly what credit providers want you to do.)
Either that or they are fraudsters.
For fraud they have other tools.
I was able to open an account and get a credit card with a $10k spending limit with only my passport, less than 24h after landing in the U.S. for the first time.