@Anonymous wrote:
Having moved to the US, and after lots of reading on this site, I started my credit score building back in December 2012. The status of my accounts is:
1) Secured card $1k limit - opened 12/2012 - closed when the community bank was bought out by a bigger bank.
2) Secured card $2k limit with US Bank - opened 1/2013
3) Capital One card now at $2750 limit - opened 1/2013
4) Mortgage (joint with US citizen wife) since 10/2013
All agencies report 2 inq in last 12 months (both due to home purchase). Experian has the highest overall listing with 8 inq. over 2 years.
- All accounts paid on time.
- I recently requested US Bank to upgrade my secured card to unsecured. Waiting for response in the mail.
The last FICO I have was when we got the mortgage when the average across the three agencies was 718 (in October 2013). Based on comparing FICO and my credit monitoring at that time, I estimate my current score is around 730.
Running various credit simulators shows little improvement in my score if I just keep paying everything on time. So how should I proceed to improve my score?
Thank you
You are doing great. After 1 1/2 years with the secure credit cards and over a year with a mortgage, I think you are ready to app for a normal credit card (assuming you have good income to debt ratio). But before you apply for anything else, do you have a goal for your new credit? If you have a short term need (e.g. buying a car), you might want to pursue that before getting another CC.
If you are just looking to improve your score, the CCs I would think about are:
1) Getting a credit card with a free credit score - Barclay, Discover or Wallmart. The Barclay average credit card might be a decent option if you are able to PC it later. I don't know what your chances of getting approved for the Discover IT, but it is also a good CC. The Wally card is ok, but it will never have good rewards
2) An Amex card to establish your MSD. If you buy many groceries, the BCP is a good card. Or one of the new ED cards if you can use MR points for travel.
3) The Chase Freedom is supposed to be a relatively easy reward credit card to qualify for
4) A CC from a FCU. They are often the best choice for a limited history
Before applying for any card, I would try the pre-approval sites. They might give you an idea what you will qualify for. In general, research any of the above cards to see how likely you are going to be approved.
Ideally, the next CCs you get should not have an AF. These are cards you want to be able to keep forever.
I would only add 1 or 2 CC's at this time. But other more experienced posters, may correct me on this.
Lastly, if you wife has a credit card with a long, clean history, she might consider adding you as an AU. However, I don't think you will need it.
