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This thread isn't about whether or not it is a good idea...

I just wanted to know which credit cards students were able to get while in school w/o income. I should have applied for a rewards card while I still had a job but I didn't.

I haven't actually applied to any yet but I talked to a US Bank rep(a visa signature card) and they said they didn't count student loans as income. I also talked to a chase rep and they said that they would declare student loans as income if I would like to.

Anyone have any experience in this department?

Do you have money coming to you in the form of loans? I wonder if that could be counted as income...

coolgreen42 wrote:Do you have money coming to you in the form of loans? I wonder if that could be counted as income...

I do have loans coming in as "income" but apparently some companies don't count that.

Some credit card companies dont count student loans as income...others do. It shouldn't be too hard to find one that does.

I'm trying to find out if any good rewards cards are available to student loan income individuals.

Hopefully someone here has applied for an amazon card or frequent flier card while in law school.

I applied and was approved for the Chase Freedom card, which has cashback rewards. If you have been employed this year (i.e. since January) you can put that income on your application. You probably still need some kind of established credit (some bills do count for this, but I've been making car payments and I think that helped).

Discover approved me without an income. But I think having other cards and a decent credit history helped.

The Capital One student reward card offers no annual fee and back percentages on purchases such as textbooks, entertainment and other regular purchases.

drmguy wrote:I'm trying to find out if any good rewards cards are available to student loan income individuals.

Hopefully someone here has applied for an amazon card or frequent flier card while in law school.

I got the Southwest Rewards card w/ an $8000 limit based on my SA income and excellent credit score.

One company in particular - the IRS - doesn't count loans as income, because you are creating a debt obligation. You haven't increased your assets by a single penny when taking out a loan.

Just because you can doesn't always mean that you should.

Just be careful. C&F would have some interesting questions as to why, when you were an unemployed law student, you were telling a bank you made $35,000 last year............

Chase counted my ~$20,000 cost of living loan towards my income. I asked the representative if it was okay and she said it was fine.

I'm still waiting on the card. Without an income it doesn't make sense to use it frequently but the increased liquidity is always helpful.

For anyone that is interested, Chase approved me for a Continental Onepass card without traditional income this year.

Extra info:
i've had another credit card for ~4 years
paid off a car loan

In short, I was approved without traditional income and without extensive credit history.

If you have good credit from previous loans and such, your student loans should be enough to get a credit card from BofA at least. I got one because I figured I may as well use my student loans to build credit. (i.e., using CC to pay for stuff I normally would use my debit card on then paying it off w/ the loan money at no interest.)

savagedm wrote:If you have good credit from previous loans and such, your student loans should be enough to get a credit card from BofA at least. I got one because I figured I may as well use my student loans to build credit. (i.e., using CC to pay for stuff I normally would use my debit card on then paying it off w/ the loan money at no interest.)

+1

If you are too much of a child to not control your spending then shoot self.

But seriously, when people go on an irresponsible rant over doing this I question their responsibility.

kapital98 wrote:Chase counted my ~$20,000 cost of living loan towards my income. I asked the representative if it was okay and she said it was fine.

I'm still waiting on the card. Without an income it doesn't make sense to use it frequently but the increased liquidity is always helpful.

The card came through. $5,000 in credit. That's 10x my previous credit card which I've had for 18 months.

I also found out my credit score -- surprisingly good for a person who has no real income and considerable students loans. I've never missed a payment on anything and have always kept my outstanding credit balances low.