1.
Apply for a Secured Credit Card
If you’re building your credit score from scratch, you’ll likely need to start with a secured credit card. A secured card is backed by a cash deposit you make upfront; the deposit amount is usually the same as your credit limit.
2.
Apply for a Credit-Builder loan or a Secured Loan
Typically, the money you borrow is held by the lender in an account and not released to you until the loan is repaid. It’s a forced savings program of sorts, and your payments are reported to credit bureaus. These loans are most often offered by credit unions or community banks; at least one lender offers them online.
3.
Get a Co-Signer
It’s also possible to get a loan or an unsecured credit card using a co-signer. But be sure that you and the co-signer understand that the co-signer is on the hook for the full amount owed if you don’t pay.
4.
Become an Authorized User on Someone Else’s Credit Card
A family member or significant other may be willing to add you as an
authorized user
on his or her card. Doing so adds that card’s payment history to your credit files, so you’ll want a primary user who has a long history of paying on time. You don’t have to use — or even possess — the credit card at all in order to benefit from being an authorized user.
5.
Get Credit For the Bills You Pay
Rent-reporting services such as Rental Kharma and RentTrack take a bill you are already paying and put it on your credit report, helping to build a positive history of on-time payments. Not every credit score takes these payments into account, but some do, and that may be enough to get a loan or credit card that firmly establishes your credit history for all lenders.