Trying to add new credit card

[Anonymous]

Hello good people.
I'm looking to add either a secured or unsecured credit card.
I have a thin credit profile . Currently I have only an 31 month old authorized user credit card with on time payment history with a limit of 5k reporting on all 3 bureaus. Only blemishes on report is an Equifax med collections that I'm willing to pay off if needed.
Equifax scores is 654 on MyFICO
Experian 743 on MyFICO
TransUnion 767 on MyFICO
I'm working on getting my Equifax repaired or cleaned whatever they call it to boost my score.
What card companies should I apply to?
Which company will give me the best chance for approval?
My credit file is thin, what should be a good strategy to obtain my own credit card???

[AverageJoesCredit]

The usual advice for new credit , check out the prequals for various ccc's , especially Cap One. Amex and especially Discover love thin files, Disco likes to be your one and only haha.

Any other info you can provide. How many inquiries do you have. How old is your profile, considering you have Fico scores established. Definetely try to pay that medical debt and or pay for delete. You can get great advice on going about that in Rebuild sub forum.

You can always try getting secured cards from the big banks but that may not be necessary at the moment . Remember its optimal to have 3 credit cards to maximize your Fico score.

[Sandman771]

If you have the cash and can't get a unsecured then OpenSky is worth a look. But I'd try the pre-qual site for Cap One. With those scores you should be able to get one there. But if you need a second or third card to boost your scores, then Open Sky works. I have one with them that sits in my sock drawer, but it is my oldest card, so I keep it around. 

I've still got to get around to getting a third card, but I'm still just rebuilding what took years to tear down. 

[Anonymous]

Hello. Thanks for responses
Equifax has 1 inquiry
Experian has 3 inquiries
TransUnion has 0 inquiries
My profile is as old as the authorized user acct. 31 months old
What route in credit profile building should I go ?
Looking to lease a vehicle in the near future..
I am an new OTR truck driver too.
Thanks for the insight

[AverageJoesCredit]

Yeah so it definetly seems your profile is being held up by someone else's credit so you need to establish some for yourself. First go to Capital Ones prequsl site to see if you are prequalified. If you are thats good and perhaps apply to establish a tradeline. Sign up for Discover scorecard as its free and from there you might check if you prequal for anything from them. Their normal prequal isnt very reliable but once you sign up for scorecard, a free view on your EX, chances might be better. Even if you could get a secured card this would be great as it would be another tradeline and eventually will graduate. You also might get lucky and get an unsecured should you choose to apply.

Local credit unions might also be a good place to start with either via secured or if you can get one of their unsecured cards. Of course these are only suggestions and YMMV but you need to establish your own credit. You might also become a member of Penfed or Navy if these are options available to you as they have lots of products to help with credit needs. Best of luck

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the responses
I'll update my card acquisitions on this post
Thanks

[jamie123]

IMHO you should app for these cards in this order:

Discover IT card

Capital One Quicksilver

Chase Freedom

You want to have at least 3 credit cards to maximize your scores and DO NOT turn in or close your AU card for at least 1 year after getting 3 cards of your own.

You should be a shoe-in for the Discover IT card.

[Anonymous]

Welp
I was denied for the Chase Freedom and Discover IT cards
Was approved for a Capital One secured card tho.

Should I try reconsideration for Chase?
I'm thinking, should I apply for the secured card for Discover?
Any suggestions are appreciated

Thanks

[Gmood1]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Welp
I was denied for the Chase Freedom and Discover IT cards
Was approved for a Capital One secured card tho.

Should I try reconsideration for Chase?
I'm thinking, should I apply for the secured card for Discover?
Any suggestions are appreciated

Thanks

---

If you don't have an installment loan reporting. Use this guide and open a SSL http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Adding-an-installment-loan-the-Share-Secure-technique/td-p/4506756 .

That'll strengthen your file. You can either wait a couple of months and then reapply. Or grab two secure cards along with the SSL. In six months, you'll be cooking with oil! 

Also all of those cards suggested most likely pulled your EQ report. If you want a non secured card. Look at CCs that pull EX and or TU. Amex, BofA, Citi are EX pullers for new CCs. Scratch Citi, they double pull EX and EQ to start.

Synchrony bank cards normally use TU and will on occasion pull EX. Never EQ IME. A 2% PayPal MasterCard is an option.

Blispay is a EX puller as well..one of my favorite cards!

[HeavenOhio]

Congratulations on the Capital One card. Give it some use, but don't let it approach its limit. Pay down your balance as often as you need to. When the statement is about to cut, try to get your balance to between $5 and 8.9% of the card's limit. The statement balance is what reports to the credit bureaus, and staying between those numbers is what's optimal for scoring.

Once you have more cards, your reporting strategy will shift. You'd want most cards reporting zero to the bureaus with one card reporting a small balance. Some cards report something other than the statement balance. When you're ready to cross that bridge, come back and ask for advice regarding your specific cards.

Chase generally likes to see some history, so I wouldn't try them again for at least a year. When the time comes to app, keep in mind that they're sensitive to new accounts. If you've opened five new accounts in a two-year period (the infamous 5/24 rule), you're likely to be denied unless you qualify for an exception.

At this point, I think I'd wait for the Cap One to report for a couple of months, then try for a Discover secured card. The good news is that after a few months of proper care and feeding, the card will likely unsecure and become the Discover IT card that you were recently denied. Also, you can secure it for as much as $2,500. If you're able to secure it for that amount, you'll have a $2,500 limit when it unsecures.

Once you have two cards reporting and six to twelve months of history, AMEX may become a good option. The good news is that they're almost certainly going to pull Experian, and your Experian report is clean. With a clean Experian report and good history, you should be able to get generous limit increases from them fairly quickly.

I agree with Gmood1's suggestion about the SSL. If you don't have any installment loans, it's an inexpensive way to tack some points onto your score.