help deciding between unsecured and secured credit card

[doctor2be]

I recently pulled my credit:   trans union 677

                                         equifax   669

I wanted to get a credit card and went to td bank and they said my scores are ok enough to get an unsecured--I am afraid b/c it wil be a hard inquiry for my report.  I was thinking of just getting a secured  card and then applying fo a unsecured once my credit is a little better------need help---does anyone know how much your credit score drops for a new credit card inquiry

[jaybird201]

It varies depending on a bunch of factors, but usually the point drop is negligible, and with a little bit of time is easily recovered (and depending on your current credit utilization, adding to you available credit may improve your utilization enough to actually give you a score bump).

I just applied for a CLI and the hard inquiry caused my score to drop by a single point. If you're able to get an unsecured card, go for it.

[doctor2be]

I am not sure what credit utilization is??? All I have is college loans which totals about 3,800.  Also on my 

report it ssaids that my loans have a debt to ration of 60% with a balnace of 3800 but credit limit of 6250------can they record the amoutn of my loan as a credit limit---confused?????????

[Tons_of_Debt]

Unsecured. Make sure you PIF every month.

[jaybird201]

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@doctor2be wrote:

I am not sure what credit utilization is??? All I have is college loans which totals about 3,800.  Also on my 

report it ssaids that my loans have a debt to ration of 60% with a balnace of 3800 but credit limit of 6250------can they record the amoutn of my loan as a credit limit---confused?????????

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Don't worry about that right now. As mentioned by the previous poster, just go for the unsecured card and be sure to pay-in-full every month and don't go over your limit (treat the card like a debit card), and you'll be in great shape.

[jennordy]

I got a 3 point drop from a recent inquiry.