secured credit cards feedback

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone i'm currently working on rebuilding my credit and i'm currently at the level where the only things i qualify for are secured credit cards. i currently have 3, 2 with capitol one and 1 with citibank. the citibank is relativley new only had it since 07/2014  with a 300 limit which is the amount hat i deposited to get the card. so far ihave been careful with the card but not perfect i have maxed out once and ended up over the limit but i currently have the card paid down to less than 30%.my capitol one cards, one has 200 limit and the other is 201 ( the 1 came from a dollar increase from them believe it or not). i have had both capitol one cards for about 2 years but i was very reckless always maxed out or over the limit and making minimum payments.  its sad to say i have struggled to manage 200 and i understand why i am at the credit level i am now but i do realize that having healthy credit is important. i would like to know if anyone has had rebuilding success with secured cards how did it go ? how is it going ? were you offered any increases ? did it open other options for you ? etc and also any tips for me staying on track would be great. thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Really don't have much advice, since I am new to the rebuilding process myself. Just like you, I maxed out my only secured card (NFCU $800 limit ) for a few months and thats because I didn't know it was best to keep the balance low. Last month, my statement balance was $169 and thats because I paid it down before the statement closed. Per MyFico, my TU increased by 27, EQ and EX both 38, so yes, keeping an extremely low balance does help. Yes, it might be hard, especially for me since money can be tight, but I just have to cut corners to make up. I will be putting my $200 deposit on my capital one card on tomorrow, so hopefully, this will increase my scores even more. Good Luck with everything, and hopefully, the Veteran Members will be able to help you more.

[wmweeza]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone i'm currently working on rebuilding my credit and i'm currently at the level where the only things i qualify for are secured credit cards. i currently have 3, 2 with capitol one and 1 with citibank. the citibank is relativley new only had it since 07/2014  with a 300 limit which is the amount hat i deposited to get the card. so far ihave been careful with the card but not perfect i have maxed out once and ended up over the limit but i currently have the card paid down to less than 30%.my capitol one cards, one has 200 limit and the other is 201 ( the 1 came from a dollar increase from them believe it or not). i have had both capitol one cards for about 2 years but i was very reckless always maxed out or over the limit and making minimum payments.  its sad to say i have struggled to manage 200 and i understand why i am at the credit level i am now but i do realize that having healthy credit is important. i would like to know if anyone has had rebuilding success with secured cards how did it go ? how is it going ? were you offered any increases ? did it open other options for you ? etc and also any tips for me staying on track would be great. thanks in advance.

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I know it can be hard to keep utilization low when your limit is so low, but how I did it was charge a specific small item every month (say my coffee or a book). I paid the rest in cash or debit, once my CL grew I bought larger items. I have never exceeded 10% reporting, though because it was just Christmas I did max out one card (yes, my $300 Target card).

Secured cars are how I got to where I am today, I'd bet many members here would say the same. I started with a Bank Of America $500 secured card, charged maybe $30 a month on it every month (never more then $50) and they gave me CLI 's while it was still secure. It unsecured at one year and I am happy with my current CL.I don't know how Citibank etc handle accounts, sorry, but look where I am today, I started with my cards in 2011...you can get there too

[Anonymous]

with you bank of america card how long did it take them to give you an increase ?

[wmweeza]

1 year, though many have reported requesting and getting an increase sooner, but I wouldn't count on it. It unsecured and then I got a CLI,  I just doble checked my paperwork) sorry, I mispoke in my earlier post...I had to wait a year.

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@Anonymous wrote:

with you bank of america card how long did it take them to give you an increase ?

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[TiggerDat]

First of all it took a while.  I had some negatives from cards I defaulted on from about ten years ago.  I started the rebuilding about two years after I defaulted.  I opened a secured card for a $1000.  It was my only account for many many years.  I didn't worry about or understand utilization at that time, but I didn't really care either at that time.  I also only got to about 60% of the limit.  I though carrying the balance would look good, so I did for about 6 months even though I could have paid it off at any time.  After my default I learned that credit was important and that I needed to get back in the game and master it and my own personal spending habits.  I only bought what I had to for the most part, I became fairly minimal.  If I wanted to buy something I took a day or two and rethought any large purchase and searched out a cheaper place to get it.  Some things I did buy, at a lower price, and others just simply went unbought. 

Now for the credit strategy.  I kept that card for a long time!  If I could go back and redo it differntly, I would.  Instead of one card I would open up a few cards.  (It seems like you already have done so.)  This would help with AAoA. (Average Age of Accounts.)  This is a key factor for your score to increase.  Utilization is another, but it only matters when you go to apply for new accounts.  I actually kept that secure card open for more than five years.  I then started out the real rebuilding after about 3 years.  I opened up an account with Capital One, since at the time they were the only back which would give me a card through their prequalification weblink.  I then waite a short time and got another Capital One account.  Both of these accounts had an AF.  (Annual Fee.)  I then kept checking prequalification websites and did a few applications to test the waters.  I got an offer from Household Bank/HSBC for a now fee card.  (Later they were taken over by Capital One.) 

I let them age a bit and waited about a year from the last card and applied for more cards.  I got many denials from the short credit history, the negatives, and the low score.  (I can literally remember looking back and seeing a FICO score of about 540!)  I also signed up for Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and Quizzle to check my progress.  I did not care so much about inquiries either, but probably should have, however in the long run it hasn't mattered so much.  I was able to add some less than stellar accounts to my portfolio.  Sychrony and Comenity cards   Bealls, Marathon, Walmart, etc.  (At the time the Marathon card was not a Comenity card, but it very quickly became one, I also opened a Marathon Visa a few months later.)

I actually have even closed a few cards I never used much.  I even closed on of the Capital One cards at the two year mark when they would not remove or waive the AF.  Some will say that these closing hurt me and in some ways they may have, but not that much.  It may have even helped me in the fact that if some of them were still open it would have cause some of the creditors I do have now to deny me. I waited every few months and then added cards in lumps, basically three or four at a time.  I applied for some cards that I did not really qualify for at the time, but I was a bit eager and had to test the waters.  (Since then I have gotten these cards!)  I still had some negatives reporting, so this was a constraint for some issuers.  However, when the negatives fell off I found it a little easier to get cards.  That was about two years ago!  Since then I have added nearly 20 cards and closed 5, or so. 

In the end of the process I am left with a short AAoA, low utilization, many new accounts, many inquiries, and about $100,000 of available credit.  In about 6 months I will be left with about 6 inquiries on each report.  Since my last spree was about six months ago.  I am fairly certain my FICO score will increase a bit then too!  I actually use about 2% of my limits.  (My two sisters and my niece use aboout 8-11% of the rest of the limits!  I am such a nice guy allowing them to use my cards!  Oh, and it gives me a slight benefit too!)

I have retained some very good habits in this and a few benefits.  I still rethink every purchase I make if it is a large purchase.  I save a lot of money this, which my friends seem to appreciate when we go out to eat and they are dividing up the check.  I simply pull out a credit card and take their cash.  I don't worry if one of them is short, it comes back in the end, in spades!  They seem to treat me to dinner more because they see I don't worry about who is short or why or make a fuss about it.  So I save a bit of money this way too.  I also get all the rewards!  (I know all your friends might not react in the same way, but the ones I have seem to.)  I also PIF (Pay in Full) every month after the statement cuts, redeem my rewards as often as I can, and save a lot of money.  I save money in many ways.  I save by rethinking purchases, using the credit cards own website to get discounts, and use the best card based on the rewards structure of the card. 

Some of the benefits of what I have done is that banks are much more willing to give me credit and raise my limits.  I also do own many nice things, because when I rethink things I might also find a better item which is more durable or less money.  More durable means it lasts longer and therefor I don't have to replace it as often!  I have saved about $30,000 in the last few years and I actually lead a much better lifestyle.  My clothes are nice, I own many more things, and I am generally much happier because of taking control of my credit and spending.  And I am not in the top tier of credit!  In fact, but FICO standards I am merely in the middle.  Top of the middle, waivering on the next tier.  My last check of my FICO was 714, which is good, but still has a bit of a ways to go.  I may never reach the 800 mark, but that won't matter much to me.  I will buy a house for cash in 2015.  It might not be the best house in the best neighborhood, but it will be mine!  I will fix it up and resell later when I can move up to another one in a better area.  I will also start my own part time business this year to add to my income.  Not having a rent payment will certainly help my life be even better! 

I am the little engine that could!  I will be again the little engine that can in a few months for a differnt hill!  You can too. 

Use credit wisely and learn from what others will tell you here in this forum and keep your spending in control!  It took a bit of time, even with a few mistakes along the way, I have gotten more than I ever expected.  I used to think that having $20,000 of credit would be fantastic.  I am at five times that right now and cant even believe it myself.  I can and will do even better.  I won't be daunted! 

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.   NO.    I KNOW I CAN!

[Anonymous]

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@wmweeza wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone i'm currently working on rebuilding my credit and i'm currently at the level where the only things i qualify for are secured credit cards. i currently have 3, 2 with capitol one and 1 with citibank. the citibank is relativley new only had it since 07/2014  with a 300 limit which is the amount hat i deposited to get the card. so far ihave been careful with the card but not perfect i have maxed out once and ended up over the limit but i currently have the card paid down to less than 30%.my capitol one cards, one has 200 limit and the other is 201 ( the 1 came from a dollar increase from them believe it or not). i have had both capitol one cards for about 2 years but i was very reckless always maxed out or over the limit and making minimum payments.  its sad to say i have struggled to manage 200 and i understand why i am at the credit level i am now but i do realize that having healthy credit is important. i would like to know if anyone has had rebuilding success with secured cards how did it go ? how is it going ? were you offered any increases ? did it open other options for you ? etc and also any tips for me staying on track would be great. thanks in advance.

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I know it can be hard to keep utilization low when your limit is so low, but how I did it was charge a specific small item every month (say my coffee or a book). I paid the rest in cash or debit, once my CL grew I bought larger items. I have never exceeded 10% reporting, though because it was just Christmas I did max out one card (yes, my $300 Target card).

Secured cars are how I got to where I am today, I'd bet many members here would say the same. I started with a Bank Of America $500 secured card, charged maybe $30 a month on it every month (never more then $50) and they gave me CLI 's while it was still secure. It unsecured at one year and I am happy with my current CL.I don't know how Citibank etc handle accounts, sorry, but look where I am today, I started with my cards in 2011...you can get there too

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I enjoyed reading your story. One thing which is unclear to me is whether secured cards will improve your credit score. I assume that the credit increases will improve your score. But do you feel that your score increased enough to make it worth the hassle of a secured card? I realize that you were able to move to an unsecured card with a higher credit limit. But I wonder if that might have happened regardless of your decision to open a secured card. After all, you were doing other things, too, to improve your credit score, correct?

[Jerry45]

Payment history is so very important when rebuilding, along with Utility. Even with small CL's. It may be difficult, but once you get that first unsecured line of credit, you will be on your way.

1. My first was Walmart, others use the shopping cart trick at Comenity(no hard pull).

Good Luck

[wmweeza]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@wmweeza wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone i'm currently working on rebuilding my credit and i'm currently at the level where the only things i qualify for are secured credit cards. i currently have 3, 2 with capitol one and 1 with citibank. the citibank is relativley new only had it since 07/2014  with a 300 limit which is the amount hat i deposited to get the card. so far ihave been careful with the card but not perfect i have maxed out once and ended up over the limit but i currently have the card paid down to less than 30%.my capitol one cards, one has 200 limit and the other is 201 ( the 1 came from a dollar increase from them believe it or not). i have had both capitol one cards for about 2 years but i was very reckless always maxed out or over the limit and making minimum payments.  its sad to say i have struggled to manage 200 and i understand why i am at the credit level i am now but i do realize that having healthy credit is important. i would like to know if anyone has had rebuilding success with secured cards how did it go ? how is it going ? were you offered any increases ? did it open other options for you ? etc and also any tips for me staying on track would be great. thanks in advance.

---

I know it can be hard to keep utilization low when your limit is so low, but how I did it was charge a specific small item every month (say my coffee or a book). I paid the rest in cash or debit, once my CL grew I bought larger items. I have never exceeded 10% reporting, though because it was just Christmas I did max out one card (yes, my $300 Target card).

Secured cars are how I got to where I am today, I'd bet many members here would say the same. I started with a Bank Of America $500 secured card, charged maybe $30 a month on it every month (never more then $50) and they gave me CLI 's while it was still secure. It unsecured at one year and I am happy with my current CL.I don't know how Citibank etc handle accounts, sorry, but look where I am today, I started with my cards in 2011...you can get there too

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I enjoyed reading your story. One thing which is unclear to me is whether secured cards will improve your credit score. I assume that the credit increases will improve your score. But do you feel that your score increased enough to make it worth the hassle of a secured card? I realize that you were able to move to an unsecured card with a higher credit limit. But I wonder if that might have happened regardless of your decision to open a secured card. After all, you were doing other things, too, to improve your credit score, correct?

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Well before I got my cards I gathered together all my bills from my stupidity of not paying (long story, search my posts if you want, it's all there) and we paid each one off and slowly the debts were deleted off my report. Then we opened a basic bank account and a secured credit card a year later (If I recall correctly).

Is it NECESSARY to open a secured card? No, you can rebuild with smaller limit cards or store cards, IMHO my rebuild was just a bit quicker and with better APR's because I started with a secured card through a major bank.

As far as improving my score, absolutely. It went up by a minimum of 80 points by the time I applied for an unsecured card.