Advice Needed for Credit Newbies

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

I'm pretty new to credit, turned 18 around 8 months ago. As of now, I have 18+ inquiries on my credit report (18 on Experian, 21 on Equifax, 19 on TransUnion). Here's a list of my credit cards:

• BoA Secured Card (opened around a week ago, $300 credit limit, not reported to the bureaus yet, closed in late March)
• Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard (declined at first, successful reconsideration brings an approval with a $250 credit limit, opened around 2 weeks ago)
• Capital One Journey Visa (opened on November 18, 2014, $300 credit limit, increased to $800 in late March)
• Capital One Secured MasterCard (opened around 2-3 weeks ago, $200 credit limit, not reported yet)
• Discover Secured it Chrome Card (opened around a week ago, $200 credit limit, not reported yet)
• U.S. Bank Secured Visa Card (opened around a couple days ago, $200 credit limit, not reported yet)

My first card payment was made on January with the Journey card (no purchases made in the previous months), and according to Capital One Credit Tracker, I have a FAKO score of 719 now, while Credit Karma gives for 659 for Equifax and 660 for TransUnion (both were updated March 25), and Credit Sesame reports 651 (updated March 12).

Never carried a balance from month to month, made several payments throughout the month to maintain utilization of around 5% (except for the first month when I knew nothing about credit score and my statement closed at $286).

Really wanted to get an AmEx card, read in the forums that they are one of the most limited history-friendly lenders out there. Have 5 declined applications with American Express already (2 were canceled due to recently declined applications), last one on 3/11/2015 for a Green Charge Card, asked for a reconsideration but still declined, main reason was no credit score reported.

I also have several more (yes, several tons more) of declined applications with other banks, including Barclaycard, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, U.S. Bank, the reasons were mostly limited history, no credit score reported, and excessive credit inquiries.

Got several questions hope you guys could shed some light on:

• I'm planning on closing my BoA secured card, should I do that? (As of now, the account still hasn't been reported to the bureaus yet.) I applied in hope of helping build payment history, making me seem more trustworthy, not sure if it’s the right approach, though.
• Would my recently opened cards affect my score positively or negatively in general? I know there are several factors out there, like average account length, available credit limit, utilization. So on an overall basis, would my score go up or down? And in the latter case, should I close one or more accounts before they’re reported to the bureaus?
• I know I currently have no FICO score with Experian. Could I go for an AmEx card once I have a FICO score reported (even before having the Journey card for 6 months)? Read several posts in the forums about getting an AmEx with around 6 months of history.
• When I apply for an AmEx card, does it really matter whether it’s for a charge card or a credit card? If so, should I go for the Gold Card or for the Premier Rewards Gold Card? (I heard the approval odds for the Green Card and the Gold Card are almost the same.)
• Is there any other limited history-friendly lenders out there? I was initially interested in the Sapphire Preferred card, then figured the odds were too low, so went for Chase Freedom instead, hoping to build a solid relationship with them, but still declined after 2 reconsiderations.

Thank you so much in advance.

Update:

I went ahead and canceled my BoA and U.S. Bank secured cards, also got a supervisor to waive the AF on the Capital One Secured MasterCard. Now waiting for the cards to arrive so I could "garden" till the 6-month mark. Tried the pre-approval pages but none was able to provide me an offer. Thanks again for the help!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi guys,

I'm pretty new to credit, turned 18 around 8 months ago. As of now, I have 18+ inquiries on my credit report (18 on Experian, 21 on Equifax, 19 on TransUnion). Here's a list of my credit cards:

• BoA Secured Card (opened around a week ago, $300 credit limit, not reported to the bureaus yet)
• Barclaycard Rewards Mastercard (declined at first, successful reconsideration brings an approval with a $250 credit limit, opened around 2 weeks ago)
• Capital One Journey Visa (opened on November 18, 2014, $300 credit limit)
• Capital One Secured Mastercard (opened around 2-3 weeks ago, $200 credit limit, not reported yet)
• Discover Secured it Chrome Card (opened around a week ago, $200 credit limit, not reported yet)
• U.S. Bank Secured Visa Card (opened around a couple days ago, $200 credit limit, not reported yet)

My first card payment was made on January with the Journey card (no purchases made in the previous months), and according to Capital One Credit Tracker, I have a FAKO score of 719 now, while Credit Karma gives for 659 for Equifax and 660 for TransUnion (both were updated March 25), and Credit Sesame reports 651 (updated March 12).

Never carried a balance from month to month, made several payments throughout the month to maintain utilization of around 5% (except for the first month when I knew nothing about credit score and my statement closed at $286).

Really wanted to get an AmEx card, read in the forums that they are one of the most limited history-friendly lenders out there. Have 5 declined applications with American Express already (2 were canceled due to recently declined applications), last one on 3/11/2015 for a Green Charge Card, asked for a reconsideration but still declined, main reason was no credit score reported.

I also have several more (yes, several tons more) of declined applications with other banks, including Barclaycard, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, U.S. Bank, the reasons were mostly limited history, no credit score reported, and excessive credit inquiries.

Got several questions hope you guys could shed some light on:

• I'm planning on closing my BoA secured card, should I do that? (As of now, the account still hasn't been reported to the bureaus yet.) I applied in hope of helping build payment history, making me seem more trustworthy, not sure if it’s the right approach, though.
• Would my recently opened cards affect my score positively or negatively in general? I know there are several factors out there, like average account length, available credit limit, utilization. So on an overall basis, would my score go up or down? And in the latter case, should I close one or more accounts before they’re reported to the bureaus?
• I know I currently have no FICO score with Experian. Could I go for an AmEx card once I have a FICO score reported (even before having the Journey card for 6 months)? Read several posts in the forums about getting an AmEx with around 6 months of history.
• When I apply for an AmEx card, does it really matter whether it’s for a charge card or a credit card? If so, should I go for the Gold Card or for the Premier Rewards Gold Card? (I heard the approval odds for the Green Card and the Gold Card are almost the same.)
• Is there any other limited history-friendly lenders out there? I was initially interested in the Sapphire Preferred card, then figured the odds were too low, so went for Chase Freedom instead, hoping to build a solid relationship with them, but still declined after 2 reconsiderations.

Thank you so much in advance.

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My advise is to slow down.  Do not close any of your new accounts.  Do not add any more accounts.  Allow them to age so you have scores and a positive history.  Make payments on time.  You are not going to likely get an Amex until you age your credit history with perfect payments for at least 6 months.  I do not know how they will respond to all your inquiries, you may have to wait until some of those are over a year old or fall off.   

More information is going to be required for anyone to tell you your chances on any Amex in the future.  Income, Fico scores, payment history. Charge cards are said to be easier to get but not necessarily easy to get. 

[Anonymous]

You need to stop applying for any credit cards for a minimum of six months.  Let your current cards get some use and payment history while letting those inquiries age.  If you keep applying, you will keep getting denied.  Don't apply for any AMEX card until those six months pass and you know what your FICO Experian score is.  Those scores you posted are all useless as far as telling your credit scores that the credit card issuers use.

[Jerry45]

+1. Let your credit lines age

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You need to stop applying for any credit cards for a minimum of six months.  Let your current cards get some use and payment history while letting those inquiries age.  If you keep applying, you will keep getting denied.  Don't apply for any AMEX card until those six months pass and you know what your FICO Experian score is.  Those scores you posted are all useless as far as telling your credit scores that the credit card issuers use.

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Agree to this..

[newhis]

Do not close your BoA secured card. Is the card the cash rewards version? If not try to add that. BoA can grow and the APR can be reduced without problems.

As others said, don't app for anything else. Wait at least 6 reported statements, more if you can, some lenders want to see a year of payments.

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about getting a secured loan with a credit union? I do business with a local credit union and after getting my Discover It Secured, I went and app'd for a secured loan. My scores have shot up from a non-reported 471 to low 600s in 4 months. So, this could be the push/help you need. 

Not knowing much myself, I still think you've done a lot thus far and maybe should consider taking the advice from all the other wise folks around here. Seems like "the garden" is a good place for you now!

PS: So jealous of that Cap One Journey. Want so bad!. 

[Pway]

I agree with th others here, let those accounts age.  You will be fine.

[Anonymous]

I got approved for an Amex Everyday, a Discover It and a Quicksilver One all in one go after roughly 6 months of history. Hit up that Amex pre approval page every now and then first if you want. I got Amex pre qualified on line and Discover it pre quals in the mail, even after getting declined by Discover because I pulled the trigger way too early like you with Amex. Just give it time. Now if I can only take my own advice with regards to trying to get a Chase Freedom and an Amex BCE!! xD