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Ah makes sense. Thanks.
@Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to get a credit card to 1) build credit and 2) get some rewards from my purchases. I had 1 store credit card in the past, but I closed it because I wasn't using it and I didn't know anything about how credit scores are calculated at the time (I did a bunch of research recently, so I understand now).
I haven't had much luck in getting a credit card; 2 applications rejected. I'll make this post in chronological order so you can see the process I went through.
- Got my Transunion score from creditkarma.com: 695
- Got my Transunion credit report: no bad marks.
- Applied for Amex Blue cash card, got instantly rejected. They told me my Experian score is 652.
- Got my Experian credit report: one 30-day late payment on a student loan that's closed out.
- Applied for Citi Forward card, got rejected after a review of my report (not instantly). They told me my Equifax score is 605.
- Got my Equifax credit report: same 30-day late payment, no other bad marks.
- Tried sending a goodwill letter to my college to have the bad payment removed, but no luck.
So that's where I'm at now. I have 2 questions for you guys:
- Should I try disputing the late payment with the credit bureaus, saying my payment wasn't late? I'm hoping they either won't care enough to investigate and just delete the record or will be unable to verify the late payment.
- I have an application letter sitting here for a pre-approved Chase Freedom card. Should I apply for that one since they already pre-approved me? Also, the letter says $150 cash back for signing, though I've seen $200 offers online. Will I have a better chance of being accepted for the Freedom card if I go through the "pre-approved" letter they sent me, or can I apply through a $200 offer and have the same chance of being approved?
Thanks for your help.
Since TU doesn't have any negative marks reporting then I would recommend to join the following credit unions that pull TU Navy Fed, Lake Michigan CU, Consumers Credit Union and talk to them about what card they could offer you based on your current credit criteria.
If you want to try for a credit card with a bank I would suggest Discover and Barclays since they pull TU most of the time
Very useful info, thank you! I actually just opened a checking account with Consumers Credit Union, so they might be willing to give me a card.
I wouldn't mind getting a Discover card that doesn't have annual fees, but I probably want something with more universal acceptance for my first card.
@Anonymous wrote:Very useful info, thank you! I actually just opened a checking account with Consumers Credit Union, so they might be willing to give me a card.
I wouldn't mind getting a Discover card that doesn't have annual fees, but I probably want something with more universal acceptance for my first card.
You are welcome...do you know if Consumers CU pulled a hard or soft inquiry on TU?
They told me it would be a soft. Haven't checked my credit report though.
@Anonymous wrote:They told me it would be a soft. Haven't checked my credit report though.
How long ago did you join and are you subscribed to USAA credit monitoring service?
They just called this morning and told me everything is good to go. And no, I've never heard of that USAA service.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:Very useful info, thank you! I actually just opened a checking account with Consumers Credit Union, so they might be willing to give me a card.
I wouldn't mind getting a Discover card that doesn't have annual fees, but I probably want something with more universal acceptance for my first card.
You are welcome...do you know if Consumers CU pulled a hard or soft inquiry on TU?
Me too! The lady said she didn't know why any bank does a hard pull but theirs wouldn't be. I checked and saw that it was indeed a soft. I also joined American Heritage Federal Credit Union and was not pleased to see it was a hard pull after three people said it would be soft. I know not all customer service people can be trusted but still.
Consumers card looks really nice but I couldn't find any information as to what worth the points are so I left it alone.
@Anonymous wrote:They just called this morning and told me everything is good to go. And no, I've never heard of that USAA service.
You got approved for a credit card with them? Regarding the credit monitoring service go to www.usaa.com and become a member. You aren't required to open a bank account with them to sign up for the monitoring service. For about $12 a month you get to monitor all 3 bureaus plus able to pull your report every day if you want. They provide PLUS scores which are essentially FAKO scores. I have had it since December and love it I opened a checking/savings account and this month I applied for their Platinum MC and was approved
No, I mean they finished reviewing my info and setting up my checking account. I haven't applied for a card with them.
What's a FAKO score? Fake FICO? lol