Credit Card secured within 2 months

Kishore 

Living in US without credit card is very difficult. For any major shopping or getting something done is not possible without having a credit card. For example, you can rent a car if you don't have a credit card. So before I can get my own credit card which I expected to take at least 6 months after getting a proper credit history, I asked my brother to send an add-on card. Meanwhile I was trying all my best to get a credit card of my own. I have been using Citibank credit card for almost 5 years in India. So I went online and applied for citibank credit card. Within 2 weeks I got a polite letter saying that I don't have enough credit history and cannot be issued a credit card. I called them up and told them I have a citibank customer with a credit card and asked them to look into again. They took my Indian Credit card details and said they will check it again and get back to me. Even after that they sent a letter saying I can't be issued a credit card. I had opened a bank account with Bank of America. Since I have a checking account with them I thought they will issue credit card faster. I tried applying online for credit card and again my application was rejected. 

I was wondering how long it would take before I can secure my own credit card. In first week of Feb 2001, I got a pre-approved credit card from Bank of America. It happened when I was least expecting it and I could not believe it. It is a wonder even now to me and some of my colleagues when I tell them that I got a pre-approved credit card within two months of coming to US whereas others had to wait longer time before they could get their own. I felt it was grace of Lord Hanuman and Guruji that eased my minor difficulty. 

Jai Sriram, Jai Hanuman

March 2002