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I am a recent grad and new employee. I currently only have a $500 student Visa credit card with my current bank branch (2 years).

I began my employment at the end of January (just over 2 months ago) and I am making a salary of $57,000. With some other income, I will make over $60,000 this year (which is the minimum limit for the Capital One card).

I checked my Equifax credit score and I get anywhere between 750-795 depending on how much is remaining on my Visa card, which I pay off in full every month.

I am interested in getting one of the following cards:

My question is: How long should I wait, if at all, to apply for one of these cards? I want to make sure I have a decent chance of being approved, and I don't want to unnecessarily increase my credit checks if I have zero hope of getting approved. I don't plan on closing my other card because it is my oldest account. Please note: I'm from Canada.

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    (I'm from the US and applied for a different credit card, which is why I'm not posting this as an answer.) I found myself in almost an identical situation when I graduated in January, and I was approved for a credit card instantly when I applied online, so my anecdotal guess would be that you wouldn't have any trouble either. Since credit ratings partially depend on the length of your credit card history, why wait? Apr 8, 2013 at 14:04

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So, there is no way I (or anyone) can provide an exact answer. Policies for approval are somewhat obfuscated by the companies and also change widely on the market and by company.

But as a general statement, employment and income are largely self reported and your credit score is good. I think 30 days after hire would be more than enough. At this point in your life they are more interested in the consumer loyalty of a gainful employed young person than the small chance you might lose your job or lie about your income. They might not give you a high limit, but I suspect it would be approved if applied. And it is probably best to establish your larger limit sooner rather than later.

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So I decided to wait until I could honestly fill out my application with 3 months of employment before I applied.

I was instantly declined for the capital one card which I think is a more premium card (no fee + 1.5% cashback req salary>60,000).

I applied for the Scotiabank card ($39 fee + 2% or 1% cashback) and was instantly approved.

So hopefully this is useful to someone in the future.

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Acceptance for a credit card is determined by a number of factors, the majority of which combine to form your credit score. If you have a track record of responsible borrowing, you will be rewarded with lower interest rates. After a few months of work experience, I was approved for my HDFC Bank credit card because the only thing required with the application was the monthly income that met their eligibility criteria and a few months of work experience.

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