A US college student getting a first credit card has to guess. They cannot tell which card they can actually get, so a denial costs them a hard inquiry on a file with no history. Students under 21 face an extra income rule that most do not know about. After approval, nobody tells them when their statement closes or when payment is due, so the first months start with uncertainty and anxiety, and can end in a missed payment or a high reported balance.
Who it is for: US students aged 18 to 21 with no credit card yet, part-time or no income, who plan to apply within about two months.
One loop, end to end, on a mobile-first web app. No bank linking; everything is entered by the student.
| # | Story | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Card recommender: quiz, a fit tier (likely fit, stretch, not yet) with the reason, never a guarantee | Must |
| 2 | Sign-in with Google or an email code; results are saved | Must |
| 6 | Check preapproval on the issuer's own site, then apply there | Must |
| 5 | Log the outcome: applied, approved or rejected, and the credit limit | Must |
| 7 | If denied: five sourced next steps and a reapply reminder | Must |
| 8 | Reminders before statement close and payment due, in the app and by email | Must |
| 10 | Set up the new card: limit, statement dates, autopay | Should |
| 4 | First-month plan, with a spending guide of 30% of the credit limit | Should |
| 3 | Three hand-picked resources matched to quiz answers | Could |
| 9 | Manual spending log by day, week and month | Could |
The two Could Have stories are the first to cut if time runs short.