other secured CCs w/no hard pull?

novabama · ‎10-14-2015

So it's been a few years since I started to rehab my credit. It was going great, and I removed so much... but then I lost my income and had a repo. Sad sad sad.

Anyway, any others I couldn't remove have fallen off since, and that's the only baddie I have. But bc it's a big one, I'm trying to work around it at this point. I only have one HP on my CRs, so I'm trying to avoid them since mine is at a low number right now.

I applied for Opensky and they mailed out my card yesterday, with a limit of $300 to start. I plan to increase this as I have more funds since they allow that.

I am part of Geico CU where I work, and they offer a guaranteed approval for the Secured Mastercard, but it's a 13.99 rate and they do a hard pull for all cards.

It does not graduate either, and after a year, they said you can apply for the unsecured--another HP

I was looking through here and found the SDFCU card and it looks like no HP. I joined the ACC for free with the code "consumer" I found here for membership eligibility. Does anyone know if it graduates and if I can increase my limit by adding more funds to my savings account with them? 6.99 interest rate is crazy good I think especially for a secured card!

TIA!

baller4life · ‎10-14-2015

SDFCU does not graduate but you can increase funds.

crrredit · ‎10-14-2015

Here's a few things I've learned first-hand about secured cards...

You don't want to leave a balance on your secured cards past the payment due date--you don't want to pay interest, so the interest rate on these things shouldn't matter too much. The best way to use them to help your score is to pay them off in full each month before the statement date, letting just one report a small balance on the statement and then immediately paying it off. Also, during rebuilding, the hard pulls aren't having enough of a negative effect to worry about--unless you go on a crazy app spree. Getting 2 or 3 hard pulls to establish three credit card accounts is nothing to worry about. And whether or not they graduate is a nice benefit, but also not critical. Once you establish a payment history and your score rises, you can start qualifying for unsecured cards designed for rebuilding, i.e. Cap One. Getting a secured card with a major bank or a credit union you can have a continuing relationship with are goals with more long-term benefits.

novabama · ‎10-14-2015

Yeah, I think my understanding of them is pretty clear. I am just super weird about inquiries on my reports, so if one graduated, I could avoid that down the line. I guess we all have our things, right? lol. I think I will go with the SDFCU because the interest rate is so much better than my CU and you can add funds. I def can't do that at mine. I plan to pay it off every month also; I don't have a lot of bills at this point and make a decent income, so that's not a problem

I am not sure what else I should do at this point to help my score. I have about 11k in student loans that are fine, the derog repo and some old closed, good standing accounts/ccs, and the one inquiry that is on all 3. I guess this is another post, though

Anonymous · ‎10-14-2015

@novabama wrote:
Yeah, I think my understanding of them is pretty clear. I am just super weird about inquiries on my reports, so if one graduated, I could avoid that down the line. I guess we all have our things, right? lol. I think I will go with the SDFCU because the interest rate is so much better than my CU and you can add funds. I def can't do that at mine. I plan to pay it off every month also; I don't have a lot of bills at this point and make a decent income, so that's not a problem

I am not sure what else I should do at this point to help my score. I have about 11k in student loans that are fine, the derog repo and some old closed, good standing accounts/ccs, and the one inquiry that is on all 3. I guess this is another post, though

When it comes to 'starter' credit cards interest rate is simply not a concern, if you intend to PIF each month. The only thing you should really be concerned with here is the fee structure. Some of the "predator" lenders out there have positively horrific fee structures that literally make it impossible to avoid interest charges. Yes, I'm looking at YOU, Credit One.

Adding funds really should not be an issue either, as the credit limit does not directly contribute to scoring. Most of the time you are better off opening another secured account (or paying down a balance) rather than dumping more cash into an existing account.

novabama · ‎10-14-2015

The only reason I say amounts is I'm not a great saver... I'd like to be able to add funds to the sdfcu savings account that way I can build my emergency fund that way... If it's in a savings account or my checking... it will get emptied really fast. Does that make sense? I also played with the credit karma score calculator thing and it showed that adding a larger cc limit was increasing it. Is that thing a joke?

Anonymous · ‎10-14-2015

@novabama wrote:
The only reason I say amounts is I'm not a great saver... I'd like to be able to add funds to the sdfcu savings account that way I can build my emergency fund that way... If it's in a savings account or my checking... it will get emptied really fast. Does that make sense? I also played with the credit karma score calculator thing and it showed that adding a larger cc limit was increasing it. Is that thing a joke?

I dont think the simulator is a joke, but it isnt the holy grail either. I would consider it 'helpful' but not rely on it. I try several simulators and compare the results, but I treat it as 'opinions' I would get from asking people I know what their opinion is.

I can relate to the part about adding to the deposit to build emergency funds. I found a long time ago that the more difficult it was to get to my money, the longer it lasted. I used to get EE Savings Bonds in paper from my payroll deductions. To cash them in, I would have to go inside to the Bank during the hours the lobby was open, stand in line and sign them in front of a cashier, and wait for them to stamp them and look up the interest payment, add it up, print out a receipt, and then hand me the money.

That was much more difficult than going online and clicking on 'transfer' and then having it available within seconds.

As for the INQs - when rebuilding or building, it is normal to get a few, and they count as 10% of your score. After one year, small contribution to your score, and it goes away completely after two years.

I hesitate to suggest it, but you can get store cards using the SCT from Comenity without HPs in most cases. I have an Overstock card and a Sportmans Guide Visa that I received with only a SP for each last July. I also have a Modells Visa from the SCT that was a HP. I would recommend getting store cards that you are likely to use and not just collecting them.

GL

Anonymous · ‎10-14-2015

The SCT is just that tho - a trick - I've tried a ton of times - I can't get the pop ups for the cards to save my life. You MIGHT get one -but in the long run - applying for a secured card that does a HP isn't all that bad.

Also - keep going with what you have - get the slow increases and maybe you'll be able to get an unsecured card. I skipped the secured card route and after years managed to get unsecured. It took 4 pulls -but I now have 4 cards aging up!

novabama · ‎10-14-2015

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement! I am going to go for the third secured card I think, even though it does a hard pull. I have been researching the cards today, and it seems I should have 3 credit lines, with 2 at a 0 balance, and 1 w/ a 15 % and pay off every month, so that is my goal for now!

Anonymous · ‎10-14-2015

@novabama wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement! I am going to go for the third secured card I think, even though it does a hard pull. I have been researching the cards today, and it seems I should have 3 credit lines, with 2 at a 0 balance, and 1 w/ a 15 % and pay off every month, so that is my goal for now!

Actually, I believe it is all zero and then one card at less than 10% to get the best score bump.