I have been using credit cards for more than 20 years. I got my first Visa credit card while still a student in USA at the age of 19. American Express upgraded my card to Gold while I was doing my Masters at the age of 21 and when I came back to Malaysia in 1991, I  requested to transfer the AMEX Gold account to a Malaysia account and my card states Member Since 88.  Guess I was an unemployed
Related : Introduction to Credit Cards - CC 101.