What to do

[Anonymous]

I am about 3months post discharge on my BK7.   I have not been pre qualified for a capital one card but today recieved a pre qualified for a card from Merrick bank.  No fees.  Should I take a chance with Capital one first and risk the HPs or Just go with Merrick and wait for Capital One.  Thanks

[bstone]

I personally would take the HP and apply for Cap 1.  My wife and I both tried the pre-qual tool and always got the "nothing for you" message.  I decided to HP and got approved for Platinum and QS, $500.00 each for both my wife and I.

If you app for Platinum and get approved, app for the QS as well (there are two QS cards, go for the one for average credit).

We were only six weeks post discharge and our scores were much lower than yours, plus we both burned Cap 1.  You have a really good shot of approval.

Now, that being said, there are some people on here who can't get Cap 1 to save their lives and didn't burn them.  So it is hit and miss with them.

Good luck!  Let us know the outcome if you do HP.

[04Cobra]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am about 3months post discharge on my BK7.   I have not been pre qualified for a capital one card but today recieved a pre qualified for a card from Merrick bank.  No fees.  Should I take a chance with Capital one first and risk the HPs or Just go with Merrick and wait for Capital One.  Thanks

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Merrick Bank and Capital 1 One were actually the first creditors to lend me credit post BK. Both started off with $500 limits and I still have them to this day. Don't worry about HP's at the moment. It's critical to start building credit early while in rebuild mode. The earlier you start, the better your chances on being approved for other cards. 3 CC's should do the trick for you. Maybe add a store card to the mix as well. Good luck bud

[TRC_WA]

I've gotten a pair of Merrick bank pre-approved offers in the last few months... both with a $900 CL that doubles after 7 months.

Would have been useful 2 years ago... now, not so much.  Into the shredder they went...

[DaveInAZ]

With no fees I'd take the Merick pre-qual offer, you can't apply for the card without a pre-qual invitation. Merrick was one of my first post BK card, they're very good with auto CLIs with good usage - I started with $1100 CL and now have $3100 CL. And after a couple months with good usage I'll bet you start seeing those Cap One pre-quals, and you'll start to look good to Barclays as well.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice