How to get approved for a credit card? An easy guide.

Getting a credit card is extremely important in the US today. First of all, it gives you a certain amount of credit, allowing you to make purchases even if you don’t have the money to pay for them yet or if you need to cover an unexpected expense or emergency, which can make your life a little easier. Secondly, credit cards are some of the best tools for building a credit history and raising your credit score. Unfortunately, for some people, it can be very difficult to get approved for a credit card. This includes people without a credit history, those with a low credit score or individuals who never had a credit card before. If you’re worried about your chances of getting approved for a credit card, you’re in luck – just use these simple tips to get approved for a credit card:

Find out your credit score before applying for a credit card

Knowing your credit score or at least its estimate can help you figure out what your chances of getting approved for a credit card are. You can use websites like CreditSesame or CreditKarma to find out an estimate of your credit score or search for your FICO credit score on your monthly statement if you have another credit card. If your credit score is quite low, this means that you should probably try to improve it before applying for a credit card. For instance, about 60% of people with credit scores between 660 and 720 get approved for a credit card. You should also check your credit report and get any mistakes that might be on it sorted out to quickly improve your credit score. 

Pay your bills on time to improve your chances of getting approved for a credit card

A few things factor in when your FICO credit score is calculated, but one of the most important parameters is your payment history, as it makes up 35% of your credit score. Paying all of your monthly payments and bills on time is a great way to improve your credit score. If you’re worried about forgetting to pay your bills on time, just set up automatic bill payment through your bank. 

Improve your credit utilization to get approved for a credit card

Credit utilization refers to the amount of money you’ve borrowed compared to the overall amount of credit that’s available to you. Banks and other borrowers don’t want your credit utilization to exceed 30%, which means that if you have only one credit card with a $2,000 balance, you shouldn’t owe more than $600 on it. If your credit utilization exceeds 30% but you can pay down the balance to bring it below 30%, this will quickly boost your credit score, giving you a better chance of getting approved for a credit card.