@atomicfront wrote:If Capital One Secured card doesn't unsecure why not just apply for Capital One Platinum unsecured card directly. They approved me for that with a 527 FICO 8 score and 7 charge-offs including 7k one with Capital One.
Also I was turned down for Discover secured card but was approved for 6500 dollar limit NFCU card as well as a couple of other unsecured Visa cards. These secured cards seem pretty pointless to me.
Secured cards *seem* pointless.. but they are often an in with more mainstream/prime banks... NFCU often is the exception to most .. NFCU is beyond generous and willing to give you a chance... but they can be very unforgiving if you burn them .....
Part of the point of a secured card is to basically reduce/elminate the risk of borrowing to you... esp if your scores are less than ideal or you burned them in the past...
By putting money down, even if its not the full CL, your showing them that your willing to put your money where your mouth is and hold some accountability beyond what your score is showing..
Also its a way to thicken your profile and add a few more TLs to age now... making your CR a bit more thick and resilient, to apps and other loan products...
Esp with more conservative banking institutions...
Also a secured card is a better deal than many/most subprime unsecured cards.. with fees and such.. Yeah you can get a subprime unsecured card... but oftentimes you will be bombarded with fees that would add up to much more than just plunking down the security deposit.
And BTW if your FICO scores are in thr 500s like you report.. Your not beyond secured cards. You might get an unsecured card.. but not likely with the best terms, and it will take TIME and work. And it might be the only way to get a card from one of the more major/prime banks... Food for thought..
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@atomicfront wrote:I got 11 cards in a month and got added authorized user to 2 other cards. My scores went up to 640 in two months. I am sure all the major banks who won't give me credit now will be lining up to give me credit when my last negative come off my report next year.
My my point was Capital One was willing to give me an unsecured card along with multiple other lenders when Discover wouldn't even give me an secured card.
My first secured card was Discover and I've enjoyed the rewards. Discover is finicky... and I would consider them to be more of a builder than a rebuilder in terms of what your file looks like. They like thin files in general, and I know if you have outstanding debt, you have a very hard chance of getting in, even under secured.
It's not always just about the financial risk. Sometimes, they just don't want you as a customer at all.
The more I hear about how picky Discover is, the more I realize how very fortunate I was to be approved by them!
Discover is a bit unpredictable but I 1. Like them and 2. Recommend them for secured cards...
With the transparency out of the way
I think Discover is trying to widen its target audience... but with caution..... for them the secured card is a probationary period to a real card.. You might have some baggage and baddies in the past... if you havent burned them... and they also seem to want to now go after folks post bk who have paid their dues but still have a hesitation to take the full risk on them... discover isnt looking to be a quick fix for obtaining credit.... they want you for the long haul.... and how the secured card works just shows all of that..
@Anonymous wrote:Very true. I burned BoA and Citibank* (on mortgage) and Chase (on credit card) in BK in 2014, so I'm pretty sure they'd be wary of extending new credit even though my BoA checking account continues to this day. This is the first account I've ever had with Discover, though, so in that sense I'm a clean slate.
*I'm unsure of exactly how severely my inclusion of Citimortgage in my BK would affect any future attempt to secure a credit card with them, which is a consideration since the Costco Citi Visa is one of the cards I'm considering for when I go looking for a Visa in the fall.
You should still be able to get the Costco card even if you burned Citi in the past... ..Getting a *legacy* card from them may be a bit harder.. Know the mortgage might still affect your internal score with Citi... Some of the rebuilders I know have had luck getting the Costco card in the later part of their rebuild (which you are probably in, Depending on your scores i'd definitely go for the Costco Visa in the fall (maybe even sooner) ... Chase you might be able to but less certanty, but id wait untill 2018 and probably need a recon...
Good luck
-J
