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Hi guys. Glad I'm stumbled onto this site. Seems like there are a bunch of nice people answering questions... and hopefully some of those nice people can help a clueless guy like me :)

Well basically, just like the topic says, I've recently turned 18, 3 months ago. Fortunately, I've maintained a good habit of paying my bills, sometimes even earlier than required... some were in my name, some were under my parents but obviously its for my stuff.

I'll be moving out this summer and to a college this summer and like most new college students, I'll need a credit card. Only problem is that I've had problems getting approved. Because I've recently turned 18, I have no credit but at the same time, never had a problem before.

I've tried two companies, CapitalOne and Nextcard. Both have an online instant approval, and I like their plans so I decided to try. Both companies returned the same result. "Lack of recent or lack of sufficient credit account information."

I expected something like this... but I have absolutely NO idea how to go about getting my name up with the credit bureau so I can start to actually apply for credit cards. I'd appreciate it if anyone can point me to a direction of where I should go from here.

And one other small question, I was really interested in Nextcard's plan. The plan was basically you either have 2.99% Intro APR and 18.99% after intro period. Or I could choose 9.99 "Ongoing" APR. That's the part that confuses me. I've read a bit of their policy but it still confuses me. Basically, what makes them decide that my credit card will have 9.99 APR or anything higher?

Thanks in advance and for reading all this :)

Well, you could look to your local bank or credit union to help you out. That's how I got started. My parents co-signed for me and the card reports to the credit bureaus, thus helping you build credit. The way Nextcard decides on if you get the APR of 9.99% is based on your credit. If you have a credit history and good payment practice, you are likely to get the 9.9 percent APR. For someone like yourself, it would never happen, because you don't have a credit history. Another option would be a secured card, but I would just have someone co-sign for you at first, or look for some of the cards made specifically for college students. You should be approved by one of them, but apply conservatively, as you don't want a lot of inquiries on your report w/o an open account after. Good luck!