topic Re: A question about expanding a thin file in Credit Card Applications

A question about expanding a thin file

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:21:04 GMT

I've been on the credit repair journey, currently with a 686 via EX. I'm looking for advice on how to expand my file and obtain a decent card with a decent limit. My auto loan shows exceptional payment history. I have one card (Surge) with a $300 limit. Could anyone direct me as to which company will approve a 686?

Further, I opted out of offers awhile back, but have sinced opted in. When does that "kick in" and start to show me offers in the mail, etc.?

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:26:21 GMT

I'd look at Discover and credit unions like PenFed or Navy. Also a local CU if you're a member of one. You should get some hits as long as your profile isn't littered with HPs and unpaid derogs.

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:31:09 GMT

Research shows me I might have the score to obtain a Sam's Club MC. I'm concerned about using a HP for it, then getting declined. Any thoughts on eligibility?

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:34:26 GMT

I think likelihood would be higher for a Sam's store card. Historically the MC was for a 700+ score. Remember too that Synchrony pulls TU for approvals so you'd want to verify that score.

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

Aim_High — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 21:43:55 GMT

Welcome to My Fico forums, @Anonymous!

Great advice from @Anonymous above. I would echo the local credit union (or where you normally do your primary banking), Navy Federal CU (more than PenFed which can be more conservative), and Discover all are great targets for a next card.

You don't need to be a veteran or active military to get in with Navy Federal but if you're not, you will need a family relationship to a veteran. However, this includes spouse, parents, grandparents, siblings, or children so it's easy for many to find a way to apply.

In addition to the above, Capital One is a much better option at this point than going with the larger banks like Chase, Bank of America, or Citibank. If you don't qualify for an unsecured account, you may be offered a secured card from Navy Federal, Discover, or Capital One, or be able to talk them into via a "recon" (reconsideration) phone call if denied.

I decided to close my store-branded cards a few years ago, but for someone like yourself who is trying to establish credit, they can be a fantastic tool. Just don't go overboard with store cards. Limit them and try to pick places where you already shop and will find value from special offers or special financing. Synchrony and Comenity Banks underwrite a lot of these cards and they tend to be a little easier to get than some major bank cards.

There are a few deeper "subprime lenders" but if you can avoid them, I would. (Credit One is often mentioned here but there are others. While Discover and Capital One have some secured cards and partially cater to subprime, I don't consider it their primary market focus compared to lenders like Credit One.) However, if you get turned down by the above, they can be a viable alternative. The main problem with the Subprime lenders is that they can have high fees including annual fees and high APRs. Since they aren't long-term "keeper cards," you'll probably look at closing them eventually, and that's a negative factor when you're looking at closing one of your oldest cards.

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 12:05:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Could anyone direct me as to which company will approve a 686?

CCCs generally don't approve a score, they approve a profile. The score associated with that profile is only one minor piece of the puzzle. Not all 686 scores are created equal. That score can be had with a clean/thick/aged file that's at maxed out utilization. That score can also be had with a slightly dirty/thin/young file with ideal utilization. Depending on what the specific lender is looking for in a customer, one of those profiles may match their target customer far better than the other, even though both possess the same 686 score.

Your best bet IMO would be to find profiles similar to yours (that may have a similar score as a result) and see which cards they were approved for. Or, research the cards you're interested in and see what types of profiles were approved (or denied) for them.

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

FishingGuy — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 02:10:35 GMT

I would try to go with Discover and see what the result is, they were good to me on my rebuild. I would not want a triple pull from Capital One, so I would not take that route, ( but that's me ). I also agree that Penfed could be a bit too conservative.... so I would skip that option based on where you are right now.

Also.... Rather than a store card which you may not use much, I may opt for a gas card one which you will use on a regualr basis.....
I would even consider a "self lender" type loan, which is usually set up and appears as a 12 month "loan"... but is truly like a Christmas club....... where you deposit the money monthly.... till the end, the small fees taken are worth the "credit build" line. If Discover doesn't get you what you want, the next two options , will thicken your file & set you up for better cards in the near future.... and evenif Discover does approve you.... other may help on speeding your rebuild in a few months

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 06:54:47 GMT

Discover and Captial One both allow you to see if you pre-qualify for any cards on their websites without a hard pull. Give them a shot. If you get the choice between the two, Discover hands down.

If you can get membership into Navy go with them. If not maybe research a local credit union and consider joining them with a checkings or savings account and then applying for a CC product down the line in say 6 months or so.

I am not sure how soon you'll start receiving offers in the mail again but it's probably a good thing to let them come in the future. Just avoid anything that charges a monthly maintenance fee or high AF. Sometimes that means passing on the first offer, the second offer, etc until you get one that no longer has those fees attached. I got invited to get credit cards for Ollo, Mercury and Merrick Bank through mail offers.

Credit One sent me mailer after mailer (poor trees =( ). They wanted me to pay a $99 AF and $8 monthly... I'm not paying a maintenace fee for a credit card AND a AF. After about 8 mailers from Credit One I did finally get one that eliminated the monthly maintenace fee and reduced the AF from $99 to $39 which I ended up accepting. I cancelled it just recently to avoid another $39 AF that was coming up because it had served it's purpose and they wanted me to wait until after it posted to get it refunded.

Goodluck on your journey and just remember to give it time, it's not a sprint but a marathon!

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

SecretAzure — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 14:51:29 GMT

You've gotten a ton of great advice here already OP. However, if it's not a bother could you give us a bit more detail about your profile? It might help make some advice more relevant than others.

How many hard inquiries do you currently have?
What is your average age of accounts?
How many CC's and loans do you have?
- You mention you have an auto loan with great history, are there others? If so, how recent?

Like someone above mentioned, they don't approve based on scores. I've seen people with 680 scores approved for something that someone with a 730 score was denied for based on other factors like what I mentioned above. The more info you provide, the better the advice can be! Good luck OP!

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

KJinNC — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:11:53 GMT

Oh how simple this would be if the score was the only or at least main factor! And, I don't know why the score even exists if it's not the main factor, but, that's a topic for another sub-forum. As others have mentioned, your score is one factor among many. They may require a minimum score, but if so, it would be mainly used for weed-out. More info about your profile would be helpful in offering suggestions.

But I will add Amex to the list of lenders to check, especially, Amex cobrand cards like Delta and Hilton. I would go right now to the Discover site and check prequal, then go to the Amex site and check prequal. Do not pay attention to "prequalification" from other sites such as Credit Karma, Experian, Cardmatch, etc, they are not real. The ones on the Discover and Amex sites are real, and pretty accurate. They are not a guarantee. Not only will that potentially help you get a card from one of those two lenders, it will give you another view into how credit card companies in general view your profile.

Good luck!

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

fsalsa2 — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 12:59:09 GMT

What is your AAoA and what kind of card are you looking for? Rewards, Travel, multi-use?

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

randomguy1 — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 19:57:54 GMT

Make sure your one card reports less than a 9% balance and check to see what your real FICO scores are on Experian.com. It would help you have a higher score. Lastly, it would be helpful if you provide as much detail as possible on what your credit profile contains. How long have you had that one card? Do you have any negative items on your credit report?

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

jetcat12 — Thu, 13 May 2021 19:01:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Research shows me I might have the score to obtain a Sam's Club MC. I'm concerned about using a HP for it, then getting declined. Any thoughts on eligibility?

I know I'm a little late to the game, but the best advice I can give is to look at the cards offered by Comenity. *Overstock, Big Lots, Land's End, etc.* They usually approve using the shopping cart method and are generous with credit lines every 30-90 days. IMHO, they're worth the hard pull because the approval odds are higher than with the mainline issuers.

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

Horseshoez — Thu, 13 May 2021 19:07:36 GMT

@jetcat12 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Research shows me I might have the score to obtain a Sam's Club MC. I'm concerned about using a HP for it, then getting declined. Any thoughts on eligibility?

I know I'm a little late to the game, but the best advice I can give is to look at the cards offered by Comenity. *Overstock, Big Lots, Land's End, etc.* They usually approve using the shopping cart method and are generous with credit lines every 30-90 days. IMHO, they're worth the hard pull because the approval odds are higher than with the mainline issuers.

I could be misinterpreting what I've read, but from browsing other threads here on myFICO, it seems Comenity is more or less just another Synchrony where credit limits can be reduced at the drop of a hat or accounts can be completely closed without notice. If you need a high credit limit for utilization purposes, Comenity and Synchrony are not the best option for making sure those limits stay in place.

Re: A question about expanding a thin file

FinStar — Thu, 13 May 2021 23:07:37 GMT

@Horseshoez wrote:
@jetcat12 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Research shows me I might have the score to obtain a Sam's Club MC. I'm concerned about using a HP for it, then getting declined. Any thoughts on eligibility?

I know I'm a little late to the game, but the best advice I can give is to look at the cards offered by Comenity. *Overstock, Big Lots, Land's End, etc.* They usually approve using the shopping cart method and are generous with credit lines every 30-90 days. IMHO, they're worth the hard pull because the approval odds are higher than with the mainline issuers.

I could be misinterpreting what I've read,but from browsing other threads here on myFICO, it seems Comenity is more or less just another Synchrony where credit limits can be reduced at the drop of a hat or accounts can be completely closed without notice. If you need a high credit limit for utilization purposes, Comenity and Synchrony are not the best option for making sure those limits stay in place.

It appears to be so.

If an individual amasses too many Comenity accounts in a short period, it could happen. But, that's always the risk with anything including Citi Retail, for instance (if you have the time, go read past threads on this topic).

That said, the impact is definitely felt for individuals who may have several cards with either lender if AA were to occur. But, in it of itself, that's not always the case. Go peruse both Comenity mega-threads (e.g. CLI HP/SP DPs and SP SCT)-- no massive closures going on. CLDs have been known to happen with both lenders, but that's due to AA - no different than BoA, Citi, Chase, Discover, AmEx reducing lines to mitigate risk.

Comenity differs in their AA approach in that if you have several accounts with them and decide to open a new one (or several) of their V/MC variety, if changes in a profile and/or credit seeking behaviors are present, they can close some or all (or none at all). Also, they don't rely on VS4 metrics like SYNCB does.

And, unlike SYNCB that's made headlines since last year for massive closures, there's a plethora of individuals whose accounts are still intact on both fronts (I have several from both for the past 15+ years).

Bottom line, in moderation, a well-planned strategy and a decent profile, one can still obtain CCs from Comenity and/or SYNCB, but I would definitely be selective and determine whether such products would be the right fit.