Expired: Self Score Classic Mastercard: A Credit Card Designed for International Students! "Now Redirected to Another Card; No Longer Available to Apply Directly"

If you're an international student in the US struggling to get approved for a US credit card because you don't have an SSN or any credit history, you may feel stuck in a frustrating loop: you can't get a credit card without credit history, but you can't build credit history without a credit card. As the youngest writer at US Credit Card 101 (:grin:), and also as an overworked undergrad engineering student, I went through the same thing. Just a year ago, I was going crazy after getting denied for card after card. In the end, only because my school had a partnership with the notoriously difficult US Bank, and because I parked a full year's tuition in my account, was I able to get my very first credit card: the US Bank platinum. So even though my credit score is already 750 now and US Bank still rejects me all the time, I'm still grateful to US Bank deep down, even if it really is a painfully tough bank.... :???:

Anyway... back to the main topic. What can international students do if they can't get approved for a credit card? Self Score came out with a card specifically for this situation: a credit card you can apply for without an SSN, and at the time it was the only credit card in the US specifically for international students.

Update

This card is no longer available for direct application. If you use our refer link to apply, you will be redirected to the application page for the Achieve card. Only if you do not qualify for the Achieve card will you be switched to the classic version.

I also just contacted the Self Score customer service team about how to receive the $80 bonus and the statement credits from refer bonuses. It turns out you must meet all three of the following requirements:

• Activate your self score credit card (this is the basic one; once you receive the card, of course you'll activate it)
• Make at least one purchase with your self score credit card (reasonable enough)
• Make at least one purchase of $50 or more with your self score credit card (this is the annoying part... I believe many people got this card mainly for the welcome bonus and the bonus from referring friends. I only used it for a few small purchases, so this requirement is definitely easy to miss if you don't ask)

Also, after meeting these requirements, the statement credits will only post to your account two billing cycles after your first purchase posts to the account.

Hope everyone enjoys using the card and gets their statement credits soon!

Application Link

• Application link: none
• After opening the card, make any purchase and you can receive $50; if you apply through a friend's refer link, each person gets $30. If your friends don't have this card yet, you can use my refer link so each of us gets an extra $30. Do not apply directly without using a refer link, or you'll be giving up $30 for nothing~

Best Uses

• Good for long-term holding (cost: $0/year): no annual cost, and helps build credit history
• You can earn up to $500 per year through refer bonuses (for the first ten successful refers, the referrer and the referred person each get $30; for the tenth successful refer, the referrer gets an extra $200 directly)

Self Score Credit Card Overview

Application

• Approval difficulty: basically approved as long as you are a legal international student (F, M, and J visas, and even spouse visas such as F2)
• Required documents: passport; valid visa; I-20 form; bank account information or a Bank statement (after opening a US bank account, you'll receive a free bank statement each month)
• Tip: When I applied, I linked my bank information directly. Self Score seemed able to view my bank statement and related information on its own, so I didn't need to upload a separate bank statement document~

Basic Features

• No annual fee
• Builds credit history (about 3 months after approval, the new account will be reported to the two major credit bureaus: Experian (EX) and TransUnion (TU). For most people applying for credit cards, most issuers Pull EX, so building history with EX and TU is already enough. Many people mistakenly think that without an SSN, you can't build credit history. That's not true. Your credit history does not begin on the day you receive your SSN; it begins with your first lending relationship (for example, your first credit card). When your credit card application is approved, the credit bureaus can identify you by your name, date of birth, and address, so you can still build credit history without an SSN. Later, once you get an SSN, your existing credit history will be linked to it and will not be lost.)

Highlights

• Welcome bonus: Apply for the card through the refer link and get $80 for free! (The bonus appears two billing cycles after any purchase is made.)
• No annual fee: You can keep it long term to build credit history.
• No HP on application: Applying for this card will not leave an HP, because approval is not based on your credit history.
• Legitimacy: Although Self Score is not a bank, the Self Score Mastercard for international students is issued in partnership with Celtic Bank, a legitimate bank headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. So there is no need to worry about whether it is legitimate or whether the card is trustworthy.
• Self Score Scholarship: If you have a Self Score credit card and register for its online account, you can apply for Self Score's own exclusive scholarship, worth up to $5000. This year's application deadline is 12/15/2016, so if you're interested, act quickly.

Drawbacks

• There is currently no rewards or cash back on spending, but for a credit card that can be obtained without an HP, that's still fairly reasonable.
• The starting credit limit is only 500, and currently the maximum is only 1500, though that may be relaxed in the future.
• Can only be used within the United States
• Only available to international students. US citizens and green card holders currently cannot apply for this card.

My Take

As the first credit card aimed specifically at international students, this honestly made me a little emotional. It shows that someone is finally paying attention to international students, and that we finally have a credit card made for us! :cry: I think this card is a great fit for people who just arrived in the US and still don't have an SSN. It really is a good card for building credit history. Or, if you're like me and you've already applied for most of the cards you wanted, you're at Chase 5/24, almost at the AMEX five-card limit, and you've recently been unable to get Citi cards because of too many HPs, then during those periods when you can't get approved for cards from the traditional big banks, you could still pick up this card, buy a few drinks with it, earn the $80 bonus, and build some credit history at the same time. Of course, if you already have an SSN, I would still recommend Discover it as your first credit card.