Would I get denied for a BOA secured CC?

[Poorfico24]

I have pretty bad credit, scores from 500 tranunion to 551 equifax. There really isn't anything good on my report. I am trying to clear up inaccuracies and pfd's currently. However, when I spoke to a friend, she said the fact that I don't have a revolving account hurts my score. I only have 2 installments, 0 revolving, 0 mortgage, 0 other listed. I have never had a credit card, denied 1-2 years ago from First Premier and some other company. I hate using inquires just to hear the lovely words "DENIED." What do you think my chances are to get a fully secured 500$ cc from BOA?

My credit report includes:

-2 installment student loans ($21000)<---currently on deferment in good standing, but not getting repaid yet

-up to 6 collections (depending on what report I am viewing).

-2-3 inquiries in the last year

-Credit history length is poor. I think the oldest one is from 2002 or 2003.

Message Edited by Poorfico24 on 03-02-2009 03:40 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

Frankly, not good.

Yes, revolving helps, but IMO, you're still in the repair phase, not the rebuilding phase.

Maybe one of the jewelry store accounts --you might do a search here on Kay's, etc.

[Poorfico24]

Thank you, I was thinking the same thing but needed to hear it from someone else =)

[haulingthescoreup]

lol, we've all been there!

[stoopidmunkee]

I got approved for a BoA CC and it looks like your scores are better than mine, but they might of been more accepting of me since I have a checking and savings account with this for close to a year now.  I would say do the Kay Jeweler's card like they suggest and then try for BoA secured.

[Anonymous]

if the collections are old(5+ years) i would try it, if not go for hsbc secured and try for this in 6 months

[Creditaddict]

I think BofA has changed there secured product to approve online with application and seems to be instant vs. a human touch like before when I applied. my friend in the LOW 500's was approved last week, the online screen looked like an instant approval but then he got a call a couple days later verifying some address stuff and then said card would be on way.

[haulingthescoreup]

That's interesting! The BofA secured used to be tougher to get compared to the others, but maybe they're sensing an opportunity.

If you haven't already, try their online pre-approval site. They will soft you on EQ, but for the real thing, they'll pull EX and possibly all three, as it's a secured card:

BofA online pre-approval site

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
That's interesting! The BofA secured used to be tougher to get compared to the others, but maybe they're sensing an opportunity.

If you haven't already, try their online pre-approval site. They will soft you on EQ, but for the real thing, they'll pull EX and possibly all three, as it's a secured card:

BofA online pre-approval site

---

Just wanted to say there's a chance (only a very slight one from what I can gather) that the hard pull might come on EQ, not EX. I was very surprised when I applied for my BofA card in December to find that the expected hard on EX never came, and instead landed on EQ!

Anyway... I agree the preapproval site is a good idea - so long as you're not opted out, it should give you an idea if you might be able to get the secured card. Even if you can't get it right away, it would be a good one to go for a few months down the line if you can get another card (e.g. Kays or something, as suggested above) and build a bit of positive revolving history with it. That should then definitely help your scores, if you treat the card(s) right. Good luck.