When I moved to US, obviously I had no Credit score. I knew I had to build one. I came to know that the simplest way to start building a credit is by having a Credit Card. So when I went to Costco for some shopping and got their membership, I also applied for the free American Express card that they were offering. After waiting for a minute, they told me that I was rejected and could not get their credit card. I was totally embarrassed and shocked to hear that. When I was in my country, I used to get phone calls for credit card offers all the time and I used to yell at their sales people for disturbing me. And now I cant even get a credit card from a shopping mall? What a irony!

I still needed a credit card. So this time I applied for a $300 credit card. I was turned down once again!

Since I had very little money at that point and I needed to buy a car, I needed to get loan for the car. Now I was a bit scared. What if they reject it again? But I found out from many advertisements that there were companies who were willing to offer you a credit even if you have a bad credit history. THE CATCH? They were charging a very high interest rate. I did not want to get into their trap. So I decided to get a used car instead.