I have been in the U.S. since 2007 as a student, and only recently realized the importance of buliding my credit history.
My belief is that a credit card is the way to start building a credit history.
Having being rejected for one from a bank and a store, I have come to notice the reasons for rejection as:
- I do not work, and thus have no recurring income
- I get money from my parents once every quarter to cover my tution and living expenses and thus cannot not maintain very high balances in my bank accounts. These accounts are around 3 years old - might not be sufficiently old enough to establish a history?
- There is an incorrect record in my credit report that I was late on my final payment for my car loan. What happened was that I paid the last and next to last payment together. The car loan company later understood this, and treated the issue as resolved, but I still see this as a "negative item" on my credit report.
What I want to ask is:
Will it help me if build a credit history if I add myself as a co-holder of my parent's credit card? My parents tell me that if I add myself as a co-holder of their card, it will only affect their credit and will do nothing to establish mine.
Would it be prudent to approach one of those "credit consultants" or "credit counseling" agencies to make my credit score better and help me get a credit card?
If there is any other credit instrument that I can use to build a credit history, I would like to know more about it too.