topic Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps in Credit Card Approvals

Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 14:35:55 GMT

Hi all,

Newbie here (to credit and the forums). I'm 31, and recently realized I needed to get my act together and start building my credit, as up until now I have no credit history whatsoever. (No student loans, no cards, no nothing.) In September of 2019, I got a secured Capital One card ($200 limit, $50 deposit), and have been using it judiciously since then. I was expecting a CLI after my February statement posted thanks to their Credit Steps program, but it didn't show up at that point. I called to ask a CSR if there was a reason for that, and was told that it would actually be scheduled for after my April statement.

In the end, that proved to be untrue, as I just checked my app this morning and found a new credit limit of $500 waiting for me! (Working backwards, it looks like it showed up now as I just paid my fifth full-month statement - the first one only covered my first few weeks with the card.)

I'm not planning to use the card anymore, as just a few weeks ago I was approved for a Discover It Chrome ($2,750 CL) and there doesn't seem to be any use in putting charges on the card that won't graduate beyond this or give me rewards, but I'm happy to have that little bump to reduce my utilization %. (Thank you all for the information - I was lurking on the forum for a few weeks gathering information before even trying the Discover preapproval and then applying!)

Forgive me if tacking a question onto this is inappropriate, but I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to get another card now as well. I'm committed to primarily/only using the Discover this year to maximize the first year cashback bonus, but would it be judicious to add another vanilla-ish card that I can get approved for now, to improve my AAoA when I'm looking to get into a more productive ecosystem like Chase down the road? Out of curiosity I applied for the Apple Card on my phone (thanks, soft pull), and was offered a $4,000 credit limit - would accepting this offer and sock drawering the card for now help me later on, or does it seem like a fruitless hard pull?

Thank you again for all the CC wisdom!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Remedios — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 14:42:56 GMT

Congrats !

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 14:48:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi all,

Newbie here (to credit and the forums). I'm 31, and recently realized I needed to get my act together and start building my credit, as up until now I have no credit history whatsoever. (No student loans, no cards, no nothing.) In September of 2019, I got a secured Capital One card ($200 limit, $50 deposit), and have been using it judiciously since then. I was expecting a CLI after my February statement posted thanks to their Credit Steps program, but it didn't show up at that point. I called to ask a CSR if there was a reason for that, and was told that it would actually be scheduled for after my April statement.

In the end, that proved to be untrue, as I just checked my app this morning and found a new credit limit of $500 waiting for me! (Working backwards, it looks like it showed up now as I just paid my fifth full-month statement - the first one only covered my first few weeks with the card.)

I'm not planning to use the card anymore, as just a few weeks ago I was approved for a Discover It Chrome ($2,750 CL) and there doesn't seem to be any use in putting charges on the card that won't graduate beyond this or give me rewards, but I'm happy to have that little bump to reduce my utilization %. (Thank you all for the information - I was lurking on the forum for a few weeks gathering information before even trying the Discover preapproval and then applying!)

Forgive me if tacking a question onto this is inappropriate, but I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to get another card now as well. I'm committed to primarily/only using the Discover this year to maximize the first year cashback bonus, but would it be judicious to add another vanilla-ish card that I can get approved for now, to improve my AAoA when I'm looking to get into a more productive ecosystem like Chase down the road? Out of curiosity I applied for the Apple Card on my phone (thanks, soft pull), and was offered a $4,000 credit limit - would accepting this offer and sock drawering the card for now help me later on, or does it seem like a fruitless hard pull?

Thank you again for all the CC wisdom!

Congrats!! That's awesome news

for optimal FICO Scoring you'll need 3 cards

2 you pay to zero before statements cut

1 you let report 8.9% or less balance and then PIF before due date

maybe the Apple Card is your 3rd card

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

M_Smart007 — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 15:26:39 GMT

Congratulations!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

AllZero — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 17:50:11 GMT

Congratulations on your CLI!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

tbque — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 19:40:27 GMT

Congratulations!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 19:51:28 GMT

Congratulations! You may wish to throw something on the Cap 1 card like a monthly Netflix charge.

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Meanmchine — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 23:56:21 GMT

Congrats !

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Traveler101 — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 00:10:14 GMT

Congrats!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

seattletravels — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 00:17:30 GMT

Congrats on your CLI!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 00:44:01 GMT

Thank you all for the support! Happy to keep progressing on my credit journey. I should mention that I didn't realize the Apple Card only reports to TU, so it doesn't seem like the best choice for credit-building right now - back to the drawing board!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

KLEXH25 — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 01:39:09 GMT

Congratulations on the graduation and Discover card! You're doing great. I was in your shoes 2 years ago, so I can totally relate to your journey. I think applying for another card now and then gardening for a year is a great approach. Or you can wait 6 months and go for your third card. I got a Capital One Platinum first ($300) and then applied for Discover 4 months later, after reading about it here. I got my DCU card about a month later when I joined the CU (they generously approved me for $5k). Who do you bank with now? You can try them or joining a credit union now to build a relationship in case you need a car loan or mortgage down the road. CUs usually have low interest CCs which may come in handy should you ever need it. Also, it might be good to have a Visa or MC in case Discover isn't accepted. Finally, I would stop there and then garden for a year and then go for Chase if that's in your long term plan. By then you'll have 1.5 years of age.

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 12:31:46 GMT

Congratulations on your CLI! 👍

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 14:09:45 GMT

Thank you! I currently bank with Citibank, but I'm a little hesitant to go for one of their cards - I tried their prequalifying page and didn't have any actual matched offers, just a "you may be interested in" DoubleCash. Which... I am, but seems like a bit of a stretch given my limited credit history!

A credit union is a thought I hadn't had - I'm not eligible for NFCU, which seems to be the biggest one I see recommended on here, but I'll look into DCU and others - thank you! But yes, whether I jump on something now or wait six months and do it then, it'll be back to the garden until a year from now after that.

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

donkort — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 14:18:11 GMT

Congratulations!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

addicted_to_credit — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 14:46:54 GMT

Welcome and congrats! Have you thought about Amex? You can try their pre qualify tool and see what they may be willing to do.

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

newfossil — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 15:08:20 GMT

Congrats!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

Dreams_Come_True — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:28:38 GMT

Congratulations on your CLI!

Re: Capital One Secured CLI - Credit Steps

KLEXH25 — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:36:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you! I currently bank with Citibank, but I'm a little hesitant to go for one of their cards - I tried their prequalifying page and didn't have any actual matched offers, just a "you may be interested in" DoubleCash. Which... I am, but seems like a bit of a stretch given my limited credit history!

A credit union is a thought I hadn't had - I'm not eligible for NFCU, which seems to be the biggest one I see recommended on here, but I'll look into DCU and others - thank you! But yes, whether I jump on something now or wait six months and do it then, it'll be back to the garden until a year from now after that.

Hmmm, you never know with Citi. I have their Costco card, and my scores are pretty good, but I never get anything with their prequalify tool. I think it's broken lol. PayPal MC is a 2% card, and it's Synchrony who tends to be more generous. However it's still early in your journey, so maybe wait until you hit the year mark. My limits really opened up at that point (but I also had an auto loan, so YMMV). Amex is supposed to be great for new credit, so if you don't want to wait, that's another option. Good luck!