Good afternoon everyone,
Last night I tried applying for the Capital One secured credit card... and I was instantly DENIED. No hope for consideration or anything, just flat-out denied. I'm trying really hard to rebuild my credit in any way I can right now. I've never had a late payment on my student loan or auto loan. I'll admit my auto loan is with a crummy sub-prime lender (Westlake Financial) at a high interest rate, but I'm thankful they gave me a shot when nobody else would.
While current installment accounts are definitely great, I figured I should get a revolving account (credit card) showing some good history as well. I've only ever had one credit card, and that was settled/closed over 5 years ago. I found the OpenSky card and since they don't even perform HP checks, I applied for one. Of course, I was instantly approved. I setup a $200 deposit for a $200 CL just to start out. I plan on charging a fuel fill up ($20) once a month and paying off the entire balance as soon as I receive the statement. That way, my utilization is always under 30% - and hopefully this will help build my credit until I can get something better.
I have one collection scheduled to fall off somewhere between May-June 2016. By that time my auto loan will be paid off and my student loan will be paid down considerably - both of these accounts showing no lates. Pair that with the responsible credit card use - and I'm hoping to be golden...
Anyone else have any experience with the OpenSky card or any other suggestions to help build my credit? I know this will be a waiting game - as I unfortunately do not have the funds available to PFD the collection right now. Luckily it's just outside the SOL for my state, so I can take comfort in knowing I can't be sued for this anymore. For the next two years I just plan to pay everything on time while using my OpenSky card responsibly with extreme caution. I REALLY want to make it into the 700 club!
Actually, after reading up about it in previous posts here - I opened an account with Fingerhut. I was accepted into their Fresh Start program with a CL of $230. After reading over the terms, once I purchase something and pay it off through their installment program, I'll automatically graduate into their revolving credit program. It's a start!