What Cards can a Student with no Credit History hope to get?

For a graduate student who earns about $25k/yr with no credit history, what credit cards he/she expect to get? Will the fact of having a regular income help?

Of course, the person will be eligible student credit cards, but what are the chances of getting better cards like Blue Cash AMEX and Schwab Visa Signature?

I would get a secured card(or two) and try for unsecured after 6-12 months

AMEX Blue CASH Student.

A report card...

I started with a secured $500 BofA card, a 76 gas card and a cell phone plan with a $150 deposit.

Then I signed up for a bunch of stupid cards at college.

Then the plain-vanilla cards.

Now I can get pretty much whatever I want.

The laws have changed. If you are under 21 and have income, apply for one of the student credit cards on your own. If not, you will need a cosigner or a secured card

It was several years ago, but my 18 year old got a Visa from United Airlines. She was a student with no steady employment. They charged her a hefty $60/year fee for little credit ($1500) but the mileage perk (30,000 miles) for signing was well worth the cost. She used the miles on a pricey round-trip flight to Milwaukee last year (like most college age kids, she traveled alone to see friends). She has also established credit and can now move to a fee free card whenever she wants. Here is the jump:

United Airlines Visa

Rommie2k6 said: For a graduate student who earns about $25k/yr with no credit history, what credit cards he/she expect to get? Will the fact of having a regular income help?

Of course, the person will be eligible student credit cards, but what are the chances of getting better cards like Blue Cash AMEX and Schwab Visa Signature?

I'm thinking a 99 cent Hallmark Shoebox card?

• go to a credit union and apply for a secured credit
  card backed by $500 taken out your savings. tell them you're
  trying to establish credit.

• charge things like gas, candy, tacos, soda, and pizza and then
  pay it off in full every month.

• in 6 months you'll get unsolicited unsecured offers from the
  majors in the mail. at that point you'll know you're in the system
  and you're in business.
  

I don't know if this is still possible or even possible for you. A good friend of mine had no credit at all. Since I had good credit, I added him as an authorized user on one of my high credit limit cards. I put down my own address, but used his SSN. Note that I kept the credit card that arrived with his name. He then applied about 1-2 months later for his own cards, and got approved for an mtvU card. He is now on his way to building his credit on his own.

If you have a really good friend, it might be a possibility for you to setup an arrangement like this as well. However, I am not certain that the authorized user trick still works.