@creditwatcher2012 wrote:
You could probably try either capital one, credit one, or first premier... Although you will get hit with crazy fees with credit one and first premier, it's a step in re-establishing your credit. First and foremost pull your credit report to see where you stand.. And try capital one, and if worst comes to worst stick with secured vs. the subprimes....
Good luck!
I would stay away from credit one or first premier!!!!! If you can't get a unsecured CC you may want to look at these. Also OpenSky does not do a credit pull
and they have a 25 day grace period on interest paid !!!
| The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Card Can Save You Money | ||||||
| The below example is based on carrying a $325 balance for 12 months1. | ||||||
| As of 5/20132 | OpenSky | First Progress | U S Bank | Capital One | B O A | |
| Annual Percentage Rate | 17.50% | 14.99% | 20.99% | 22.90% | 20.24% | |
| Application/Processing Fee | None | None | None | None | None | |
| Monthly Service Fee | None | None | None | None | None | |
| Interest | $56.88 | $ 48.72 | $68.22 | $74.43 | $65.78 | |
| Annual Fee | $29.00 | $39.00 | $35.00 | $29.00 | $39.00 | |
| Interest & Fees Paid | $85.88 | $87.72 | $103.22 | $103.43 | $104.78 |
Although I was not in as bad of a spot as you are (sorry to hear about your parents gambling addiction 
) I was an idiot coming out of high school and had two beginner credit cards and maxed them out and ignored them. They came back to haunt me in the forms of Collection Agencies and just completly screwing up my credit! I've only been really working on my credit for around a year now and I think my signature can give you a good idea of what this board can do for you if you stick around, read and listen to other peoples opinions and experiences. With that, this is MY opinion on what I would do if I were you.
1. Get a Capital One Secured Mastercard. This was the only place that would approve me at my worst. I had to pay $49 but had a credit limit of $200. The thing that I like about them is that with the secured card you get free access to My Credit Inform. My credit inform is basically a FACKO score but still allows you to see your report and monitor your credit report for free. This helped me see what was still reporting as baddies and gave me ground to move forward.
2. I would stick around this community. I can tell you how many times I was confused with credit and these forums helped me out. This is a great community with alot of amazing people who love helping. I would also urge you to consider you to get your FICO score from this site so you know your real score and with score watch it alerts you with changes....I love seeing those changes lol
3. Use your secured card responsibly. I would hold onto it, use it alot but pay it off before the statement. The limit might be $200 so the utilization is going to be a toughy. They might give you a CLI after a few months depending on how well you manage it. Manage this correctly for about 6 months (maybe 4, others might be able to chime in on how long to wait) then apply for either a Walmart card or if you like another capital one UNSECURED card. I say walmart because from what Ive seen its pretty simple to get and the CLI's are nice and fast. Oh and they give you your TU FICO!!
Starting Score 5/10/2012: EQ: 631 EX: 570 TU: 583I forgot to add that I had Credit One and they were VERY generous to me. If the PFD letters dont work, I would email the EO.
Do you have anyone who has a credit card that they've had for years, has a decent limit and doesn't keep that high of a balance on it? Have them put you on as an authorized user so it reports on your credit. One it appears on, you'll be on the right track..
