- 1). Improve your credit. The best thing you can do to improve your chances of getting a card is to have a good credit score. Get one by paying off debts, making payments on time and not applying for too many cards. If you already have bad credit, try to wait it out--negatives drop off your report in seven to 10 years. But even if they aren't gone, if they are way in the past, credit card companies may be more forgiving.
- 2). Get a co-signer. If you can't qualify for a card on your own, a friend or family member may be willing to apply with you. This can dramatically improve your chances of getting a card, since the creditors could look to the cosigner for the payments if you don't pay. Just remember: You don't want to end up making the co-signer sorry that they did you a favor, so make sure you pay all of your bills on time in full.
- 3). Shop around. You may not be able to get a card with the best rewards program for your first card, or if you have bad credit. However, if you do a little research, you may be able to find a lender who is willing to issue you some type of credit card. Just be careful that you pay attention to the interest rate and don't end up choosing a very high interest card just to get credit (unless you are 100 percent confident that you will never carry a balance on the card and that you will pay it off in full every month).
- 4). Consider a secured card. A secured card is a card in which you put up cash in the amount of your credit limit. For example, if you get a $500 secured card, you have to put $500 on deposit with the card issuer, and then you will have a credit line of $500. You can build (or rebuild) your credit using a secured card in order to improve your credit score and thus improve your overall chances of getting a card.
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