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Ok so I have the following in my possession at this time...
USAA Amex (Secured) - $350 limit
USAA M/C (Secured) - $500 limit
Capital One M/C ( Secured) - $200 limit
Generations FCU Visa (Secured) $800 limit
Now the question is as my score increases and I become eligible for unsecured products ( I did get approved for Credit One who initially denied me like 100 times prior), do I need to my limits on one of these and use that card and sock draw the others until my 1 yr anniversary. I found out from my credit union they will NOT graduate my card. Also, I keep getting different info with regards to Cap 1. Now USAA, they will not graduate at THIS TIME but they initally didnt allow you to increase your credit limit but now you can so there is hope. I wanted a secured card that would grow with me but not sure if these are going to work.
Whats a girl to do?
Short answer is stop applying for new credit! Get some good payments history established with cards you already have. Try not to use more than 30% of your available credit at any one time. Probably best to not carry any balances over from month to month except for say 1 card. Pay on time every time and wait at least a year and then take a look at your credit scores. By that time you should be able to be approved for unsecured credit.
Thanks but that doesnt really answer my question. I do appreciate the advice. I am not app'ing. I meant that prior to this time getting approved by Credit One I couldnt in the past few yrs.
Cap One isn't going to graduate unless they add in a program for that. In other words.. it's not going to happen.
If your CU said they won't graduate the card, that's your answer for that.
USAA, who knows. Even if they do eventually allow your card to graduate, it could take a long, long time. Something has to cause the bank to want to change their policies, then they have to review the suggested policies etc. It's just not something that's going to happen short-term (unless it's already in the works).
So, honestly, I would say give up on trying to get a card to graduate. Secured cards are best for estabilishing positive history when you cannot get unsecured cards. Once you qualify for unsecured cards, the secured cards are pretty much a waste.
Then again, other banks aren't better off - BofA will require a HP to graduate your card. Even then it's technically not guaranteed, and you could get stuck with some awful worst-tier card that won't ever grow. Citi will graduate after 18 months (or maybe it was 24 - more than a year). WF I can't comment on at all.
I would say keep the cards you have right now until you can get approved for something unsecured. After you can get something unsecured approved, your next step will be trying to get approved for a prime card that WILL actually grow with you. Secured cards are just a stepping stone to get into the unsecured credit world, they're not meant as something that will grow.
This is why I love this site....if you dont know the answer, someone else will. You all are awesome.
Now since I have low limits, do I need to increase them so when I become more desirable to unsecured cc's my limits wont be $500 like the secured cards?
I used 3 secured for rebuilding also.
I recommend using all 3 cards every month for all your normal expenses. PIF every month, to avoid any interest charges. Now is the time to show you can manage your expenses.
Even though the cards won't graduae, you should apply for unsecured cards with the same companies. I recommend higher deposits. It can help get a higher limit cards in the future. It my case it helped with Capital One ( $2200 deposit to $3000 unsecured), not HSBC ($1100 deposit to $500 unsecured). Patience wins out in this process.