How long should I wait before applying for a second credit card with 6 months of credit history?

[JustMe77]

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@Thorin wrote:

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@LS2982 wrote:

It's best to leave a small 1-9% balance on that card since it is your only card reporting for FICO scoring purposes.

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Even with a 19.8% APR?  

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You can let a balance report without paying interest. Say your Capital One statement closes on Feb. 28th, and your statement ending on Feb. 28th shows a balance of $200 from one purchase made on Feb. 15th. If you pay that $200 by the due date (say, March 20th), you won't be paying interest. Does that make sense? A lot of people will pay their balance down before the statement period even ends, so that the balance reported to credit agencies is low (so, for example, if you paid $150 on Feb. 20th, but your statement ended Feb. 28th, the reported balance would be $50 due March 20th).

My reported balances are fairly high right now, but I don't pay interest because I always pay the statement balance in full.

[bichonmom]

You can get your CR as often as you want if you're willing to pay for it. I have USAA's CMS. It's only $12.25 a month. It alerts me to any changes on all 3 of my CRs, like inquiries, new accts, etc. And I can pull a 3-in-1 CR every day if I want. I usually pull every week or so -- just to check that balances are reporting and make sure nothing has popped up that I don't know about.

If you have only had credit for less than 6 months, you should be sure you have a FICO score before you app for any more credit. It usually takes about 6 months, but could be longer, for a score to be established.

If you have scores, you might be able to get Walmart. GE is prety good. They gave me my first rebuilder CC in March, when I only had 1 year of installment loans showing. But you really need to be sure you have a FICO with all 3 (or at least w/TU and EQ). You can get a free trial here and that will give you your EQ. If you don't have a score and app, you'll get an inq for nothing.

[LS2982]

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@Thorin wrote:

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@LS2982 wrote:

It's best to leave a small 1-9% balance on that card since it is your only card reporting for FICO scoring purposes.

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Even with a 19.8% APR?  

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The key is let a small balance report and then PIF immediately to avoid interest.