Who Gets It And Who Doesn't

Following are the some of the criteria used by banks to oblige a potential client:-

Place of residence: You get full marks if your address is Peddar Road, Mumbai. But it would suffice if you own your flat and don't pay rent for it. But what if you are paying rent? Well you could just change your habitat (as if its so easy to move on these days). However, the longer you have stayed in your rented accommodation, the better are your chances.

Telephone: Graham Bell's invention can of great help to you, since it implies that you can be tracked down to your residence.

Profession: Card issuers keep professors and lawyers at an arm's distance. Also on the list are journalists and school teachers as it is difficult to make them pay up. Even whiz kids from the IT sector are not exactly favorites as they are prone to migrate to greener pastures overseas.

Place of work: Card issuers will normally check the reputation of the company you work in, the number of years you have put up there and your designation.

Age: Adults only! You have to be above 18 years of age if you want to have a credit card. If you are young and raring to go at your first job, chances are that banks will tread cautiously.

Other than these broad set of factors, issuers will also like to check the number of dependents of the applicant, whether he/she is servicing a loan and whether the applicant has another credit card. If a person possesses more than one credit card, one's credit history can easily be verified and depending on the record issuers will think of giving you another card or not.

It is important to remember that issuers don't look at any of these factors in isolation and the sum total of all is deduced to judge whether the applicant is worthy of a credit card or not.