Credit Cards

[Pappy214]

Hi all, I have a friend who is in the same boat as some of us, (rebuilding, or in my case building from scratch) and he is "too embarassed" to get an Orchard card like many of us have, and asked about the Citi secured card.

I can't give any advice since I am not a Citi user... how is their secured card program?

Please give both the good and bad sides... 

[yoyo]

The good thing...you'll get your money back in 18 months w/interest....

[siangirl34]

Well if he is building from scratch, he should apply for BOA's secured card. Unless he doesn't mind the 18 month wait to become unsecured from Citi.

[Pappy214]

He burned BoA when we were in college. Ha ha ha! Guess it is Citi or nothing for him. At least he will get his money back. I have Orchard and heard they are no longer upgrading to unsecured.

[creditreformer]

i burned ba in college- they don't blacklist.  i apped for their platinum plus after my BA chargeoff (2) from college had been off my reports for 3-5 yrs.  ba declined me for the plat plus, but approved me for the 99/500.  ficos @ the time were in the mid-high 500s, reports weren't clean (2-3 CAs, some lates, 2 chargeoffs, unpaid tax lien).  def. try ba

other options

us bank

wells fargo

wamu

all those graduate in 12 mos usually.  however, read the fine print carefully- some will NOT take you if you have BK (usbank), unpaid liens (wells fargo), etc

[granny031350]

I was told by a Citi rep that they DO NOT report to the credit bureau's when your card is secured.  B of A does.

[crazylady949]

I am on the Citi website right now and they do report to all bureaus.

Build Your Credit Score and Earn a Competitive Interest Rate1

Deposit an amount, from $200 to $25,000 into a CD (Certificate of Deposit). Your credit card limit then becomes equal to the amount of money in your CD. We report your account performance to major credit bureaus, and after 18 months, you could become eligible for an unsecured Citi Platinum Select credit card. Meanwhile, you'll earn a competitive annual interest rate on your CD.

[Pappy214]

I gotta agree with the crazy lady, I have Orchard and even they report to all three CRA's. I should have gone with Citi, but I don't need another secured card, in fact I just need a store/gas/both for the mix.

I think what he is more worried about is actually being turned down for a secured card. Some here have had that happen. He was wondering if Citi does?

I know Orchard doesn't turn you away but like I told him, they also don't upgrade anymore. (From what I have read here.)

[creditreformer]

i have heard of people being declined for secured ccs- usually b/c of bk or unpaid liens or recent baddies. Some have said citi secured is for people who have NO credit, NOT rebuilding, but i have seen both types of people approved. Also, whether a cc reports as secured or not does NOT impact your fico scores.