New Member Seeking Advice

Anonymous · ‎03-30-2017

Hi guys. Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place (mods please move accordingly)

I'm just starting to get into the credit game (on my own) and my ultimate goal is to get the CSR since future work will involve a decent amount of travel.

A little about myself:
Age: 21 years old
Income: 60k (upcoming job offer)
Scores: All 3 around mid 700s
Crédit history: Been AU on parents' cards (Citi Double and Amex BCP) for about 1.5 years, AAoA 15 years-is, everything perfect, 4% util

Last week I was rejected flat out for CSR (can't hurt to try) since I only have history being an AU. I realized i need to stop being an AU and build a history of my own, so I App'd Discover Chrome for students and got approved 1.5k SL last week. Just applied for Chase Freedom this morning and got rejected for same reason as CSR. I honestly thought I'd have a good shot, but I'm starting to realize Chase doesn't want to be the first lender to issue a newbie cards.

I wanted to know what I should do moving forward. I'm planning to use the Discover and keep utilization low while continuing to use my AU cards. After a few months I will apply for a CLI on Discover (seeing that they gave me one of the most generous SLs I feel I have a good shot at a nice increase). Then maybe I will re-App the Freedom as well? I really want to build a relationship with Chase before I finally re-App the CSR. Is this a solid strategy? Do I have a good shot at getting the CSR by year end?

Thanks everyone for your help.

sarge12 · ‎03-30-2017

Try Capital One. They are good for beginners, or even established debtors.

TU fico08=812 07/16/23
EX fico08=809 07/16/23
EQ fico09=812 07/16/23
EX fico09=821 07/16/23
EQ fico bankcard08=832 07/16/23
TU Fico Bankcard 08=840 07/16/23
EQ NG1 fico=802 04/17/21
EQ Resilience index score=58 03/09/21
Unknown score from EX=784 used by Cap1 07/10/20

Anonymous · ‎03-30-2017

From what I recall reading, Chase likes to see at least 2 years of non-AU history and are also very finicky about new acccounts and inquiries. It might be worth it to look at another builder card like capital one quicksilver one if you dont mind the AF. Personally I went with Platinum then PC'd up to the non-AF Quicksilver. Then garden the crap out of the accounts for 2 years. Then try again with Chase.

Others may have better ideas but hope it helps.

SecretAzure · ‎03-30-2017

Don't go Capital One...please just apply for Amex BCE or ED. Amex likes thin profiles and these have no AF. They grow really fast and it'll make your profile look great in about a year when your limits multiply by a lot. Capital One is awful and avoid AF if you're not sure how your spend will change once you start working. Once you see how much you spend on dining/gas/groceries then you can make a more educated decision on whether or not other AF cards will be worth it for you. CSP is a great choice.

Good luck!

"Show your thanks with action! Hit the "Kudos" button (the stripe with the star) for every post you find helpful to show your appreciation to the community of great individuals who help you on these forums" -Me

Active Cards: Chevron Texaco, Amex BCE, Barclays Ring, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Best Buy Visa, Marvel MC

Must garden until 2/1/2022 to hit my goal AAOA.

Anonymous · ‎03-30-2017

I say go Amex as well. Discover is a great pickup! Congratulations on that approval.

Anonymous · ‎03-30-2017

@SecretAzure wrote:
Don't go Capital One...please just apply for Amex BCE or ED. Amex likes thin profiles and these have no AF. They grow really fast and it'll make your profile look great in about a year when your limits multiply by a lot. Capital One is awful and avoid AF if you're not sure how your spend will change once you start working. Once you see how much you spend on dining/gas/groceries then you can make a more educated decision on whether or not other AF cards will be worth it for you. CSP is a great choice.

Good luck!

I'm just curious why you say they are awful. They have been great to me. I had scores in the mid 600s when I stasrted rebuidling and they were willing to accept me unsecured with only a subprime car loan that was not even a year old. I have yet to have any problems with them.

sarge12 · ‎03-30-2017

@SecretAzure wrote:
Don't go Capital One...please just apply for Amex BCE or ED. Amex likes thin profiles and these have no AF. They grow really fast and it'll make your profile look great in about a year when your limits multiply by a lot. Capital One is awful and avoid AF if you're not sure how your spend will change once you start working. Once you see how much you spend on dining/gas/groceries then you can make a more educated decision on whether or not other AF cards will be worth it for you. CSP is a great choice.

Good luck!

I guess I'll have to agree to disagree on Capital One, I like their very simple 1.5% cash back, and I have had no issues with them at all. Amex BCE is outstanding, but not sure OP will qualify for that card with such a thin file He may qualify for a Capital One without an AF.

TU fico08=812 07/16/23
EX fico08=809 07/16/23
EQ fico09=812 07/16/23
EX fico09=821 07/16/23
EQ fico bankcard08=832 07/16/23
TU Fico Bankcard 08=840 07/16/23
EQ NG1 fico=802 04/17/21
EQ Resilience index score=58 03/09/21
Unknown score from EX=784 used by Cap1 07/10/20

SecretAzure · ‎03-30-2017

@sarge12 wrote:
@SecretAzure wrote:
Don't go Capital One...please just apply for Amex BCE or ED. Amex likes thin profiles and these have no AF. They grow really fast and it'll make your profile look great in about a year when your limits multiply by a lot. Capital One is awful and avoid AF if you're not sure how your spend will change once you start working. Once you see how much you spend on dining/gas/groceries then you can make a more educated decision on whether or not other AF cards will be worth it for you. CSP is a great choice.

Good luck!
I guess I'll have to agree to disagree on Capital One, I like their very simple 1.5% cash back, and I have had no issues with them at all. Amex BCE is outstanding, but not sure OP will qualify for that card with such a thin file He may qualify for a Capital One without an AF.

I put my sister as AU on 2 of my cards for a few months and she was approved for both Discover and Amex BCE instantly. And those limits were definitely less than OP's limits. The only thing hindering OP now is his AAOA is now on the floor. Quicksilver is a decent card but because of how difficult Capital One has been with me, even after 6 years...I don't recommend them. No credit limit increase...no unsecuring me...the only thing they do for me is charge me $29 AF. I don't want to pay an AF on a card with no perks and high interest. I want an upgrade and they refuse to give me one. This is why I recommend anything but Capital One but I understand not everyone has had the same experience...and probably because they cancelled their secure cards at some point. I'm stubborn and I feel I've made Capital One enough money that they can at least upgrade my card to unsecured so I may be able to PC to something else.

Also, I like speaking to humans in the same country. Both the chat bots and human CSR's are less helpful than the website. They don't seem to have the ability to do anything besides read a script to me. With Barclay's and Chase, I've had helpful reps who can discuss with me different options or ask me about why I want to do certain things.

"Show your thanks with action! Hit the "Kudos" button (the stripe with the star) for every post you find helpful to show your appreciation to the community of great individuals who help you on these forums" -Me

Active Cards: Chevron Texaco, Amex BCE, Barclays Ring, Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Best Buy Visa, Marvel MC

Must garden until 2/1/2022 to hit my goal AAOA.

Anonymous · ‎03-30-2017

Call Chase and ask for a recon. You can find the backdoor number on the forums. I was denied CSR & Chase Disney premier and after calling for a recon, on both, I was approved. Worth a try. Good luck!

HeavenOhio · ‎03-30-2017

One of the things to be aware of is that CapOne pulls from all three bureaus. You can expect Chase to pull from two bureaus but be pleasantly surprised if they pull only one. The pulls aren't necessarily a bad thing if you know a card is worth it. But it's nice to know the drill going in so you're not unpleasantly surprised.

If you go with CapOne, I'd suggest avoiding the QuicksilverOne. It has an annual fee, and offers to upgrade to the no-fee Quicksilver are infrequent. On the other hand, people have been finding it to be relatively easy to upgrade the Platinum to Quicksilver.

AMEX may be a good choice. They don't seem to mind a few recent inquiries or a couple of new accounts. And you know that they're almost certainly going to do a single pull from Experian.