I started out with a secured $500 card, then on a whim, pulled the trigger on the unsecured a couple of months later (Dec 6, 2012) on the unsecured card and woke up the next morning with my approval for cash rewards with a $3k limit. They pulled a 595 EQ at the time of the application.
I did do something different however. After I applied for it I sent them a message concerning the unsecured application:
"Please consider this application. I have been working very hard at cleaning my credit up and have managed to gain almost 100 points from September to November. This would greatly aid me and families ability to purchase a house in a few years and we plan to use NFCU for our lender. If the initial limit is small, that would be ok as I am trying to establish a positive payment history before our mortgage in 2015. Thanks xxxx"
I'd like to think that it helped. I did after all, get the card.
Starting Score: EQ 511 TU 552 EX 545 8/29/2012