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Credit score 626, recommended card to help?

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DubbaYou
Valued Member

Credit score 626, recommended card to help?

Hi,

 

The quick background is I went through a divorce, injury and inability to work and more, so defaulted on payments.  I have paid off collections and am GWing companies to get my score up.  The problem is the GWs have erased parts of my credit history, so I am looking at getting a credit card to help build more. 

 

I currently have one card, I use it every month and pay it off every month.  I budget carefully and will never carry a revolving balance on my credit cards again.  What cards, preferably unsecured, would work for me?

 

Thansk!

Message 1 of 19
18 REPLIES 18
djrez4
Established Contributor

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?

Is the 626 a FICO or FAKO?

 

You're really scraping the bottom of the unsecured territory there.  Run through the Score Match process to see what may be available for you.

Message 2 of 19
kulamrazool82
Valued Member

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?

With this score (plus considering your history), I could only imagine getting Cap One Platinum. I am not sure whether this score qualifies for Cap One Rewards Master Card. Though Cap One is crap, I don't see any other option except CU. CU might be a good option for you to rebuild.



Scores: 723 (EX CITI Pull 11/09/13), 669 (CK 11/21/13), 680 (EQ Duck Card Score 11/11/13) 664 (Walmart TU FICO Nov '13)
Duck Card - 12K | Amex BCE - 2K | Amex Costco - 1.2K | CITI TY Pref - 6.5K | Chase Freedom - 3K | DCU Visa - 5K | Genisys CU Visa - 2K | Discover More - 4.5K | Cap1 Q Silver - 1500 | Cap One Hassle Free - 1500 | Amazon Store - 1900 | Walmart Store - 800 | Kohls - 300 | Macys - 800
Message 3 of 19
nicholasyud
Valued Contributor

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?

Credit union and some department gas card or some Smiley Happy

Starting Score: 560
Current Score: ?
Goal Score: 800
Message 4 of 19
HenryJumbo
Regular Contributor

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?

Just to know where you stand the average FICO is about 726 you're a full 100 behind the average.

Starting Score: EX: 736 FAKO | TU: 757 FICO | EQ 730 FICO
Current Score: EX: 736 FAKO | TU: 750 FICO | EQ 730 FICO
Goal Score:     EX: 750 FICO | TU: 750 FICO | EQ: 750 FICO
In my wallet:  $16,000  $8,000
Message 5 of 19
compassion101
Established Contributor

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?


@HenryJumbo wrote:

Just to know where you stand the average FICO is about 726 you're a full 100 behind the average.


 

Where did you come up with that score being an average?

 

 

Message 6 of 19
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?


@DubbaYou wrote:

Hi,

 

The quick background is I went through a divorce, injury and inability to work and more, so defaulted on payments.  I have paid off collections and am GWing companies to get my score up.  The problem is the GWs have erased parts of my credit history, so I am looking at getting a credit card to help build more. 

 

I currently have one card, I use it every month and pay it off every month.  I budget carefully and will never carry a revolving balance on my credit cards again.  What cards, preferably unsecured, would work for me?

 

Thansk!


What card do you have now?

 

For major network card, you probably need a secured card.  

 

Store only cards are easier to get, but only useful for building credit if you use them, so pick from places where you shop regularly. 

 

Message 7 of 19
OptimasPrime
Frequent Contributor

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?


@compassion101 wrote:

@HenryJumbo wrote:

Just to know where you stand the average FICO is about 726 you're a full 100 behind the average.


 

Where did you come up with that score being an average?

 

 


I agree that 726 does seem to be a bit high to be the average, and am curious as to where you got this as well. The average score listed on the myFico homepage is something like a 690

EQ 778 | TU 776
Barclay US Airways WMC 7.5k | BCE 5.8k | BofA Travel Rewards 9.1k | Chase Marriott Premier 13k | Citi TYP WMC 6.5k | Freedom Visa Sig 8k| Discover it 10k
Message 8 of 19
tinuviel
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?


@OptimasPrime wrote:

@compassion101 wrote:

@HenryJumbo wrote:

Just to know where you stand the average FICO is about 726 you're a full 100 behind the average.


 

Where did you come up with that score being an average?

 

 


I agree that 726 does seem to be a bit high to be the average, and am curious as to where you got this as well. The average score listed on the myFico homepage is something like a 690


 

From various sources that I've found through Google, the median credit score in the US is 723, whle the average score is 664. In statistics, the median is different from the average. The average is calculated by adding up all the scores of all individuals, and then dividing that figure by the number of individuals. But, the average can be skewed by outliers; ie: data points that are outside the representative norm. In the case of FICO scores, they are skewed towards the bottom end, as fewer people have super high 800+ scores than do those who have sub 600 scores. So, the median represents the middle point of  a skewed distribution, and represents the point at which 50% of the population have a higher score and 50% have a lower score.

 


Current Scores: EQ 775 (03/04/2014), EX 756 (03/01/2014), TU 760 (03/01/2014)
Ruby Spade Garden Club Member - Last App: 03/04/2013 - No apps until 2014
Cards: Cap1 Venture 6.4k, Cap1 Quicksilver MC 1.75k, BankAmericard 1-2-3 Visa Signature - UCF Alumni Association 5k, Discover 7k, Citi Diamond Preferred MC 10.35k, Wells Fargo Rewards Visa 7k, Chase Freedom 5k, Chase Ink 7.5k, Amex Green NPSL, Dillard's Amex 7.5k, JC Penney 7.5k, Kay Jeweler's 5.1k
Message 9 of 19
bichonmom
Senior Contributor

Re: Credit score 626, recommended card to help?


@DubbaYou wrote:

Hi,

 

The quick background is I went through a divorce, injury and inability to work and more, so defaulted on payments.  I have paid off collections and am GWing companies to get my score up.  The problem is the GWs have erased parts of my credit history, so I am looking at getting a credit card to help build more. 

 

I currently have one card, I use it every month and pay it off every month.  I budget carefully and will never carry a revolving balance on my credit cards again.  What cards, preferably unsecured, would work for me?

 

Thansk!


There's more to determining approval than just your FICO. Your paid CAs if they're still on your CR will affect your ability of being approved, plus they're hurting your FICO. Are you GWing the CAs, too? You might want to wait until more of your CAs are off before apping.

 

Since you already have a CC that you use every month, there's not a lot of benefit to your getting another card right now. Anything you would be approved for would be a toy limit ($300 - $500, in all likelihood). The best chances of approval would be Cap One rebuilder -- you have to look for one that says it's for poor/average credit, because their card names don't reflect that. But even then, you'd get a tiny limit if you were approved at all.

 

Your other option is to call local CUs. You might find someone willing to work with you since all of your CAs are PIF. Or you might end up needing to get a secured card. That's why I'm saying there's not a lot of benefit to your getting a new CC while you're working on getting your baddies off.

 

One other option: if you want to just add a new TL for pos history, you could try a GE card (e.g. Walmart, JC Penny, Lowes, etc.) They tend to be easier to qualify for and will help you to establish a 2nd positive TL.

 

 

EQ FICO 750 | TU FICO 761 (Walmart) | EX FAKO 767 | Goal: 800+

Edits, funky spacing and spelling due to my iPad not getting along with the forum editor!

Message 10 of 19
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