Starting out with cards

[Mark_MM]

Hello all,

My fico scores TU 635, EQ 690 (pulled 4/18/12). Credit history age – 1 year 6 months old. Just one TL (auto loan) always paid on time, never late. No baddies on EQ, on TU I have two medical collections. 0 inquiries.

Having only one account and no revolving/ credit cards is hurting my scores. I would like to add a few credit cards/ store cards to the mix. My goal is to get a decent mortgage in a year or two.

 Any suggestions on what cards I should apply for? I guess amex is out of the question right now? I am thinking about Walmart card - like that they give you your TU fico score for free, Best buy – was going to make a few purchases 1k or less, so thought might be a good idea to get a card instead to help my fico. Kohls card. Not sure about credit cards, ideally would like something with no annual fee, but understandable since just starting out. Not going to be maxing out any cards that I get and keep UT low.

Also not sure how many to open up at once since I want to keep my inquires low and also don’t want to throw up any red flags.

Any advice would be great

Thanks for your time.

[rootpooty]

I take it the baddies on tu are pretty old? What's on your ex report? I just applied with Walmart tu score of 683 and was denied cause of inquiries (6) and a collection which falls off next year of course ymmv. I know when i apped for a discover more and citi forward they pulled eq. Are you able to join navy federal credit union?

[Mark_MM]

Hi rootpooty,

The collections on TU is 3 - 1/2 years old. The two collections are showing up on my EX report as well. I don’t think I'm eligible for the navy credit union, although I have an uncle that was in the navy; although I don’t think they go that far with family.

[webhopper]

What does your income look like... if your income is pretty good, you may be eligible for zync... they seem to be income sensitive.

[Wolf3]

I suggest you open a secured card with a good size deposit.    After it is reported for a couple months, you can apply for the store cards you mentioned. 

IMO, this minimizes the risk of rejection and gives you what you need for your credit report.

[webhopper]

---

@Wolf3 wrote:

I suggest you open a secured card with a good size deposit.    After it is reported for a couple months, you can apply for the store cards you mentioned. 

IMO, this minimizes the risk of rejection and gives you what you need for your credit report.

---

+1,  Agree that a nice CL secured card would be a great thing in this situation

[Mark_MM]

Thanks everyone,

I just got approved for a capital one classic platinum, 300cl. Is one credit card sufficient right now plus my auto loan, or should I add more cards to the mix? Not sure if I should just build on the one and wait until I can’t get into the prime territory.

Income 62k year. Denied for zync, they said my ex fico is 592 (don’t understand why so low, same file as tu, unless its not a fico and internal scoring instead).

[injustifiiable]

---

@Mark_MM wrote:

Thanks everyone,

I just got approved for a capital one classic platinum, 300cl. Is one credit card sufficient right now plus my auto loan, or should I add more cards to the mix? Not sure if I should just build on the one and wait until I can’t get into the prime territory.

Income 62k year. Denied for zync, they said my ex fico is 592 (don’t understand why so low, same file as tu, unless its not a fico and internal scoring instead).

---

That 592 could be their internal score.

[Brian_Trying_700]

Call the back door number