Secured Card After Chapter 13 Court Date?

[tnvols]

Well the car loan is just 11 months old.  My reports are clean other than the Chp 13 reporting for another 2 years.  Our main issue is lack of credit and lack of diversity of acct types and, of course, account age.  I spoke with a NFCU rep and gave her the rundown of the scores and situation.  She felt that the secured was the way to go since it will happen immediately after the Ch13 discharge.  She indicated that it would be a tough road for unsecured coming right off BK and being a new NFCU customer.  I just hate to waste a HP for an unsecured denial and have to get a 2nd HP for the secured.  I'm ok to invest the money and have the almost guaranteed approval for the secured and just wait it out for graduation.  The funds are just sitting in a savings acct anyway so it really doesn't matter and FICO doesn't recognize it as anything less than a new revolving TL.   

Once we have the NFCU reporting, I will go for the Cap One and Disco next and I need to also get a card from my FL credit union that gave us the car loan just to keep that relationship going.  Unfortunately, they can't do mortgages outside FL so we need to build up with NFCU at the same time.  NFCU will probably get my next car loan and mortgage.

[Scupra]

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@tnvols wrote:

Well the car loan is just 11 months old.  My reports are clean other than the Chp 13 reporting for another 2 years.  Our main issue is lack of credit and lack of diversity of acct types and, of course, account age.  I spoke with a NFCU rep and gave her the rundown of the scores and situation.  She felt that the secured was the way to go since it will happen immediately after the Ch13 discharge.  She indicated that it would be a tough road for unsecured coming right off BK and being a new NFCU customer.  I just hate to waste a HP for an unsecured denial and have to get a 2nd HP for the secured.  I'm ok to invest the money and have the almost guaranteed approval for the secured and just wait it out for graduation.  The funds are just sitting in a savings acct anyway so it really doesn't matter and FICO doesn't recognize it as anything less than a new revolving TL.   

Once we have the NFCU reporting, I will go for the Cap One and Disco next and I need to also get a card from my FL credit union that gave us the car loan just to keep that relationship going.  Unfortunately, they can't do mortgages outside FL so we need to build up with NFCU at the same time.  NFCU will probably get my next car loan and mortgage.

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I also started with a secured card, nothing wrong with it. Don't ever trust what a CSR is telling you though. At WORST you burn a single inquiry and it's very possible you walk away with an unsecured card. One size does not fit all and I don't expect you to take my suggestions as "rule", just don't cut yourself short for no reason. There is a decent amount of stories here to back up my suggestion though. I mean, you have a year of payment history for them to look at and you are technically 5 years post BK (file date) much different than one of us Chap 7 folks applying fresh out the gate

I think people on the boards put far too much emphasis on one hard pull. In most cases it doesn't even change your score.. If one HP makes or breaks another app for you, it isn't really the inquiry preventing you from the approval in the first place

[tnvols]

That's a great point you make about being 5 years post filing.  I may not have even told her it was a 5 yr Chp 13, I may have just said we were waiting on our discharge paperwork.  She may have assumed I had just filed a Chp 7.  In that case, it may be worth the HP to go for the unsecured after all.  I have definitely read lots of stories here indicating that people with several baddies get cards, but I haven't really seen anyone do it without having existing revolvers for a few months first.  Might be worth a shot after all, thx!  Current scores are 633 EQ/576 TU/615 EX.  Hoping for a good bump when the DC reports then another good bump once the first revolver opens and reports the 1st payment. 

[Anonymous]

Blah Blah Blah trustee approval and what not.  If you want to get started with a secure card that doesnt care about an open 13, see below.

https://www.firstchoicebankcc.com/

They require a checking account, employment and a $200 starting deposit.  From there they will send you a real visa card and it reports to all three.  This is the card I opened at the start of my 13.  Still have it and its my oldest card at the moment.  I also bumped the limit by adding more funds to my secured account. 

And this card has allowed me to reestablish to the tune of two brand new cars, several new CCs with high limits and several store cards.  Also just financed a new powersports loan.  My Chapter 13 was discharged at the end of august.  I was high 600s across the board before I even got the discharge.  No need to wait until after the 13 is over.  It will take another two years after the discharge for you to rebuild if you wait until then to start.  No need for that.  Just stay under the radar and DONT miss any plan payments.  The rest will sail by.  Im clearly not a lawyer and not giving you legal advice.  Your mileage may vary.

[Anonymous]

Oh and dont waste a second on Navy.  They WILL NOT approve you for a secured card unless you are discharged 7 or 13.  Period.  And they WILL NOT approve you for anything else after you are discharged unless its been 1 year.  This is their new guidelines for BK.  Im assuming its because of the influx of new members when they opened up membership to vets.  And ask me how I know.  Ive been a member for 3 years and waited to open a CC with them the week after my discharge hit my CRs.  No dice and my scores are all over 700 now with no baddies whatso ever.  Just the discharged 13.  My income is huge and my utilization is low.  Its their new rules, and its made them more strict.  

[tnvols]

Did you apply for secured or unsecured after your DC?