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my first credit
card
Get started on the road to building a strong credit history.
The rewards are
worth it. Individuals with good credit benefit in many ways. Do
you know someone who wishes they’d have done things differently
with their finances… right from the start? Being responsible
with your use of credit – and your payment history
– has
enormous payoff over the long term.
The fact is that
all of us need to build a solid foundation and maintain
it throughout our lives.
And the sooner the better. Get credit
early, use it responsibly, build a solid foundation over time,
and keep it. That way, you’ll be able to get credit at
competitive rates when you need it most.
Having no credit
history at all could be just as bad as having a poor bill-paying
history. Establish credit in your name and pay all your bills on
time. To people just starting out, building a good credit
history seems like a vicious circle: You can’t get credit
because you’ve never had credit, but you’ve never had credit
because you can’t get it! To get credit without a co-signer, you
must be at least 18 years old and have a steady source of
income.
we can help
you get started
You may be
eligible to get your first credit card at age 16 with a
parent co-signer. Before you
apply for credit, be sure to have the basics in place – a budget, a
tracking system and an emergency fund as backup.
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Download a
printable application,
apply
online or call 651-451-5160 for information.
once you get
your credit card
Make
sure you pay it off responsibly and on time. Respect your right
to use your card or you’ll ruin your credit history and wind up
paying more for loans and credit
– if
you can get them. And just having that card doesn’t help you
establish a good credit history if you don’t use it. Charge only
as much as you can afford to pay off each month
– and pay
those bills on time. Your bill-paying record
– good or
bad –
will
likely be sent to at least one of the three major
credit-reporting agencies and then viewed by potential lenders,
landlords, insurance companies and even potential employers.
They'll know whether you pay in full or carry a balance, whether
you’ve maxed out your cards, and whether you pay late or on
time.
shopping online
You can use
Verified by Visa
to protect your credit card with a personal password, so only you can
use your credit card online. Just register with
Verified by Visa,
then every time you use your credit card to buy things at participating
online stores, you'll be required to enter your password before
the purchase can be completed. Registration is quick, easy and
free!
Register
now >
understand your rights
The FACT Act
(Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) of 2003 was enacted
to help consumers understand their rights and protect
information in their credit reports, and also to
help consumers
whose financial information has been stolen. The FACT Act allows
consumers
to request one free credit report a year from each of
the three main credit-reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, and
TransUnion).
WEB
RESOURCE: Annual Credit Report Request Form
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf | 
