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@cwwatts1202 wrote:
Ive had a FP secured card since november, I pay it in full every month. Since this card reports every 30 days, when should I expect to see an increase in my score? Even a point, I don't care. I just wanna know that getting this card was a good decision.
There's no difference in secured CC versus unsecured CC. It will be a gradual increase over time. As the account continues to age, you'll see score improvement.
It's hard to predict how much score improvement you'll see and when under any circumstances, but to even try to ballpark it, we'd need more information. How many credit cards do you have? What else is on your report, positive and negative? What are your scores currently? If you have a FICO report, have you tried the simulator? That will give you an idea of expected improvement by continuing to pay your bills on time.
Secured CCs affect FIKOs, FAKOs, and all known species of credit scores exactly the same way as a regular CC with the same CL, util, and history.
@cwwatts1202 wrote:
Thanks, I just thought there was a difference in secured and unsecured, since secured CC's report every 30 days, I don't know if secured CC's report every 30 as well...?
Pretty much every credit card reports a day or two after the statement cuts...secured or unsecured...
I'm not sure that getting a card from FP was such a good decision because of their outrageous fees but, the best way to build your FICO® is to make sure you have ONLY positive things reporting on your credit reports. Also, its best to have more than just one credit card reporting. We started with 3 secured credit cards and have worked diligently to get our credit reports reporting only positive information. We have learned that using credit and building a great FICO® does not happen quickly. It takes several years to really get established with a strong age of accounts but, you should be able to see progress little by little with your continued use of revolving credit. Also, if you learn to play the utilization game with your credit cards, this will increase your FICO® more quickly than anything else. To figure utilization: Balance (divided) by Credit Limit = percentage. Lower then 10% recommended per account, again, this is one of the fastest means for increasing the over all credit score.
Best wishes and I hope this helps!
I've recently jumped on the credit reestablishment band wagon, and picked up my first secured card in August. After only one statement and one reporting cycle (and strategically manipulating my credit utilization to show less than 10% utilization), my score has jumped 20 points in just a few days of the statement preparation.
I highly recommend Capital One's secured card for rebuilding. I was very surprised to see such a high increase in such a short time. It's definitely motivating to know that with a little research and discipline you really can pull your score up.
Hope this helps =]
You definitely need at least 2 cards for rebuilding, 3 is what is mostly recommended on this site.