Credit Unions are good, but with most of them you have to qualify to become a member. Either through a school, employment or some other organization, you can become a member. You can get your money out through an ATM, just like with any bank. But if the ATM network the C/U uses is small, you may have to pay a fee if you use an ATM in another network.
And yeah, generally speaking, you'll either need a job or some source of income to get a credit card. If you don't have income, the question would be, how would you pay the bill? Course, my ex-girlfriend got a $2500 credit card for my cat. And as far as I know, he didn't have a job. :dunno: But that was before things tightened up. I doubt that would happen now.
Another option is a debit card. It works much like a credit card, but you can only spend what you have put in the account. You can get a debit card most anywhere.
Enjoy New York! :hatsoff: