BOA 99/500 Card - When to unsecure?

[CreditRepairGirl23]

Hello all..new to this site

Started to stop screwing up my credit 2 years ago haha

Started actively trying to fix past damage about a year ago.

Have had the BOA partially secured card since September 2011 , Since it has now been 9 months I figured Id give the backdoor number a try..

Lady I spoke to was very rude, said it reviews to become unsecured at 12 months and that I can request to have it reviewed early (now) but that she "doubts it would get approved"

My scores are TU 578 EQ 634 (up from 602 Jan 12)

I do have some baddies still open on my report - judgment for $2,000 (which Im making on time payments on)

and a few others Under $500 each

All over 2 years old

Also have a few other cards in very good standing , low to zero balance and NO late payments

show mc $1200 limit

Orchard bank $600 limit

Capital one $500 limit

Ive heard of people getting this card unsecured as early as 9 months , should I call back and put in the request to try?

or just wait until its been the full 12 months?

Been steadily moving forward...am afraid to do anything that might push me back

*hate to have an inquiry as according to the latest report I obtained (5/31) I had 7 that "may be affecting my score"

Although I stopped making late payments/got all balances down to zero or close ...I didnt know to stop with the inquiries until 10 months or so ago when I found this site Was applying for credit cards etc like a maniac - trying to re-establish..

Any advice appreciated!

[Crashem]

I would at least see if you can get the rewards put on card. My advice is just wait 12 months as I think trying to get unsecured early can generate hp. Not worth to get $99 back 3 months early.

[-Cain-]

I would wait for the 12 months mark and work on getting your TU score up in the meantime. BofA usually pulls TU for unsecuring and for future CLIs. It will be a HP when they review your account to unsecure, so I wouldn't want a HP at 9 months and another 3 months later.

[CreditRepairGirl23]

Thank you both for the advice!

Im not really concerned about getting the $99 back - although that will be nice...

Just read alot of people here saying that when it became unsecured they also received significant CLI which I am hoping for.

I was assuming the consensus was going to be just wait...and wait pateintly I shall!!

[Crashem]

Get the rewards in meantime. Will make you feel better.

[-Cain-]

Call and ask about adding the 123 rewards to your card. That should be able to get done no problem, without a credit pull. Wait until the year mark to ask for graduation. They may or may not auto graduate your card. If they do auto graduate, it may not cost you a HP, if they don't they will definitely pull when you request it. Since the $99 isn't that big of a deal anyway, just wait it out. It really shouldn't make a difference whether your CR shows secured or unsecured at this point in your credit journey. Best of luck.

[Crashem]

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@-Cain- wrote:
Call and ask about adding the 123 rewards to your card. That should be able to get done no problem, without a credit pull. Wait until the year mark to ask for graduation. They may or may not auto graduate your card. If they do auto graduate, it may not cost you a HP, if they don't they will definitely pull when you request it. Since the $99 isn't that big of a deal anyway, just wait it out. It really shouldn't make a difference whether your CR shows secured or unsecured at this point in your credit journey. Best of luck.

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Plus some have reported that once they added rewards on, the card did not report as secured.

[YahComb]

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@Crashem wrote:

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@-Cain- wrote:
Call and ask about adding the 123 rewards to your card. That should be able to get done no problem, without a credit pull. Wait until the year mark to ask for graduation. They may or may not auto graduate your card. If they do auto graduate, it may not cost you a HP, if they don't they will definitely pull when you request it. Since the $99 isn't that big of a deal anyway, just wait it out. It really shouldn't make a difference whether your CR shows secured or unsecured at this point in your credit journey. Best of luck.

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Plus some have reported that once they added rewards on, the card did not report as secured.

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My Experian and Equifax have dropped the "secured" part from my BOA account after i called this past saturday to request rewards be added to my secured card. That may or may not be a sign of graduation, the new account number hasn't updated yet, so it's possible this is just temporary until they report the new account number for the 1-2-3 card, at which point "secured credit card" may show up again. But i'm hoping for the better! my 10th statement closes today, i wouldn't expect a 2-month early graduation on a fully secured card.

[rootpooty]

I wouldn't get your hopes up about getting a significant cli with them upon graduation. With the derogs you mentioned they might unsecure it at one year mark but most likely the same 500 Cl will remain

[YahComb]

Generally BOA(at least since the CARD ACT it seems) likes to CLI 99/500 cards to 1K, and if you reach 1K before graduation by increasing your deposit, you may get no increase at all.