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If I read that right, you got a Chase card with only a few months of credit history? That is very unusual. Congratulations on your credit success!!!
Thanks . Not even a few months though- I have never had a CC in the US before, so I all literally had were credit reports with a few inqs my whole history is ~ 4-5 months old. Caveat here is I've had a checking account with Chase since Feb, and have put all of my salary through it, which probably helped encourage the pre-screened offer that I applied through. Did get the $100 bonus for $500 spend, so will be working on that as well.
Good news is that the card arrived in the mail today, so took it out for a first ride after the customary call and activating the 5% bonus. Handles well, little loose on the corners
tornadoguy,
From one Aussie in the US to another... welcome to the US credit system.
I've posted about this before, so please see this:
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/New-to-US-Credit-Score-System/m-p/1979185#M548444
IMHO, your issue here is starting with Chase. You should have hit up a CU for both a checking account and a secured CC as soon as you had proof of employment.
There's no need to start from scratch and $500 CLs, as long as you have some cash to invest in accelerating your credit score growth.
Hope this helps a little bit.
Hi Rix01, Good to see that Aussies actually survive over here.
On review, I agree probably not the best choice. However, my options in this area were pretty limited by the available banks in my area (NY but not the city: Crap One or Chase, other CUs I wasn't familiar with nor trusting of). In terms of running a bigger secured limit, I really didn't have the disposable for that sort of outlay. Between rental costs, purchasing a vehicle (cash outlay) and carrying the burden of relocation until reimbursement actually finding the funds for that sort of thing was difficult. When I finally had the money to do that sort of thing Capital One denied me for their secured which jaded me with the whole system.
So while being stuck with a little Freedom and taking so long to get it is frustrating, the added bonus of establishing a history with a good lender is not a totally bad thing to have IMHO. Thanks for the advice, unfortunately I suspect that won't help me much now as don't want any more inquiries so will just take time.
@tornadoguy wrote:Thanks for the warm welcome guys. Apologies for the delayed response but hell of an end to the week.
Really appreciate all the advice. Sort of annoyed that I didn't find this place earlier, but you live and learn
Thanks, your advice seems to confirm the perceptions I've been able to gleam from reading other's approaches. Definitely going to keep an eye in the garden.
@ @09LexieKind of hoping that I get that bump from Chase if I put sufficiently heavy usage through it. Will be using it for most things and doing sub-payments throughout. That 3x AMEX revolver play definitely seems to be where to go on getting the CLIs up. Thanks on picking that up with the AMEX PRG - I went back and re-read the material and realised I definitely don't want a regular gold. In terms of the CSP vs AMEX PRG is there any particular advantages to one or the other? I have a feeling ill probably end up with the Plat, but fortunately I have plenty of time to think about it, and it might depend on employer travel.
@daybreaksgoneXe
While stalking the forum I did happen to notice you were a meteorology guy, nice to see someone else in the same field. As I am sure it probably falls within the off-topic discussion I'll send you a PM re the other things you mentioned.
I also really appreciate you taking the time to work out the ideal timeline.
1. This sounds like an excellent strategy, as I was hoping to put plenty through to maximize my usage while maintaining the lower reported utilization. Its not likely I have another card to spread it through (only have a debit card anyway besides my international MC) I assume all these dates will be disclosed to me via either the online account or the card documentation (still waiting).
2. Thanks for the tip, will steer clear of hard pulls then. Hopefully the usage and throughput will encourage them to boost the tiny little credit limit.
3. Wow, it sounds great. Time period pretty much like my expectation (if not slightly quicker) - my experiences with the credit system here have suggested that things move pretty slow round here . Hence I won't be rushing to app as soon as I hit that date, Ill let it sit a little longer. The BCE/BCP triple CLI play seems to definitely be the way forward when it comes to upping limits, so will definitely give that a go. They also seem like pretty nice cards. In terms of the World Siggy, not sure yet whether I will go with it, partially depends on how my flight bookings look (the AMEX plat might end up being more suitable). Depending on how it goes I think I will see what will be most usage - the BCE/Ps do seem to be not bad general gas cards as well (I also drive quite a bit).
4. Will definitely not be rushing, no sense in spoiling a good potential credit history.
So hopefully my freedom will arrive today at the latest Monday (its online already and have received my email). I'm a little peeved after checking my TU/EX reports and finding that both Crap One Secured and AT&T (silly phone attempt before I understood) pulled across the board. I am still having trouble accessing my EQ report, so have to work out why they are being painful. Will having 2 INQ on TU and EQ and 3 on EX have any impact on the above prospective timeline?
Sounds like you have a good plan! Stick with it!
Don't worry about these inquiries too much. If you follow the plan and stay responsible, they will slowly age and fall off, and each added inquiry from the cards you apply for won't be bad at all as long as they're spaced out. My EX currently has 5 inquiries on them, one to be falling off soon and three aged/about to age past the one year mark, but even before then it didn't hurt my chances at all. Creditors saw they were spaced out, and my positive payment history helped me out.
All the best in your journey, and glad to have a fellow meteorologist on the boards!
***PS: I am actually a meteorology "chick" but that's okay! Unless I'm mentioning some personal life stories or having a general conversation with others, posts wind up being viewed as gender-neutral. Also my screen name and avatar don't give any clues either, but that's typically best to have on the internet! XD
@tornadoguy wrote:Thanks . Not even a few months though- I have never had a CC in the US before, so I all literally had were credit reports with a few inqs my whole history is ~ 4-5 months old. Caveat here is I've had a checking account with Chase since Feb, and have put all of my salary through it, which probably helped encourage the pre-screened offer that I applied through. Did get the $100 bonus for $500 spend, so will be working on that as well.
Good news is that the card arrived in the mail today, so took it out for a first ride after the customary call and activating the 5% bonus. Handles well, little loose on the corners
If you wouldn't mind, could you share how big of a balance you had in your Chase banking account at the time of application? I am gathering information to put together a guide for foreign citizens/US newcomers to build credit history. A big question is what banks are willing to extend credit to those with very limited credit history and even without an SSN. Feel free to pm me if you'd rather not disclose to the public. Thanks in advance!
Woops serves me right for not thinking that way .
Given the aforementioned plan it should plenty of time for the inqs to stop affecting my score when i eventually get one (made in late MAR/early APR), and my Inqs are definitely spaced out (only the Chase on my EX since then). Will definitely not be missing any payments. Planning on doing a pay down later this week just to keep the reported Utilization down for the first statement cut after running nearly enough through to get the sign on bonus already (while its not soon, I'm off overseas for a couple of weeks in the meantime). Will keep y'all posted on how I go with drawing an auto CLI out of Chase on this card (from what I have read others have had luck before the 6 month window).