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Advice on getting 1st credit card?

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Kohler
Established Member

Advice on getting 1st credit card?

Hello. I've been interested in building my credit for the last few months. My CK score is 669. Transunion is 633. Whatever Discover pulls is around 610.

Age - 23. Income - $15,000 (no bills tho since I still live at home Smiley Very Happy). I'm also a full time college student.

 

Applied for Capital One Journey = Denied. They said I don't have enough income. Smiley Frustrated Frustrated because I only expected a $300 line of credit.

Applied for Discover IT student after getting a prequalified mail offer = Denied. They gave me about 4 reasons but I can't remember them. Sorry.

 

I have 2 hard pulls (Discover and Capital one). 5 accounts. 2 student loans worth $4,000 total with 100% payments made (9 mos. worth so far). Credit history is 5 years. I have 1 account in collections worth $100 that I refuse to pay. I don't really want to get into that but it'll fall off in a year and a half. Also I have 1 account (student loan) that I was late 7 payments and the account is now closed.

 

What would you do in my situation? I'd really like to start building my credit now... I'm just not sure what my next step should be. Should I reply back to the Capital One Journey denial and ask for a secured card? Advice? Thank you.

Message 1 of 14
13 REPLIES 13
09Lexie
Moderator Emerita

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?

Welcome to the forum! A few questions first?

Do you belong to a CU?
How long ago was your last baddie?
Message 2 of 14
OptimalCS
Frequent Contributor

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?

I ld start off with the cap one secured card.
"Wisdom is the principal thing..."
Message 3 of 14
Kohler
Established Member

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?

09LEXIE-

 

Yes, I've had a checking account with a credit union for 5 years. They have a student card. Should I apply for the student card or the secured card? Also, the last late payment I had on my closed student loan was in 2011. The $100 bill I have in collections is from 2008. Thank you for replying.

Message 4 of 14
Kohler
Established Member

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?

Darn. I just applied for the student card at my local credit union and was DENIED. I really don't know who these student cards are for. I don't think my income or credit score is that unreasonable. Oh well. I guess now my only option is the secured card... unless someone else has any other advice for me? I wanted a card that I didn't have to pay an annual fee but I guess I'm left with no other choice?

 

Also, since I did 3 hard pulls in the last 2 weeks...do they all count as one?

 

Thank you.

Message 5 of 14
SSA_2013
Frequent Contributor

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?

The late payments/collection is really hurting you. Did you ever try to recon the Discover denial? The only other student cards I know of is the Citi Forward, Citi Dividend and the Bank of America cards. Perhaps you should try for a Walmart Discover card. They seem to be quite easy to obtain. I would also try and good wil the lates. I'm also a bit curious as to why you refuse to pay that $100 collection. If it isn't accurate...have you disputed it? Perhaps it would be easier to settle for PFD (Pay for Deletion) to speed up the process of that getting off your reports. 

Message 6 of 14
CashOnDelivery
Established Contributor

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?


@SSA_2013 wrote:

The late payments/collection is really hurting you. Did you ever try to recon the Discover denial? The only other student cards I know of is the Citi Forward, Citi Dividend and the Bank of America cards. Perhaps you should try for a Walmart Discover card. They seem to be quite easy to obtain. I would also try and good wil the lates. I'm also a bit curious as to why you refuse to pay that $100 collection. If it isn't accurate...have you disputed it? Perhaps it would be easier to settle for PFD (Pay for Deletion) to speed up the process of that getting off your reports. 


+1

Solid suggestions. I will also add that if you're unable to get a PFD for that collection, it will still look favorable during a manual review for a paid collection than an unpaid collection.


2010: 475 EQ 2011: 503 EQ 2012: 600 EQ2013:632 EQ
Starting Score: 634 EQ-3/13/13
Current Score: 706 EQ-8/29/13 703 EX-7/12/13 705 TU-8/9/13
Goal Score: 700

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Message 7 of 14
Kohler
Established Member

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?

Thank you very much for the advice, guys! And as far as the $100 bill in collections goes. I don't like to talk or think about it but it's from a vet bill in 2008. Basically my regular vet is always busy so I booked an appointment with a vet that I knew nothing about in a neighboring town. Basically she killed my cat and then tried to charge me for it. I can't even think about it without crying so I just don't. I had two other vets basically tell me how big of an idiot that woman is and my regular vet told me that he heard so many bad things about her. I checked yelp and the BBB after the fact, sadly, and she has so many negative reviews and a lot of people said how she overcharged them, she's condescending and hateful (which I witnessed, also), she misdiagnosed people's pets and a few even accused her of killing their pet like me. I seriously wish I could hit the rewind button and go back in time and change ever crossing paths with her but I can't. So now the only option I think I have is not to pay her. She knew very well why I wasn't paying her but since she is the devil, of course she sent it to collections. When I got the letter in the mail, I disputed it twice but obv. that didn't change anything. I didn't really care if it sat in collections because I didn't need credit for anything. Same thing with the 7 late payments on my student loan. I took a year off from school and didn't think it mattered if I paid my student loan since I was going back to school. I didn't understand credit or how it would affect me. But now I'm trying to build credit for my future and I'm learning so much on this forum. Thank you. 

Message 8 of 14
Kohler
Established Member

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?

I'm going to try to get Capital One and Discover to reconsider me and hopefully that works out. I stupidly threw out my denial letter to Discover. I remember it stating that I didn't have enough accounts, that I was deliquent on paying for an account, and I think it said I had too much debt compared to my income (which I really don't think is true). Should I work on paying off my $4,000 student loan faster? It's my understanding since I'm still in school it's only accruing 6% interest on only $2,000. Does it look better to pay the minimum payment every month or should I be trying to pay it off in big chunks?

 

 

Message 9 of 14
CashOnDelivery
Established Contributor

Re: Advice on getting 1st credit card?

Don't let the denial get you down. Treat the reasons for denial as a guide to improve your chances the next time you apply. Since you accidently threw it away, call Discover and say you never got the letter or see if they can resend (I know it sounds silly). Also, since you have a few trade lines, it'll probably be benefical for you pay your student loan monthly and let the account age. Also, pay down your highest balance with any extra money you have. This will gradually lower your utilization. I'm sure others will provide more detailed info on how to help you.  


2010: 475 EQ 2011: 503 EQ 2012: 600 EQ2013:632 EQ
Starting Score: 634 EQ-3/13/13
Current Score: 706 EQ-8/29/13 703 EX-7/12/13 705 TU-8/9/13
Goal Score: 700

Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge
Message 10 of 14
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