@MarineVietVet wrote:
Have you looked at the Credit Card Center here onsite?
That's a great start - and probably a better option than looking for retail cards. And Orchard will probably come up as a recommended card for you. Bonus! You're already there!
Retail cards won't give you a score boost in and of themselves. They can be helpful if you use them for discounts at stores you frequently shop at. After your Orchard ages, look at what cards will suit you best for the long-term. And don't look for a merchant card just for the sake of having one. I, like you, had an Orchard (superb rebuilder card, btw) and experimented to see if adding a merchant card would increase my FICO scores. It didn't for me or others who tried the same thing - I think the posts for that experiment on these myFICO boards are under "Guinea Pig Results" or some such.
BTW, FICO looks for a bank/national cc revolving account. You only need one to keep the happy - and you have that in place with your Orchard.
And remember you can have FICO scores in the 800's with just one card.
Often folks like to slowly build their way up to three cards for convenience; and some folks like to keep less than half their revolving accounts reporting a balance - which is easy with three cards.
But it's wise to put at least six months age on that Orchard before you go looking for another. And you may choose to wait longer, even much longer, than that. I was so happy that "they liked me, they really liked me" that I, unfortunately, apped too soon and opened too many unnecessary cards - which decimated my AAofA.
Take good care of your Orchard. Remember they report your balance on the last business day of the month. Most folks have best FICO scores if they report less than a 9% balance. And, of course, PIF'ing is always a smart move.
Congrats on your new card - Orchard is my favorite rebuilder. Reward yourself with a yummy treat instead of an additional card - at least for the time being.
