Card suggestions for thin credit profile?

[WhiskeyR]

Hi all. It seems that when I apply for a card, I get declined for not having enough positive trade lines. So I'm looking for suggestions on what cards I can add that I am also likely to be approved for. I was thinking of applying for a Bank of America card, hoping for (at worst) getting their counter offer (99/500 I think?). Has anyone had luck with this? What about other options for someone with a thin profile?

FICO scores bought on this site: Equifax: 650, Experian: 663, TransUnion: 663

I only have one credit card - Cap1, $300 secured. 5% util.

I have an 18 month old car loan, never late.

I have a paid off car loan.

I have one or two (Depending on the CRA) very old collections (less than $500) falling off within a 6 months to a year.

Thank you for any suggestions on building a thicker profile.

[WhiskeyR]

So since I bank with Chase, I tried their pre-qualified thingy. Thye said I was pre-qualified for either the Chase Slate or Chase Freedom. After a bit of research I decided to apply for the Chase Freedom. BOOM! Approved for $500 unsecured. I cannot believe they actually insta-approved me. That's a pretty good feeling!

[DaBears]

Congrats on the card!!!! I would also suggest getting into a credit union as they have better rates than the bigger banks and you can try for a secured card. Let them age for a yr keeping on time payments and you will see your scores rise nicely. Keep your util % between 1-9 % on one card and a $0 bal on the other. Rotate them every month. 

Community Leader, 

DaBears

[WhiskeyR]

Thanks! I hadn't considered alternating balances between the cards. I will give that a shot! I have been keeping sub 9% on the Cap1. Its kind of nice to get a card now with some rewards ($100 if I use $500 in 3 months + 5% gas, 1% otherwise) instead of a rebuilder. I really think my banking history with Chase helped, so that's something to consider with anyone in the same boat as me with a thin credit file.

[workingprogress]

Hey buddy i know the feeling of being denied..I don't have much but here is what i got so far without messing with secured products..My credit files was thin and still is actually...All i had before getting a CC was a secured bank loan that i'm paying on that only reported to EQ and TU,a student loan with 15 late's as late as 180 days but the accounts are lined back out now and I'm paying on them and i had some local consumer finance company loans which is actually hurting my fico scores....

First i applied for capital one and was denied so after some research on the credit sites i applied for a CC with DCU credit union and they approved me for my first ever credit card with $1000 limit back on july 26..I recently applied for walmart in hopes of getting approved so i could get the free fico score but was denied..I then said i need to wait and use this one card for a while,but i hate playing the waiting game so today i applied for BofA visa thinking they would turn me down and offer me the secured card which i was going to take if they did but to my surprise they approved for $500..First i got the 30 day message so i called the back door number about 20 minutes after i applied and they said i was approved...So far i have been lucky and not had to go the secure route...If you are looking to add a secure card i would recommend sdfcu because they don't do hard pulls for their secured card..They said just become a member and you can get it and its soft pull for membership they said..I was thinking of them as a back up plan if bofa didn't work out. 

[WhiskeyR]

Since I keep getting offers in the mail, I went ahead and applied for a United Mileage Plus Explorer card (Chase) as well and got instant approval for $5,000. I could not believe my eyes.

I believe what was holding me back before from obtaining new cards is that my only credit card was less than 6 months old. I feel like I've come a long way since I joined up here. I've gotten numerous bad marks removed from my credit (including two First Premier chargeoffs) and it is all finally starting to pay off.

Thanks MyFico peeps!

[guiness56]

Wow, nice CL.  Congrats!

[bobbay]

Sweet!  Congrats!