Best Card Advice

[miltown81]

Ok community, I need a little feedback on what card my GF should apply for. She has a 717, only 2 -30day lates, established history of at least 10 years, annual income of +60k and no collections or neg accounts showing. She applied for and was rejected for a  Barclay card due to "insufficient credit history" as she has never opened a cc on her own (outside of promotional offers that were opened with a balance and PIF immediately). What card would be the esiest card to get (without the junk cards like the old First Premier cards)? She is also looking for promo offers like 6-12 months no interest or cash back options. Thanks for the feedback in advance!

[Anonymous]

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@miltown81 wrote:

Ok community, I need a little feedback on what card my GF should apply for. She has a 717, only 2 -30day lates, established history of at least 10 years, annual income of +60k and no collections or neg accounts showing. She applied for and was rejected for a  Barclay card due to "insufficient credit history" as she has never opened a cc on her own (outside of promotional offers that were opened with a balance and PIF immediately). What card would be the esiest card to get (without the junk cards like the old First Premier cards)? She is also looking for promo offers like 6-12 months no interest or cash back options. Thanks for the feedback in advance!

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Have her check the CapitolOne preapproval website and see if it anything shows up.  The QuickSilver has a 0%offer for 9 months.

[iamdetermined]

Hi miltown81. I suggest that she try the prequalify sites for Discover and Amex. Capital One is ok, too. They've all been good to me during my rebuild. NFCU is my fave (do some research on the forums if you haven't already). I'm sure others will chime in with some great suggestions. GL! 

[Anonymous]

Edit: to clarify I meant get her as authorized user for a few months then start applying 

How recent are her 2 30day lates? If they're recent that could prove to be a significant roadblock with some lenders, but if they're at least a couple years old I wouldn't worry much.

I too would suggest she check Amex, discover & capital one (though more based on Cap1's tendency to be willing to help rebuilders or fresh fish credit people than cards themselves) "check if I'm pre-qualified" sites and if she finds something offering a set or very narrow range APR to go ahead and apply. With her limited to nonexistent unsecured history I suspect she would likely find an approval with capital one.

Depending on just how certain you are of your relationship & level of trust you might consider making her an authorized user on your oldest card & or the card with a decent age and highest credit limit, provided these cards are in good standing with low utilization and no history of late payments.

In almost every situation I would strongly suggest a non-married partner get authorized on one of a friends or family members account instead of you, since you open yourself to a lot of potential heartache by doing so, but some people like to live dangerously

[Shooting-For-800]

Capital One has treated me extremely well from rebuilding after BK to their best card (Venture with 2% back) at a huge limit ($30k is huge for me) at their lowest interest rate (13.99%).

If she is loyal to them, she can build quite a CL with no fees and cash back.

Check for pre-qualify; they are usually very acurate compared to most cards. 

[nyancat]

First, I'll note that while you say "only" two 30-day lates, *any* late payment is going to do serious damage to her ability to get credit. Two of them is not an "only" - it is a significant adverse mark on her credit history.

With that said, I'd try for Discover. If it weren't for the 30-day lates, Amex would be good to consider as well, but I think they'll be less forgiving than Discover. Both are good for thin files.