How to get a line of credit

[hendosa]

I have heard of getting a student credit card from a couple threads on this site, as well as from my bank.
I will be getting my student card soon, but I was just wondering if there are any other ways.

[illeagle]

I always thought you need to own a House before you can get a line of credit..

[Gonthro]

and you have to make 30K/year+

[benyl]

nope... visit PC banking at the superstore...

I got an $8000 credit line... no house and a job that paid $22,000/year

[hendosa]

Royal Bank is telling me they will give me a student credit card when I show them my letter of acceptance and statement of earnings or some shit, just turned 18 and don't make anything close to $30 000/yr

[Gonthro]

Originally posted by hendosa
Royal Bank is telling me they will give me a student credit card when I show them my letter of acceptance and statement of earnings or some shit, just turned 18 and don't make anything close to $30 000/yr

i was talking about a line of credit, a line of credit and a credit card are TOTALLY diffrent things.

[hendosa]

Ok gotcha, but can getting a credit card sort of be a first step toward establishing a line of credit?

[Ajay]

Yah a student credit card is something that all major banks offer. It's a way to start building credit. Initially they give you a $500 limit and the only criteria is you have to have an annual income of $1200/year. If you have a student credit card the maximum limit allowed by most banks is $1500.

A student line of credit is used more for paying tuition, books, rent...etc. Stuff that you'de need to pay for while going to school. I have one through BMO. Cool thing with student line's of credit is you only pay the interest accumulated on your outstanding balance. Kinda good and kinda bad cause if you're only paying the interest you're not killing any of the principal balance owing but at the same time if you're strapped for cash you don't have to make $200 payments a month. With most student line of credit's you can get them to increase it all the way up to $45,000 to $60,000 depending on what bank you go through. When you graduate is when you gotta start paying down the loan in full.

[hendosa]

Originally posted by Ajay
Yah a student credit card is something that all major banks offer. It's a way to start building credit. Initially they give you a $500 limit and the only criteria is you have to have an annual income of $1200/year. If you have a student credit card the maximum limit allowed by most banks is $1500.

A student line of credit is used more for paying tuition, books, rent...etc. Stuff that you'de need to pay for while going to school. I have one through BMO. Cool thing with student line's of credit is you only pay the interest accumulated on your outstanding balance. Kinda good and kinda bad cause if you're only paying the interest you're not killing any of the principal balance owing but at the same time if you're strapped for cash you don't have to make $200 payments a month. With most student line of credit's you can get them to increase it all the way up to $45,000 to $60,000 depending on what bank you go through. When you graduate is when you gotta start paying down the loan in full. Didn't even know about the student line of credit...sounds good though I will have to look into that:thumbsup:

[illeagle]

that's pretty much the only way to gain credit, is by credit cards...BUT

- Do not go over half of what your card limit is, because if your constantly maxed out, the banks will see you rely onn credit, and can not pay off dept..
- don't miss any payments, don't make late payments.
- Only get ONE credit card... doesen't matter what the credit limit is set at.

DO NOT go with CIBC. The way the work things there, is unorganized, and it'll fuck you up...

Then if your feeling rich, get a loan, pay it off, and there you go... good credit, now go buy a House...

[Ajay]

I haven't had any issues with CIBC.....CIBC Visa loves me. I've only called in once to get an increase to my limit. All other times I've gotten limit increases they've done it on their own.

But yah...credit is something you definetly want to take care of. I've seen so many friends get lines of credit and increases to their credit card limits and go completely overboard. When you can't pay it off the creditors will come after your ass!

[hendosa]

Ok nice this is a lot more simple than reading those goddam RBC brochures.
So once I do establish a line of credit... even a student one, is it likely that the bank would give me a loan? say $4000?

And yeah I've heard about only getting the one credit card... and making ALL the payments or else...

Heard anything bad about Royal Bank's credit system?

[WGR4Pussies]

Ask your dad, or your father figure, he should know all of this, unless hes a bum.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by benyl
nope... visit PC banking at the superstore...

I got an $8000 credit line... no house and a job that paid $22,000/year LOL Are you serious? What rate did you get? I wouldn't mind opening up an account at prime and use my investments as security and use the credit when a juicy investment opportunity comes by. Leveraging:D

Judging by your example, I should get a $50K credit line no problem:D haha

[hendosa]

Originally posted by WGR4Pussies
Ask your dad, or your father figure, he should know all of this, unless hes a bum. lol my parents won't help me at all on this one...because I will likely be using the credit to finance a motorbike.

[Ajay]

They base a loan on alot of different things and credit is only one of them.

They'll also want to know your assets and you're outstanding debts. Not about to give a loan to someone who has no collateral or a high debt load.

You could actually use a line of credit (depending on how high it is) to purchase big things like a bike.

[illeagle]

To get a loan, you have to wait something like 6 months, but make sure for 3 monthes straight the credit you owe is at 50% or under.. if your owing credit is over 75% at any point for a 3 month period you will not get a loan...

CIBC's visa's are OK, as for accounts, they suck. I deposited $100 CASH, and i had to wait 7 days before i can get at it... But at Royal they automaticly give increaces, and they are my main bank... Thinking about opening a TD account, i hear they are good... :thumbsup:

So If your going for a bike/personal loan, and you don't make a whole lotta money, pay off ALL of what you owe, you'll have a better chance of getting it (may need a co-signer) Also if 75% of your yearly gross pay goes to bills/dept you won't get a loan...

[benyl]

Originally posted by max_boost
LOL Are you serious? What rate did you get? I wouldn't mind opening up an account at prime and use my investments as security and use the credit when a juicy investment opportunity comes by. Leveraging:D

Judging by your example, I should get a $50K credit line no problem:D haha

I got their standard rate which is prime +1.75%. That is way better than any bank around. That is for unsecured. They only do mortgages for secured.

Credit lines max out at 36% of your income on your T1 return for the previous year.

I have so much credit it is stupid. If I took it all out and left the country, I could live like a king for a few years.

Just remember boys and girls, the statute of limitations on credit is gone. They can go after you for the money you owe them for the rest of your life... why do you think they give out credit more freely these days.

[max_boost]

The bank looks at your credit history, which includes everytime you've applied for credit card, it shows your balances, debts, any default payments. You can access your credit report through transunion or equifax. Basically you see the same info your creditor looks at. I'm not sure how transunion works but I know equifax has a credit rating system between 300 and 900. The higher your score, chances are, they will approve you.

Everytime you take out a loan, and pay it off, over time, your score will increase. You have to understand it takes years to build up the score. I'm 22 and I have a score of 800. I spent the last 4 years maxing out credit cards and paying them off, buying new cars etc.

Anyway, if this is your first time applying, you will most likely need a co-signor. If you don't default on your payments, the next time you apply, you probably won't need a co-signor.

They'll ask you about your employment history, whether you live at home, what expenses you have etc. Most people usually get a loan, but at a higher interest rate depending on their history.

[max_boost]

If you are applying for a student line of credit, I believe you have to show the bank you are enrolled in a post secondary institution. Someone verify this?

If you just want access to money, a line of credit might be harder to get access to than a credit card. Again, someone may verify this?

I think the BEST credit card out there on the market right now is Mosaik from Mastercard.

If you choose the low rate option, cash advances are only 7.9%, I believe that is the lowest in the market. Most young people will carry a balance and interest adds up, so much more wiser getting a low rate card.

Lastly, on the application, they ask how much you make. If you make $10K, put $25K. They wouldn't know! haha

[max_boost]

Originally posted by benyl


I got their standard rate which is prime +1.75%. That is way better than any bank around. That is for unsecured. They only do mortgages for secured.

Credit lines max out at 36% of your income on your T1 return for the previous year.

I have so much credit it is stupid. If I took it all out and left the country, I could live like a king for a few years.

Just remember boys and girls, the statute of limitations on credit is gone. They can go after you for the money you owe them for the rest of your life... why do you think they give out credit more freely these days. Benyl, do they ask to see your T1? Or take your good word for it?

[Ajay]

Originally posted by illeagle
To get a loan, you have to wait something like 6 months, but make sure for 3 monthes straight the credit you owe is at 50% or under.. if your owing credit is over 75% at any point for a 3 month period you will not get a loan...

CIBC's visa's are OK, as for accounts, they suck. I deposited $100 CASH, and i had to wait 7 days before i can get at it... But at Royal they automaticly give increaces, and they are my main bank... Thinking about opening a TD account, i hear they are good... :thumbsup:

So If your going for a bike/personal loan, and you don't make a whole lotta money, pay off ALL of what you owe, you'll have a better chance of getting it (may need a co-signer) Also if 75% of your yearly gross pay goes to bills/dept you won't get a loan...

That's true their accounts are kinda messed up. I had an issue with them today actually. Prior to March I wasn't being charged any service fees because if you keep your monthly balance above a certain amount they waive the service charges. I've always kept it above this amount but ever since March been charged my service fees.

I had the same issue as you but not with cash....my issues has always been with cheques I deposit into my account. If it's anymore than $500 they hold it for five business days before I can access the money. One time the cheque cleared on the other person's end (the person that gave it to me) the day after I deposited but it took five days for it to be cleared in my account. Didn't make much sense to me but apparently that has to do with the account I have with them.

I'm going to open up an account with PC Banking cause after reading this thread I visited their site and they offer accounts that have NO service charges. Guess that's what I'll be doing tomorrow...transferring everything over after opening an account there.

[hendosa]

Originally posted by max_boost
If you are applying for a student line of credit, I believe you have to show the bank you are enrolled in a post secondary institution. Someone verify this?

If you just want access to money, a line of credit might be harder to get access to than a credit card. Again, someone may verify this?
I know that for the student credit card they only need a letter of acceptance from an institution, not sure about the student line of credit but would like to find out.

[benyl]

They took my word for it.

One thing to be careful about PC Banking is that they do not have branches. You have to call in for everything. For me, it isn't a problem as I do all my banking on the net. Some people complain about this aspect of their service.

OT: PC points are really cool. You get them from Superstore and from the real canadian wholesale. Last year, our restaurants spent over $200,000 at RCW. Most of that went through my account. You get 100 PC points for each dollar or 1% back as those points convert directly into cash. So basically, I have $2000 worth of PC points right now. I bought a Playstation2 and a few other things... only crappy thing is that you can only redeem them at superstore.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by benyl
They took my word for it.

One thing to be careful about PC Banking is that they do not have branches. You have to call in for everything. For me, it isn't a problem as I do all my banking on the net. Some people complain about this aspect of their service.

OT: PC points are really cool. You get them from Superstore and from the real canadian wholesale. Last year, our restaurants spent over $200,000 at RCW. Most of that went through my account. You get 100 PC points for each dollar or 1% back as those points convert directly into cash. So basically, I have $2000 worth of PC points right now. I bought a Playstation2 and a few other things... only crappy thing is that you can only redeem them at superstore. Thanks for the info!

[TrevorK]

You want a credit card and a loan to buy a motorbike?

The student line of credit is meant for school. Yes you could spend it on whatever you want, but how will you pay for school?

As well, being 18 it may be tough to get a loan (And possibly a line of credit) without making 20K+/year if you don't have a co-signer.

[sputnik]

I have a $20,000 line of credit at TD with a rate of 1.25% plus prime.

I just asked them for it.

[BebeAphrodite]

I got a student line of credit from Royal Bank probably 5 months or so after I turned 18. The line of credit is for $5000. I'm paying prime + 1% for interest. They asked how much I made and I had to show proof that I earned at least $500/month. They told me that most likely I'd need a cosigner - but I didn't, when they ran it through, I got accepted at the bank.

[benyl]

Originally posted by sputnik
I have a $20,000 line of credit at TD with a rate of 1.25% plus prime.

I just asked them for it.

hmmm... I think that I will have to renegotiate mine then... I have the same for prime +2%

RBC are crooks... my credit line there is for prime +3%!!!! and that is their standard rate!

[TalonVelocity]

hahaha I just lied about my income when I got a credit card, worked fine for me , and Im starting to have great credit