Helping my brother

[startnow]

I'm back again...this time with a question for my brother.  He is starting to rebuild his credit.  In college he had one card that went bad (I think Wellsfargo bank) but my mom paid off completely for him.  Until yesterday, all he had were student loans that he is starting to repay.  He just co-borrowed a new vehicle with my mother yesterday and he's an authorized user on my dad's chase bank slate card as of June.  He has been using the chase card and paying it off in full but I don't think it will benefit his score in the way he thinks it will since my dad is the primary card holder.  I want him to get his own card but we don't know what his credit score is (he didn't get it from the dealer yesterday).  I know Cap One has low limits and take forever to increase.  Do you recommend anyone else he can start with? We haven't apped for anything.  I figured it's best to have a plan before he gets all these denials.  I also thought about Discover Card as an Option.  What do you all suggest?

[youdontkillmoney]

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@startnow wrote:

I'm back again...this time with a question for my brother.  He is starting to rebuild his credit.  In college he had one card that went bad (I think Wellsfargo bank) but my mom paid off completely for him.  Until yesterday, all he had were student loans that he is starting to repay.  He just co-borrowed a new vehicle with my mother yesterday and he's an authorized user on my dad's chase bank slate card as of June.  He has been using the chase card and paying it off in full but I don't think it will benefit his score in the way he thinks it will since my dad is the primary card holder.  I want him to get his own card but we don't know what his credit score is (he didn't get it from the dealer yesterday).  I know Cap One has low limits and take forever to increase.  Do you recommend anyone else he can start with? We haven't apped for anything.  I figured it's best to have a plan before he gets all these denials.  I also thought about Discover Card as an Option.  What do you all suggest?

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^^^^^^^^

While it's beneficial to have your mom and dad and you help him regain his credit footing also consider having him do  a "homework" assignment and research the answer to this question himself so he can learn and get education on credit and personal finance.

You can ask him to :

1. pay for a myFICO 3B report on here (one time) and see what needs to be improve on his report and see his credit scores (many different ones)

2. his homework assignment should lead him to you asking questions such as what's the difference between a secured and non secured card; a bank versus credit union

Maybe the answer at the end of his search is apply for a credit union credit card

[Meanmchine]

Have your brother go to CreditCheckTotal.com and request the $1 / 7 day trial and get his FICO8 scores. Remember to cancel the service before the 7th day if  you dont want to continue it.  You can also have him signup for CreditKarma. Its a FAKO score but its free with weekly updates. Once you have an idea what his scores are, then people here can help him out better. Good luck

[Berk]

So far it seems like everyone in your family has been more than willing to help your brother out. However, you and your parents are not really helping your brother out in the long term if you don't make him do the work. I know that this is just my opinion but it does seem to be the way life works. So, with that said, here is what I would do:

Have him start here:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/bd-p/rebuildingcredit

This forum will show him step by step how to rebuild/build his credit. Personally, if he were my brother, my help to him would be contingent on how much effort he put into helping himself. 

[startnow]

I appreciate the comments so far.  He is actually very willing to learn about the process and how to maintain great credit.  My mom's involvement with the car was less because of him and more because of something that pertained to her.  I will direct him to the links and see if he can get his report.  I'll report back once we find out his scores.  He is very responsible and just wanted some direction.  I don't mind helping him in this instance because he has proven that he is not the college student that went wild. 

[Themanwhocan]

Have him use creditscorecard.com for a free Experian FICO 08 score each month.