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Obtaining a credit card while attending college full-time is a great way to start building credit. Even if students don’t have an income-earning job, they can use other forms of income in their credit card application like bank deposits from their family or leftover financial aid.
Students must be at least 18 years old to qualify for a credit card.
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Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
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Why Is Income Required on a Credit Card Application?
Credit card issuers typically require income information on a new application. Issuers often look at disposable income, which is what’s leftover after someone pays expenses like rent or utility bills. Disposable income helps issuers determine what the applicant’s credit card limit will be and whether the cardholder will be able to make payments on time.
It’s common for full-time students to not have any income at all or minimal income from a part-time job. So, what should a student put on a credit card application as their income?
What Counts as Income?
Students can list actual income from a job if they have one, including part-time or seasonal work and side hustles. In addition to income from a job, regular allowances or bank deposits received from parents or family can count toward income. As long as monthly bank statements prove the income, they’re valid as income on a credit card application. Leftover financial aid (after paying tuition and college expenses) can also count toward income on a credit card application.
Make sure to add up all the potential income received and enter it into the credit card application. Students may have to provide documents to prove income like pay stubs, bank statements or financial aid records.
How Much Income Do Students Need To Qualify for a Credit Card?
Technically there’s no minimum income requirement to get a credit card. A student’s disposable income could be as low as $100 and they would still have the potential to be approved for a credit card.
Higher incomes generally give applicants a better chance of getting approved for a card and a higher credit limit. Don’t lie about income on a credit card application. Putting false information on a credit card application is fraud and can result in imprisonment or heavy fines.
What To Do If You Don’t Get Approved for a Credit Card
Some college students without credit history may find it difficult to be approved for a credit card. Credit card issuers look at an applicant’s credit history, but young students typically don’t have any history to analyze. They need a first credit card to build a line of credit for future loans and major purchases. Luckily, there are alternatives for students to build credit if a credit card issuer denies an application.
- Apply for a student credit card. Student credit cards are designed to help students snag a first credit card. Issuers may have lower expectations for key application information like income. Some have no annual fee and offer the opportunity to increase the line of credit over time as long as payments are made on time.
- Apply for a secured credit card. Secured credit cards are approved for a predetermined cash amount paid upfront by the cardholder. The upfront payment becomes the card’s credit limit. Cardholders can start building a positive credit history by using the card to make purchases and pay off their monthly balance. Keep in mind purchases can still be charged interest if the balance is not paid off every month. The cash amount will be returned to the cardholder once they close their account.
- Become an authorized user. Parents or other family members can add someone as an authorized user to credit card accounts. This is a great way for students to piggyback on someone’s good credit history as a way to start to build their own. Make sure to ask the issuer first if they report authorized user activity to credit bureaus.
- Get a co-signer to sign the application. Asking a parent or other responsible family member to co-sign a credit card application can be a way to make approval more likely. As long as the co-signer has decent credit and pays their bills on time, it boosts the student’s chance for approval. Many banks do not allow co-signers on credit card applications.
Bottom Line
Students can list actual income from a job, regular bank deposits from family members or leftover financial aid as their income on a credit card application. Make sure to be honest about income on an application. Creating or fudging the truth on any information is fraud and can lead to imprisonment or large fines. If a student receives a denial for a credit card, they can try again by using a co-signer on their application. Alternatively, students can apply for secured credit cards, student credit cards or become an authorized user on a family member’s account in order to start building their own credit history.
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