How Many Secured Credit Cards Should I Have?

[itspnutbutterkellytime]

My current scores: EQ: 528 TU: 577 EX: 579

I have 2 secured cards:

Discover It : CL of $500

US Bank: CL of $300

1 Store Card: 

Kohl's: CL of $300

Should I add another secured card? I'm working on rebuilding my credit but I'm not able to qualify for anything other than a secured card right now

Is it worth adding more to my secured credit limits to lower my utilization rate and for the CL that I'll be able to use next year? I'm thinking that when they graduate my cards to unsecured ones, CL will be higher because of the additional deposits. I don't want to tie up more money than I have to in these cards, however.

[Anonymous]

No ... don't. 

One, tying up more money than you need into secured cards isn't worth it. Two, you've got three revolving tradelines right now, that's all you need to build. 

Artificially inflating your credit limits by putting added deposits down doesn't necessarily mean you'll have that limit when you graduate from secured to unsecured. 

Earlier this year I started with a Cap One secured card with a $200 limit, and then added a secured Discover card, also at $200. A few months later I added an Overstock card with a $500 limit. I also had a car loan, so that's three revolving accounts and one installment. After five months with the Cap One secured card, I was approved for an unsecured Platinum. 

Since then my scores are up approximately 150 points across all three bureaus. You don't need a lot of cards to rebuild. You just need to use them smartly. 

You may want to consider adding a secured loan, through a local credit union or bank. That would add an installment loan for you and expand your portfolio. 

[gdale6]

I would just use the cards you have now and when they pass 6 months old try to get a Cap-1 Platinum Unsecured to make your 3rd bankcard.

[tricie17]

I do not know your history but if allowed start by opening an account with a Credit Union and apply for their unsecured credit card, my preference would be NFCU.  I understand that there are others that will work with your credit score.  Take some of that money spent on secured cards and get an installment loan with that credit union.  Work on those lines for six months and enjoy your numbers increase and being able to maneuver more.