Credit Cards

[ferferhess]

I have applied for 2 cards in the last 2 weeks. Both CCC's asked me what kind of card I am looking for. They wanted to know if I need a starter card, re-builder card or..... Would you call the next tier up from those a prime card......?

Anyway, I didn't know what catagory I would be in. Any advice is welcome! Thanks!

Open CCA:
Direct Rewards Discover-$900 limit-opened 05/08
HSBC/Best Buy-$500 limit-opened 12/07
Cap1-$500 limit- opened 01/07
OB Visa-$300 limit- opened 01/07
OB MC-$300 limit- opened 01/07

Closed CCA:
AmEx- $1100-AU for 2mo in 11/01-12/01-closed
First Premier-$300 limit- opened 11/05-closed 06/06

Student Loan:
Wells Fargo SL-$5000- opened 09/04

Installment Account:
Star Furniture-$1500-opened 02/05-closed 02/06

Auto Loans:
Cap1 Auto Fin-opened 10/07
HSBC Auto Fin-opened03/05

Message Edited by ferferhess on 06-01-2008 04:06 PM

[Timothy]

Nice work on your score improvements-

IMO- your scores are fine BUT you don't have any experience with larger CL's-

Do you have any CA's or public records?

[thrasher865]

I would say you are definitely in the range of prime if you try.  They won't throw prime cards at you, but you should get a decent CL on a prime card.

The only thing I base this on is my experience with scores right at 700s and a shorter history.  I got a 2000CL from AMEX recently so I want to say that you should be well past "starter" cards at the very least.

[ferferhess]

Thanks Tim! I forgot to update my latest scores!! Check them out!! I'm so proud!! Hehehehe!

Yeah, I have a a couple of baddies.... a 3 year old 90 day late on SL during divorce, a 6 year old Citibank paid CO(both on all 3 CRA's), and two 3yr old paid CA's(on diff CRA's). Oh, and a 120 day late $0 balance med bill that's 6.5 years old.

And yes, I am desperately trying to get this stuff off. I'm a Good Willin' machine!!

I have diligently paid my bills on time every month since that stupid CO with Citi. It was the first card I ever had. The divorce RUINED me! HAHAHAHA!

[jmbfl]

It sounds like you have your bad stuff under control. I would app with BofA. Avoid app'ing with any further sub-prime lenders. If they are asking you what kind of card you want, you are probably in the wrong place. Don't sell yourself short. You'll regret it in the long run, especially if you are dealing with Cap1/HSBC/WAMU. The starter/rebuilder cards will not grow with you.

[ferferhess]

Thanks for the encouragement! I just app's with AMEX and they asked me that question. I had no idea what card to go for because I just got declined for a discover last week. It makes me a little gun shy. I tried to recon but she said that they couldn't approve me bc my SL is in default. It's NOT in default and never really has been....Should I call again?

My goal is to have 2-3 prime cards, then sock drawer the starter cards until the others age.....Is this a good plan?

Message Edited by ferferhess on 06-01-2008 05:27 PM

[cheddar]

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jmbfl wrote:

You'll regret it in the long run, especially if you are dealing with Cap1/HSBC/WAMU.

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I wouldn't throw WaMu under the bus along with those other two.

They gave me $15K on a rewards card with 0% on purchases for 21 months.  That's not subprime at all.

[debtisgood]

cheddar,

I don't think he was implying WaMu is subprime, but from reading the accounts of others, they are absolute bizarre in their lending decisions. You hear plenty of stories of people with good scores and no baddies getting denied and people with middle scores getting accepted. In addition I seem to recall hearing it is hard to get a CLI with them for many people.

That said, all banks have their funny decisions and maybe just more of the stories from WaMu customers have made their way to this forum.

[cheddar]

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debtisgood wrote:

[...] from reading the accounts of others, they are absolute bizarre in their lending decisions.

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Now that I agree with!  They are bizarre, indeed.

[concorduser]

There are some pre-approval links with out causing you hard inq. Try them first and see what response you would get. As far as I remember, BOA / Capital One and one more bank offers this feature where you can pre-qaul and see what they say.

Some times BOA might offer you a secured card. I have so many accounts with BOA and couple of cards with Citi each with over $15K. BOA only offers me a secure card. So dont get disappointed if BOA does that to you. Try those two first and see what they offer.

I dont know about others CapOne seems to be generous for me. They gave me a biz card with $5K CL with cash back rewards option. Good luck and keep us posted as to how you make out with your apps.

As per Amex easier to get card is Delta. But also most of the Delta card users are subjected to FR. I would say ask for Amex Blue.