Also in my late 20s, in the US temporarily and nowhere near six digits (academia, sigh) and I've found it okay. You just have to be selective where you apply. I

Also in my late 20s, in the US temporarily and nowhere near six digits (academia, sigh) and I've found it okay. You just have to be selective where you apply. I got an unsecured $1000 from Discover (since been increased) and an unsecured $300 from Capital One. I applied for those cards because they both have a reputation for being more friendly to people with empty credit files, and my credit score is now around 715 (TransUnion). I mean, it's not great, but you have to start somewhere, and I've only been here 9 months. Was very frustrating to have to start from scratch when I have good credit in my home country, but completely understandable. The really frustrating thing is how your credit score influences everything - apartment hunting, mobile phone contracts, etc. That's the only reason I'm trying to build my credit at all here. It feels like having a bad credit score puts you at a distinct disadvantage in the US, which is something I've never felt before.