topic Re: Primor vs Open Sky? in Credit Cards

Primor vs Open Sky?

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 09:36:49 GMT

Some background info: My first application for a Capital One secured card was rejected due to "insufficient income" and a lack of credit history. I'm 26 and have only ever used cash or debit cards. I don't work per se, though I help out with the family business. All of my expenses are paid for by my father and I don't pay rent or have any bills. Because I have no paystubs of any sort, my petty cash "income" (about 3k a year, all of which is either spent by myself or saved) wasn't enough to get me the card. After I was declined I found out I was eligible to list my father's income as my own as I have more or less unlimited access to his funds and he was willing to write a letter asserting as such though he is not willing to cosign on any of my applications. Doing this, I was instantly approved for the card with a $49 deposit on my second application. These applications took place on the 19th and 20th of May respectively.

In January of this year I applied for (and was denied) Care Credit. That brings my total hard inquires up to 3. I'd rather avoid any more this year. I toyed with the idea of applying for a Cap One Quicksilver One, but my younger sister (who is a student and was also eligible to list our father's income) was declined it despite having NO inquiries. She didn't even get an instant approval for the secured card, as I did. (Question the first: Possibly because I waited a day between applications and she did not? When she applied they didn't discourage her from doing so and made it seem as if it would have no bearing on her decision but why else would they decline her but approve me with otherwise identical applications?) I'm sure i'll try for it again next year, if I don't feel secure in applying for a better card that is.

With that said! I now have an additional $250 that I'd like to invest into a second secured card. It's my understanding that with my thin file, two cards would be better than one. I have no intention of spending more than 10-15% a month on the card(s). I would spend up to 15% and leave the balance in place until the date Cap One reports to the bureaus and then promptly pay it off before my due date so as to not pay interest.

-It's my understanding that I could spend all the way up to the limit as long as I pay it down to less than 15% before it's reported to the bureaus, is that correct? Or is utilized credit recorded no matter how much you've paid off? -

I am not a permanent resident, and as such am not eligible for SDFCU's secured card. (My sister may go for it if Capital One doesn't approve her.) Because i'd like to avoid any more hard inquiries, it seems that First Choice's Primor and Open Sky's Secured Credit Card are my only choices as far as opening a second card. The difference in annual fees is negligible to me, the credit lines would be $200 for both. I've seen equal parts negative and positive things said about both cards in their reviews, so i'm having a hard time making a choice.

I read somewhere that you have to mail in payments for the primor cards and can't pay them online, is this true? That'd be a total dealbreaker for me. I understand both cards have comparable processing times for payments, around 10-14 days due to the "holds" placed. That's fine, i'm just using these to build my credit while I have the luxury of not having any bills of my own and plan on paying promptly after my balance is reported. I know neither card graduates and I would ideally be closing either account in a little over a year.

Any votes for one or the other? Am I missing any key decision-making or breaking points? You all have a lot more experience than I do and i'd appreciate the help!
-EA

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

silkysean — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 04:25:10 GMT

If I were you I'd rather do First Premier secured over those 2 at least a little better.Unfortunately you'll have to get these sub prime ones and build up your history about a solid year making sure you make on time payments staying on top of them to ensure proper payments then you can get better cards.Also work on income if you can.You're on the right path keep it up good luck

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 05:42:27 GMT

Here's a straight comparison between the two that I have:

Name

APR

Annual Fee

Monthly Fee

Unsecured CLI?

Unsecured CLI Terms

Graduate?

Graduation Terms

Rewards

HP/SP

Reports As

Comments

OpenSky Secured Visa

17.50%

$29

unknown

Anecodally, CLIs are possible

N/A

primor Secured Visa Classic / MasterCard

13.99%

$39

N/A

primor Secured Gold Visa / MasterCard

9.99%

$49

N/A

In my PERSONAL opinion, there are better options between these cards; however, since you aren't a permenant resident your options are smaller. Yes, you would get a boost to your score opening additional cards but frankly if you just nurse the Cap One card you have for 6 months or so you may be able to get the unsecured card you want without going with one of these options here.

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 06:12:52 GMT

@ Silky - Not eligible for First Premier's cards.

@ Michikade - I'm pretty brushed up on the numbers for both, I was more hoping to find people who have had one or both cards who could speak in favor of one or the other. But thanks for the reply!

In the end I ended up getting both, so I now have Capital One's Secured Card, a Primor Visa Classic and an Open Sky Secured Credit Card. My father has suddenly gotten touchy on the subject so I'm guessing that i'll be nursing/gardening these for the next year when I will hopefully be able to convince him to let me apply for an unsecured card. I'd like either a Cap One Quicksilver or Quicksilver One or Chase's Freedom card. I don't actually NEED the credit but I'm not keen on paying $70 in fees more than the one time either. I'd like to get an unsecured card under my belt so I can cancel the Primor and Open Sky around Q4, 2016.

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

core — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 06:35:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm guessing that i'll be nursing/gardening these for the next year when I will hopefully be able to convince him to let me apply for an unsecured card.

Seriously? If I was a 26 year old adult in that situation, I would be out the door getting a real job tomorrow, out on my own. This is just one of the problems that goes along with working in a family business for a small "allowance". I hear cases like this all the time on that evil Dave Ramsey radio program. And yes, been there done that too. Ah well.

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 08:51:48 GMT

Core - While I understand your incredulousness? It's not that easy. I'm in a position right now where I don't really have the option of leaving home. If it had been an option I would have taken it years ago.There aren't any possibilities for me to get a "real job" (I've been applying for 10 years in the hopes of being able to get out of here.) I have a little sister and a sick elderly cat to take care of and I can't afford my medications without him (nor do I know how to drive, etc.) It's frustrating working within his sometimes nonsensical limitations but that's part of why i'm focusing on building my credit right now. In the past when he's threatened to kick us out into the streets, we knew that we wouldn't be able to rent even the smallest apartment without a credit score between us, no paystubs or job history. She might be able to get a real job and if I can manage to build a good score on my limited means? When and if the day comes we'll feel much more secure.

Still looking for advice from present or current Primor/Open Sky holders!

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

core — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 09:15:56 GMT

I see; understood. I had a feeling it was something like that.

I had an Open Sky card for a long long time, but I've never heard of First Choice Primor so can't help you compare there. Open Sky is an OK card for one that never graduates as long as you don't intend to use it nor increase the deposit after the first year. The best thing it has going for it is no hard pull, which was important to me at the time.

If I could go back in time, I never would have messed with Open Sky or Capital One secured. I would have gone with a secured card that has the possibility to unsecure. Even if it's only after a long 2-3 years! But I'm now out of date with the secured cards and don't know your credit profile anyway to know what you'd qualify for. It seems there was a thread here a while ago where someone made a huge list of all the nationally-available secured cards and whether they required a hard pull and whether they unsecure. I'd look that list over, and do everything in my power first before I blew my last $200 on Open Sky which will go nowhere long-term. Since it seems income was your only hangup with your first one, just use your father's income again and you may have a decent chance at a decent secured card.

Edit: Here's the list I was talking about:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Updated-for-2015-Secured-Credit-Card-List/td-p/3856240

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

baller4life — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 11:27:04 GMT

SDFCU. Their secured is 6.99% apr and no fee.

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 22:01:29 GMT

@Core - Solid advice and I know the page you're referring to. The issue being that my father has gone from wholeheartedly supporting my using his income as my own (I've double and triple checked and I am eligible to do so under the CARD act's reforms a few years ago) to absolutely forbidding it. I think he's figured out why it is I want to boost my credit score and though he can't stop me from keeping the three I have one, he's not gonna help me get ACTUAL credit lines anytime soon. I'm hoping he'll forget in a year. It's hard having $450 tied up in secured cards but I have a pretty substantial savings fund for my cat's medical needs, I recently paid up my sister's final semester and I myself tend to be very thrifty so I don't /need/ the money available. I'd much rather have it working for me in the form of boosting my credit than sitting in my piggy bank doing nothing.

I did call up BoA, Citi and Wells Fargo to inquire about their secured options. Our local WF tends to be erm...well, racist. They wouldn't even look at my application despite the fact that my father has had an account with them for over 15 years. Citi would require a form from IRS verifying my father's income, which irritated him and he declined to allow me to do that. This seems strange to me as I file his taxes and there's nothing fishy about them, everything is in order. ./Shrug. BoA won't accept household income for their application. I made the unfortunate choice years ago to have my checking account with Chase and they don't offer a secured option. The local credit union also doesn't accept household income, don't offer secured cards and run credit checks even on their secured loans.

As for my credit history? None to speak of. I've only ever paid for everything in cash or debit at the insistance of my father. When I began to be curious about credit he would advise me to wait for Chase to offer me an unsecured line with no annual fee (unlikely given my total lack of score.) I have 3 hard inquiries. One from January and two from late May. TU has 3, rather. EQ and EX have two. No baddies. Nothing NEGATIVE, really. Just nothing positive either. I'm his dependent, so I don't get paystubs for my work and thus the only "income" I can prove is the petty cash he "gifts" me after taking out rent, food, medical bills, etc etc. It's kind of a bind. I appreciate your help, though and your advice.

Can I ask if you had NEGATIVE experiences with Open Sky or simply regretted having the money tied up? I was planning on making a single $7-15 purchase on it once a month and paying it off the day I made the purchase (to allow the hold to release before my statement's due date.) Too risky? I suppose I could just leave it and the primor in the sock drawer and use the Cap One? But I was under the impression that unused cards were apt to be closed.

@Baller - As stated in my OP, i'm not eligible for SDFCU. Or at least, I should be eligible but get the runaround from them. I was flat out told "not to bother" applying if I wasn't a permanent resident, even though their application form has an option to select that. I WISH. It seems like a great card.

Re: Primor vs Open Sky?

baller4life — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 22:51:29 GMT

Sorry OP I missed that part.