Help Understanding Which Secure Credit Cards To Get

[Anonymous]

I was just approved for a home loan, but it's not quite in the amount I need. They said if I worked on getting several secured credit cards to establish some stronger credit (I'm not reporting a huge credit history right now), it could help raise my score in a few months and help me get a bigger loan.

I just need help knowing which ones to get. Should I get just one or two or should I get as many as I can, as long as I pay them all off each month. I have a lot of different bills I could pay on with each month. Would it be better pay off large sums all at once instead of just small amounts here and there?

Thanks!

[CH-7-Mission-Accomplished]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was just approved for a home loan, but it's not quite in the amount I need. They said if I worked on getting several secured credit cards to establish some stronger credit (I'm not reporting a huge credit history right now), it could help raise my score in a few months and help me get a bigger loan.

I just need help knowing which ones to get. Should I get just one or two or should I get as many as I can, as long as I pay them all off each month. I have a lot of different bills I could pay on with each month. Would it be better pay off large sums all at once instead of just small amounts here and there?

Thanks!

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How many credit cards do you have now?  Which cards do you have?

If you have three to five credit cards now, including one store card, you won't get a score jump from adding more cards.  You might actually lose some points.

If you only have like one card, then add a couple to get you to three cards -- or four or five.

Secured cards are great if you cannot get an unsecured card from a decent, nonpredatory lender.

Secured and unsecured cards score the same for FICO, so if you can get unsecured you don't have to put up any money.

Go to the Capital One website and use their prequalifier.  If they show you are approved, apply for two cards in the same session.  Apply for the Platinum Card and the Quicksilver One card.  They will pull all three credit bureaus, but if you apply for two cards in the same day, you won't get two sets of three pulls, but only one set.

If you need a secured card, I would recommend State Dept Fed CU for one of them.  They do not do a hard inquiry to issue these cards.  They do pull Chexsystems to see if you are clear and haven't burned any other banks or credit unions.

OpenSky is a good secured card with a $29 annual fee.

Most credit unions will issue you one.  There should be no annual fee,

[lamplight2012]

From my research on secured credit cards I defintely agree with, CH-7-Rebuilding.

Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

I have Open Sky and First Progress. I like them both, opensky has a better website and first progress processes payments faster. Open Sky takes 5 days to take payment then another 5 days to apply it. First Progress takes payment immediately and applies it in 1-2 days (this is with online bill pay, I don't have experience with money orders or sending anything via mail).

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replys. I just had a few more quick questions before I get started.

I have several hunders dollars per month I pay out to various companies (like cell, insurance, cable, internet, etc) that I could use these cards for. I currretnly have 0 cards in my name. So would the best bet would be to get three or four cards and spread all these companies acorss them (so I have lots of different sources reporting to my credit) or does it look better if I have say two and large payments being sent in each month?

Also, do some comapnies report faster or better depending on who they are or if they are secured or not? Or is it all just a matter of getting plastic in my name and using it all the time?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the replys. I just had a few more quick questions before I get started.

I have several hunders dollars per month I pay out to various companies (like cell, insurance, cable, internet, etc) that I could use these cards for. I currretnly have 0 cards in my name. So would the best bet would be to get three or four cards and spread all these companies acorss them (so I have lots of different sources reporting to my credit) or does it look better if I have say two and large payments being sent in each month?

Also, do some comapnies report faster or better depending on who they are or if they are secured or not? Or is it all just a matter of getting plastic in my name and using it all the time?

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It's best if you can get 3 cards reporting in your name.   Pay them off before the statement cuts - except for one card - let a small balance (10% or less) report - then pay off immediately once the statement is cut so you don't have interest payments.    I use mine for everyday stuff instead of my debit card - then pay off at the end of the week.  I let my discover card report $25 or so - then pay it off.

[Anonymous]

Hell again all! Sorry for taking so long to follow up but things have been crazy here lately and life kinda' got in the way for awhile. But I'm back and ready to jump on this. I just wanted to run down a couple more things if I may.

So I have decided that I'm going to take out three credit cards and use them to pay my three major bills I have right now (being my cell, cable and car insurance). I've not settled on exactly which three cards yet (I'm open to suggestions), but when I do, I need to know a few things:

1. Someone mentioned above that I should allow a certain percentage of the balance to roll over past the cut-off point before I pay it. My rationale was to pay it as close to this date as possible (without letting it go over) so I don't end up owning anything in regards to interest or fees (I want the card to basically be free other than the annual fee). How should I handle that?
2. If I do try to keep the balance paid off without ever allowing it to accumulate any fees/interest, is that hurting my credit reporting? I want to boost my credit score as fast as humanly possible and build it the strongest it can be. How is that accomplished? By paying on time or allowing it to roll over and just paying a small amount of interest each month (which would essentially cause my bills to increase slightly with this added expense).
3. Finally, is there anything I should know that could hurt me when paying on these cards if not used right? I'm only doing this to build credit, therefore I want the most credit reporting bang for my buck. Any advice/warnings?

Any help would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks and take care!

[baller4life]

State Department Federal Credit Union. Anyone can join thru American Consumer Council. An unheard of 6.99% apr and no annual fee or credit check! You only need a clean Chexsystems.

ETA: As far as how to pay cards, pay all but one in full BEFORE statement cut. And allow one to post a balance less than 10% on its statement and then pif. You will avoid paying interest and maximize scores. While building credit continue to work on any badddies and your scores will climb. 

[Anonymous]

Hello all!

Just circling back to let everyone know I've finally been able to make some headway on these. After some applying and pre-qualifying, turned out that secured credit cards are all I'm able to get at this time (which I accept, as I'm starting my long road to recovery and I'm willing to work on this). Today I put a $100 deposit down on a secured Capital One card that should be heading my way soon. I have a few other cards I'll be setting up in a similar fashion so I can start paying my monthly bills with them and building my score.

However, I did have one concern I needed answered before I move forward.

Since these will all be secured cards, there is going to be significant out of pocket cost for the deposits (probably over $500). At this time, I still have several delinquent items on my credit report (like $200-$300 credit card balances here and there) as well as one large judgment for an apartment lease (clocking in around $8,000). I'll be working to pay these off over time, but it's not something I can afford right now. All I want to do is raise my credit score from the 620 up towards the 700 mark to start.

Will paying my bills with these secured credit cards (which report to all three bureaus) help raise my credit score even with those delinquent items still in my history? Or will they anchor it down no matter how much I try to pay things on time? If that's the case, it seems like I'm just spinning my wheels with the secured cards at this time.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

UPDATE:

Just to follow up on the question I asked about credit score, I did want to forward along this little tid bit I uncovered today in doing some research. According to Money Talk News at this link, paying off a delinquent account won't help raise your score at all (as the damage has already been done). Here is a snippet from the story:

According to the creator of the most widely used credit score, the FICO score, paying accounts in collections won’t help. Here’s what they say:

As far as your FICO score is concerned, two things are considered; has a collections appeared on your credit report, and when it was reported. So whether or not you pay your collections off is really a personal decision.

What FICO is saying here is that paying off a debt in collections won’t improve your score. One of the big three credit reporting agencies, Experian, agrees. Here’s what they say:

Paying the debt won’t necessarily help your credit scores. Accounts that get to the collection stage are about as negative as it gets. Only bankruptcy is worse. As a result, any improvement, especially right away, probably will be very minor.

In short, paying debts in collection won’t influence your credit score.

But I'm still wanting to confirm paying on all these secured credit cards WILL have a positive impact in riasing my credit score, even with those delinquent accounts still there. Will they anchor it down or will I start seeing it move upwards as long as I manage the secured credit cards properly?