I have received my Cap1 secured, hasn't reported yet.
I have read that two cards are good but three are even better for building credit. When should I apply for my second card? Should I wait until the Cap1 reports and grows first or should I try to get a second card now and let them both mature for six months before I get a third?
I have read that waiting six months in between is a good idea but that would drop my AAoA. What is ideal? Looking for advice.
Thanks
If you are gonna get a second secured card do it now. Wait a few months if you plan to app for an unsecured card so they can see some payment history. But getting a secured card is supposed to be much easier and this way they can grow together.
I started my rebuild with a Cap One secured in June 2012 but didn't get a second secured card until April 2013 (and closed Cap One in July). Just one card is sufficient if you don't want to tie up funds and can wait a year; however, if you go secured try for Bank of America or another lender that will unsecure the card after a year of good payment history (Cap One will not). My curent secured card is with Bank of America and I am looking forward to it unsecuring around the 9 month mark or 12 month at latest (hopefully).
Getting cards close together (app spree) is good in the fact that all the cards will age together, forming a unison AAOA, and therefore showing a greater credit "handling," using 2/3 cards over X amount of months/years, instead of just 1 over the same timeframe. Makes you look better in UW standards, when you're ready for the big leagues.
It depends on when you plan to apply for the next tradeline. If it's more than 6 months out, getting another secured card will help as it will thicken your profile. If you decide to get the second secured card, you should do it as soon as possible so the accounts will age together, giving you a better AAoA in the future.
Thanks everyone for the replies. Worked a ton the past few day's and hadn't had the time to check my messages.
I was thinking I should get one more now and let them age together for at least 6 months. After that apply for one more card and maybe a secured personal loan at the same time.
I'm a new member of USAA but I think just partial. My son is currently serving so I'm going to talk to him about joining USAA and NFCU so I can become a full member of both.
Get a USAA secured now and then get a NFCU secured in about six months with a secured personal loan. That would give me three revolving and add another installment loan to my history. I have two installment loans listed on EQ and one one EX and TU. My auto loan only reported to EQ but I paid it off in under a year instead of paying the high interest.
Of course I would let all the cards mature after that while paying off the personal loan. So I would be talking at least 1.5 years before I try for anything else while working on baddies during all this time.
Sound like a good idea?
Do you need to be a member of SDFCU to get a secured card from them? If not, that sounds like a good option for the second card.
I would try BoA secured but they do deny people and I don't want to apply for secured card and get denied.
Getting a second secured card now is a good idea. You don't need an installment loan though; I believe your auto loan should be reported for at least several years after you pay it off.