Orchard Bank Secured Credit Card

[chevydude26]

I want to help build my credit from a 599 equifax score. I'm trying to figure out how much to put on the card. On the score simulator it shows if i put 1000 i could lose 10 points or go up to 609....If i only put 200 in the card i could stay at 599 or go up as much as 629...wouldn't a larger credit limit help me? At 200 i really can probably only buy a stick of bubble gum a month to stay under the 30% credit usage...as i intended to put 2000 and only use it for gas??? should i just put the 200 and use only 50 dollars a month? and gradually put 100 dollars in my credit limit each month? Or should i just put in the 2000 and use it just for gas... both instances not using more than 30% of the available credit on the card? is the score simulator accurate? It has been in the past as moves i've made took me from a 561 to a 599 thanks for any advice

[chevydude26]

why was my thread moved?

[haulingthescoreup]

I didn't move it, but I'd say because it pertains to how the manner in which you use a card affects your score, which is the focus of this forum.

[haulingthescoreup]

I'm having a little trouble with the numbers.

First of all, what's your credit limit on the card? It sounds like you're talking about the balances that might report on your card, not the credit limits.

Scores are strongly driven by utilization of credit ("util"), which is the amount of the balance reported, divided by the total credit limit. So $200 balance on a $2000 CL card is 10% util, $500 on a $2000 card is 25% util, and so forth.

[Anonymous]

I say go ahead and do the $1000 or $2000 CL, and use between 1% and 9% of its balance monthly. In time, your score should increase. But, something important...you never mentioned why your score is so low. Is it insufficient history, or, do you have derogs? If derogs, then, things could change significantly. Still, I'd recommend at least a $1000 CL. The simulator is not always right...

[chevydude26]

i meant the 200 and 2000 figures as my credit limit which would be the amount i would deposit into the savings account. Which would work better for me the 200 and only using like 50 dollars a month on the card or putting in 2000 and using 200 dollars a month...both would be under the 30% utilization the score simulator says i could hurt my score by having a 2000 dollar credit limit while a 200 limit could raise my score to 629 and yes this place seems more fitting for my thread thank you

[chevydude26]

i've had some old accounts that went into collection...all of them have been paid off and my credit history is 6 years with an average of 4 yrs of account use...my credit started at like 17 and i miscalculated how much i would make at my old bartending job when i was in college. I'm good now though and i want to rebuild my credit now that i am more fiscally responsible and out of college

[chevydude26]

also should i only use 1-9% of my available credit on this card? i heard 30 but on these forums i've been reading 1-9%

[Anonymous]

When was your last CO paid? If more than two years ago, you should be pretty good. Just remember to try and PFD them, instead of just paying and letting it stay on your file. As for the 1-9% thing, I'll explain. 30% is a very good area to be...you definitely do not want it to be more than 50%, or your score will start going down, I know this from personal experience with one card just hardly touching 50%, and my score went down 18 points! Anyhow, $0 is good, but, your score won't go but so high because they wanna see you're a responsible bill payer, and not charging to a card doesn't prove such. 1-9% is best, because it shows you actually use the credit and make your payments, yet, do not heavily rely on it. 30% is a great area to be in if you need your cards, and you won't take a hit for being at 30%. However, for optimal results, it's 1-9%.

[chevydude26]

They were all paid last year that's when i began being fiscally responsible...they were usually small things like no more than 150 but there was like 4 of them and they were all from like 2002 and 2003 when i really didn't know much about credit...so i guess next year they will be gone from my file hopefully. that should probably help my score hopefully and what is pfd if i may ask.