Credit Cards

[samss77]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I would like to get opinion from all the gurus over here about which card to apply with my limited credit history?. I came to this country 9 months ago and I opened my first checking and savings account with Bank of America on the first day of my job in the US. BoA offered me Visa signature cash rewards card when I opened my checking account with them and asked me to come back to them after getting my SSN. I applied and was approved for credit limit of $9500 with me having NO credit history and the card came in after 15 days. Since then I have paid my credit card in full and my highest balance was around $2500. I brought a car last September with loan from Toyota Financial and I am paying my dues on time since then.

I got my credit score for the first time last month and got credit reports from all 3 bureaus. I came to know that Bank of America is not reporting my credit limit and I disputed it with them and credit bureaus but Bank of America refused to report the limit saying that visa signature is a flexible spending account and I can exceed this amount if I want. They also offered me to downgrade to platinum mastercard which will report limit to the bureaus. I am not sure what to do?.

I thought of getting card from another bank and applied for Amex costco rewards, Chase freedom and Capital one. Amex and Chase freedom were rejected. Amex for low credit score and Chase for limited credit history. I called Chase backdoor number twice and spoke to the credit analyst and both times the response was the same i.e.. limited credit history. Capital one application is still pending. I called backdoor number and the lady there told me that they have kept it pending because one of my credit report has my old address.

Right now I have 8 enquiries on Experian(4 from Toyota on a single day), 4 in Equifax and 2 in Transunion. Which card should I apply now to improve my credit score or should I wait?. I don't want another rejection with hard enquiry on my report. I greatly appreciates the suggestions.

[newportguy]

Check this link out  ....    http://www.creditcards.com/site-map/no-credit-history.php

[bluesnowman]

Sam- If I were you, I would get a store card or gas card right now and use that for 6 months and then after that, find out what your credit score is. And then you can try for a little bit more difficult to get cards like the Chase Freedom and the Amex Costco card. Or if you can, try to get a secured loan and show that you can pay back the loan and do it on time  and then see what your score is like. The FICO scoring model from what I have seen like to see a mixture of loans and such and could help with getting the cards you desire.

Good luck in whatever decision and path you decide to take. 

[BearsAndTurtlesRtheBest]

yeah for sure wal mart will approve you and I would def. downgrade to a bofa card that will report limit thats the only way your credit will improve since it will determine how well you manage your credit. good luck

[samss77]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I applied online for Walmart discover card and it got approved with CL of 700.

[Wolf3]

If you get address issue solved, Capital One is likely to approve.    I would work on that as well.

[jsucool76]

I would try for the cap1 cash rewards for newcomers. No AF but they will pull all 3 reports.

[samss77]

I applied for Amazon Discover online and it was approved instantly with CL of $400. They pulled only Transunion.

[jsucool76]

The amazon store card, or amazon visa, or discover it? There is no amazon discover xD

[eviLution]

I'm surprised BofA gave you a card with such high limit with no credit history at all. O.o