Secured Prime vs. Unsecured Sub-Prime to Build/Rebuild Credit

[Anonymous]

---

@marty56 wrote:

I would go secured prime since it could lead to an unsecured prime fom the same lender.

The fact the Aspire Visa can see that they are an unsecured card whose yearly fee in $149 is a real joke.

---

Precisely. You want a card that can evolve as you do. And some of the bottom-feeder cards from the subprime lenders simply won't drop their annual fees and high rates, even if you get your FICO into the mid-700s.

[Anonymous]

This what reported on my credit report...

BANK OF AMERICA

Account No.:    XXX*       XXX* 
Condition:      Open       Open
Balance:        $0         $0 
Type:       Credit line secured Secured credit card
Pay Status:    Current      Current

I did take a little ding for being a new account... but im happy to have it and cant wait to have it graduate. Weeks later when I pulled again with other CC at 0 and this one also one cc with small balance...... i'm happy to say Truecredit show atleast 20+ and little more on EX.

Cant wait to update myFICO but I'm going to wait till end of month.

[FretlessMayhem]

I would go for a BOA secured card before First Premier or Aspire since BOA will eventually unsecure and grow with you.

A previous poster also had an excellent point about putting money up front. It *could* possibly look better under a manual review.

[Anonymous]

BofA won't give me anything but secured because of BK (it's 8+ years old).  I'm thinking of getting secured and they told me it is not reported as secured.   Do you think this will have any affect on my other ccs when they pull their monthly soft inqs?  I have one that is over 7000 and two others at 5000.  The only reason I would consider this is to get a prime card.  My scores are all in 700s.

Thanks for any advise.  

[Anonymous]

Hi casinoannie,

If you absolutely, positively must have a BofA card

and secured is all they are offering, by all means go

for it!

If you can get the 99/500 partially secured card, jump

all over it. If not, BofA's fully secured cards range from

$300-10,000 and it will get you in their pipeline. Take good

care of that card and the sky's the limit for you.

If you can afford it, start with $1,000. This way, the drop in

overall credit limits won't be so drastic when other companies

soft pull your reports. If that's too high, start where you can.

And as far as the other credit card issuers are concerned,

I wouldn't worry about it. What they will focus on most likely is

the BofA tradeline....not that it's a secured card, which doesn't

matter anyway from a FICO score perspective.

The most important thing to "worry about" is not whether a card

reports as secured or unsecured. It's about establishing a

relationship with a world-class financial institution that will serve

you well over time as long as you do your part. BofA will be happy

to offer you the rest of their product line. Just pay early....worst case,

on time. Then all doors will be opened to you.

So to review, go ahead with your plans for the BofA secured card.

And don't worry about the other cc companies.

Hope this helps you. Enjoy the day!

CanDo

"The right attitude is everything"

[Anonymous]

thanks CanDo.  I don't have to have one but I probably will be retired by the time my BK falls off in "09. So now is the time to go for it.  They won't do a hard for secured, right?

[Anonymous]

Hi again casinoannie,

If I'm not mistaken, I believe they do pull a hard inquiry

for all credit card apps - secured or unsecured. That's

pretty standard procedure but it's worth it because you'll

be in the BofA pipeline. What starts out as a $1,000

secured card may well blossom into a $10,000 unsecured

card, a $5,000 line of credit, a $30,000 auto loan and a

$300,000 mortgage. 

Please keep us posted on your success. Enjoy the day!

CanDo

"The right attitude is everything"