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I'm in a bit of a jam. I just graduated, moved from Alabama to Indiana and I wanted to check on my credit and perhaps get a few more credit accounts before trying to buy a house next year. I have no debt (other than some money on a credit card), I have bought my car with cash, generally, I buy everything in cash. I only have one credit card from my credit union which I found out last week only reports to Equifax (very big down in the South). SO my TransUnion and Experian credit reports are completely empty. I now have a FICO score of 728 on Equifax and less than 20% debt on a $4000 credit limit. I have had my credit card for almost 3 years.
What credit card can I get that will use my Equifax to get me approved but will report to all 3 bureaus so I start building my credit on Experian and TransUnion?
Try to get in with a local credit union. Nearly all CUs pull EQ.
I would call/write your current CU and see if it should be reporting to all 3 credit bureaus, and ask if they will report to the other two. Worth a shot.
I called my credit union in Alabama. They said it is a policy to report only to Equifax as its used most in the south. They can't report to the other two because it would cost a fee to do that.
That must be a really small CU. Try getting in with a CU near where you're at now and apply for a credit card. Do you know your EQ score? It may be difficult, as you have an extremely limited history, even on EQ.
I wonder if disputing with TU and EX the fact the card is NOT reporting on those reports may help. You could always give them a call and see what they say. Might be able to provide them the card data and they contact the credit union directly to ask that it be reported.
@Tazman81 wrote:I wonder if disputing with TU and EX the fact the card is NOT reporting on those reports may help. You could always give them a call and see what they say. Might be able to provide them the card data and they contact the credit union directly to ask that it be reported.
Good idea. But I would like to add to this. Make sure though when you dispute it, that your balance is $0 as most likely if TU and EX do verify and report it, the CU will never update it again as their policy is to only report to EQ.
@Tazman81 wrote:I wonder if disputing with TU and EX the fact the card is NOT reporting on those reports may help. You could always give them a call and see what they say. Might be able to provide them the card data and they contact the credit union directly to ask that it be reported.
Is this possible? My thought is that the only thing you can dispute is wrong info, not missing info. IMO, lenders are not required to report, they are only required to report correctly if they report. I can be wrong though.
@thrasher865 wrote:Try to get in with a local credit union. Nearly all CUs pull EQ.
I would call/write your current CU and see if it should be reporting to all 3 credit bureaus, and ask if they will report to the other two. Worth a shot.
Not necessarily. This is very dependent on geographic location. I have yet to find a CU in my area that doesn't pull TU.
@valley_man0505 wrote:
@thrasher865 wrote:Try to get in with a local credit union. Nearly all CUs pull EQ.
I would call/write your current CU and see if it should be reporting to all 3 credit bureaus, and ask if they will report to the other two. Worth a shot.
Not necessarily. This is very dependent on geographic location. I have yet to find a CU in my area that doesn't pull TU.
it does say "nearly"
@valley_man0505 wrote:Not necessarily. This is very dependent on geographic location. I have yet to find a CU in my area that doesn't pull TU.
Both my local CU's have pulled Experian exclusively.
I recommend Alliant CU (available nationwide) - they pull EQ.
And I still like Cabela's - which pulls EQ.
All my GEMB merchant cards pull EQ, but I'm not a super fan of merchant cards unless they serve a useful purpose i.e. you shop there a lot and they give discounts or some such.