BofA said I need established 'real' credit cards...?

[Anonymous]

What's the difference between the 1-2-3 cards and the other BOA Cash rewards card?

[ladydeac]

I'm not sure.  Like I said, they denied the 1-2-3 card but offered what they said was a Cash Rewards card with a $500 limit.  BUT it would require a $99 deposit.

I don't know if it's worth it to get it in my situation?  I declined it for now though.

[FrugalRican]

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@ladydeac wrote:

I'm not sure.  Like I said, they denied the 1-2-3 card but offered what they said was a Cash Rewards card with a $500 limit.  BUT it would require a $99 deposit.

I don't know if it's worth it to get it in my situation?  I declined it for now though.

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If it requires a deposit, it's a secured credit card.

The 1-2-3 is an unsecured card that requires no deposit.

[AF_23]

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@ladydeac wrote:

I'm not sure.  Like I said, they denied the 1-2-3 card but offered what they said was a Cash Rewards card with a $500 limit.  BUT it would require a $99 deposit.

I don't know if it's worth it to get it in my situation?  I declined it for now though.

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They could eventually graduate the card to a regular 1-2-3 but i have no idea how long that would take. Others have definitely done that on here though

[dude11]

What they offered you was the same card but a secured version. However not fully secured since it only required $99 down for a $500 limit. If it was a fully secured version then you would of needed to put $500 down to get the $500 limit. After about 1 year they could convert the card to a regular unsecured card and would return your $99 as long as you keep the card in good standing.

You already took the hard inq on your CR so you should of accepted. IMO.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the post above. If you want to get your foot in the door, this is a great way to do it. I know a lot of people on this forum really don't like BOA, but I've had a good experience with them.

[ladydeac]

Hmm...thanks.  I wonder if I try to call the backdoor number can I take the offer that was declined?

I have been doing really well over the last 2 years, outside of the one auto payment glitch, and I'd really like to start growing my credit profile.  Installment mix is good, but if BofA doesn't really count the First Premier rebuilder and the two store cards, I don't know if others will follow suit. 

[dude11]

Not sure whether you could call and accept the offer anymore but give it a try. Call backdoor number(s) or whatever number you can find. It's been mentioned before that some rebuilder cards actually turn off some of the prime lenders when they see them on your CRs. Not sure whether opened or closed makes a difference but that is what has been mentioned before.

[ladydeac]

I called them.  They said I declined over the phone, but when I get the letter from them, it will still have that offer.  He said to complete the paperwork and I can still get the partially secured card....and then he mentioned that typical protocol is a review after a year or so.

Since I still can get the percentage rewards, I will just use as a gas card and PIF each month to establish some good history.  After the collections fall off, I will look into maybe one other card with perhaps a higher limit to be more attractive to creditors.

[Crashem]

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@ladydeac wrote:

I called them.  They said I declined over the phone, but when I get the letter from them, it will still have that offer.  He said to complete the paperwork and I can still get the partially secured card....and then he mentioned that typical protocol is a review after a year or so.

Since I still can get the percentage rewards, I will just use as a gas card and PIF each month to establish some good history.  After the collections fall off, I will look into maybe one other card with perhaps a higher limit to be more attractive to creditors.

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*COUGH* Go to branch