topic Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards in Credit Cards

Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

vear23 — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 05:16:18 GMT

I'm in the process of building my credit. I was offered a secured card from Discover and already have an unsecured CreditOne Bank card. My question is, should I accept the secured card will it show up on my report as a secured card and/or will other card/companies know it's a secured card? FYI, the secured card would have a much higher credit limit should I accept the offer.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 05:33:27 GMT

Questions!

How many different CLs do you currently have? One?

What are their credit limits?

What is your current plan to increase your Fico 8 Scores?

What is your current plan to increase your total available line of revolving credit?

Also, if you want more information on the Discover Secured card, consider reading Beverly's reveiw of it, and how it may compare to other card, and when they may graduate.

http://www.beverlyharzog.com/the-best-and-worst-secured-credit-cards/

Best Wishes!

vear23 wrote:
I'm in the process of building my credit. I was offered a secured card from Discover and already have an unsecured CreditOne Bank card. My question is, should I accept the secured card will it show up on my report as a secured card and/or will other card/companies know it's a secured card? FYI, the secured card would have a much higher credit limit should I accept the offer.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

vear23 — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 05:47:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Questions!

How many different CLs do you currently have? One?

What are their credit limits?

What is your current plan to increase your Fico 8 Scores?

What is your current plan to increase your total available line of revolving credit?

Also, if you want more information on the Discover Secured card, consider reading Beverly's reveiw of it, and how it may compare to other card, and when they may graduate.

http://www.beverlyharzog.com/the-best-and-worst-secured-credit-cards/

Best Wishes!

vear23 wrote:
I'm in the process of building my credit. I was offered a secured card from Discover and already have an unsecured CreditOne Bank card. My question is, should I accept the secured card will it show up on my report as a secured card and/or will other card/companies know it's a secured card? FYI, the secured card would have a much higher credit limit should I accept the offer.

So far 2 CL's, 300 Increased to 450 & 800 since February. I don't want many inquiries on my report so I'm taking it slow with applying for anything. I was offered the secured card when I applied for the unsecured and discovered it was a soft pull. I figured I would wait at least 6 months before applying for other cards. Everything is PIF every month.

Thanks for the info. I will take a look.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

brother7 — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 07:08:15 GMT

I would accept the Discover Secured card because 1) it's a rewards card which is rare for secured cards and 2) it has the potential to graduate after 12 months.

With Discover, I believe your deposit = starting credit line, up to $2500. I hope you're able to afford a nice-size deposit. I LOVE rewards and would run everything I can through it!

Does your CreditOne card charge an AF? If so, I would cancel it. I'm not a fan of paying AFs. I prefer the Capital One Platinum which is a good no-AF card for rebuilders.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 07:31:33 GMT

The Capital One Platinum is decent for rebuilding credit. There's also a card for students called the Capital One Journey which can help re-build credit too, but gives you 1.25% cash back for every dollar you spend if you pay your bill on time each month. I'm not sure about the Platinum, but the Journey has credit steps too, just like the Quicksilver One.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 08:35:09 GMT

I heart secured CC

Especially when you can bump your util.!!! Secure or unsecured all banks see is your making gd on your agreement to pay every Mo. I started with secured cc..I roll my deposit to the next lender and keep bumping it up;US bank may be my last if post on here are true about them😞

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

takeshi74 — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 15:11:49 GMT

@vear23 wrote:
My question is, should I accept the secured card

We'd need a lot more info regarding your credit profile to answer that. The decision doesn't solely hinge on whether or not you have an unsecured card. If you're trying to build credit a secured card may be of benefit.

@vear23 wrote:
I don't want many inquiries on my report so I'm taking it slow with applying for anything

Inquiries are not the only thing you should be concerned about.

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

A new account drops your AAoA (Length of Credit History) and there is also impact just from having new accounts on your reports. Inquiries are typically a small factor but they can have a bigger impact for someone like you who has a young, thin profile and you'll also see a bigger impact from new accounts as a result of that. You definitely want to slowly add new accounts but it's not just a matter of inquiries.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

vear23 — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 16:54:27 GMT

@brother7 wrote:
I would accept the Discover Secured card because 1) it's a rewards card which is rare for secured cards and 2) it has the potential to graduate after 12 months.
With Discover, I believe your deposit = starting credit line, up to $2500. I hope you're able to afford a nice-size deposit. I LOVE rewards and would run everything I can through it!
Does your CreditOne card charge an AF? If so, I would cancel it. I'm not a fan of paying AFs. I prefer the Capital One Platinum which is a good no-AF card for rebuilders.

Thanks. The CreditOne card is very limiting especially now that I want to go on vacation. I can use the Discover to give myself a much larger credit line giving me some breathing room and rewards. Unfortunately the CreditOne card does come with AF's ($75). I was planning on canceling right before my anniversary.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 16:57:18 GMT

Yes take the Discover. They are a top notch provider.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 04:24:42 GMT

For fun, if you have not had the opportunity to read this thread, it is full of exceptional information.

Now, I am not advocating you go out and do any or all of this. Rather, it lays out One Person's Plan, and why. The comments from other people posting to it add further dimensions which broaden one's understanding of various choices available, and why they may benefit someone.

Just Food for Thought.

by SoulMaster

to 700 in 24 months or less

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Bankruptcy/HOW-TO-From-BK7-discharge-to-700-in-24-months-or-less/m-p/1384075#M9218

vear23 wrote:
I'm in the process of building my credit.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

vear23 — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 13:00:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
For fun, if you have not had the opportunity to read this thread, it is full of exceptional information.

Now, I am not advocating you go out and do any or all of this. Rather, it lays out One Person's Plan, and why. The comments from other people posting to it add further dimensions which broaden one's understanding of various choices available, and why they may benefit someone.

Just Food for Thought.

by SoulMaster

to 700 in 24 months or less

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Bankruptcy/HOW-TO-From-BK7-discharge-to-700-in-24-months-or-less/m-p/1384075#M9218

vear23 wrote:
I'm in the process of building my credit.

@SoulMaster wrote:
Larry,

I am diametrically opposed to Secured Cards, except in a case of last resort, and only then if they are 100% known to be cards that graduate.

Before I started working in the legal field I was a software architect. There's a simple software engineering rule here: Don't store any data you don't have to. It's not rule #1, but it is a rule. So, while people may think that secured cards are good, the fact is that they report on all CRs as "Secured", which means they must do something... especially when you're at a manual underwriting level.

IMO, Secured cards are an instant re-bucket item, denoting that you have crappy credit. You'll see thousands of stories on this board about people stuck w/ low limits and in quite a few of them, you'll see secured cards still reporting. Thus, they are best avoided at all costs.

As for department store cards, these may be even worse. I've spoken with several underwriters who specifically regard people with store-cards as "suckers". I've argued with them that this is usually done to take advantage of a discount or 0% apr offer and in every case their rebuttal was "if they need a 0% apr, which means they're making payments, they usually don't have the cash to cover the purchase". <-- this strategy flags as "doesn't use credit wisely", unless the same credit report is flush with positive trade-lines that off-set. When rebuilding, people don't have those positive TLs. (please note: the underwriters I know make exceptions for gas-cards, which aren't used for large purchases and normally offer a discount. Also, in EVERY case, they can see your charging/payment history on all cards, which can also be used to offset).

The guide I laid out at the top of this thread is based on hundreds of examples of successful rebuilds, and now hundreds of people have used it, verbatim, to start/continue/complete their own rebuilds. They get to 700(+/-) in about 2 years. If there's a better plan than that I haven't seen it.

-SM

I do not have a BK, but thank you!!!!! The link was quite informative and it would seem app'ing for a secured card DOES matter. It seems my gut instincts are once again correct. Again, Thanks. I think the information can be quite useful even if you don't' have BK's. **EDIT** Included a quote above I came across.

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

vear23 — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 00:49:57 GMT

MANY MANY MANY THANKS for the link you provided me Sebastian. I followed some of the suggestions and tweaked some it with a suggestion from a post I either found with in that thread or some other thread. ~jumps for joy~.

My scores have jumped and it didn't even take a year to do so. This is my progression as I keep track (not as neat as I would like.

11/7/2016 Will request Merrick CLI

11/6/2016 LOFT CLI undetermined

11/6/2016 Pre-approved for DISCOVER IT (unsecured), FNBO ($0 AF), CITI Costco Card

11/6/2016 Synchrony/Amazon Store $2,521 (CLI)

11/6/2016 Synchrony/Google Store $2,800 (CLI)

11/06/16 TU8: 692 (savvymoney.com free vantage score)

10/2016 Applied for Synchrony/Google Store $1,400

10/19/16 TU8 BANK CARD: 755 (Merrick Go Score)
10/13/16 EX8: 656 (Discover Scorecard)
10/10/16 TU8: 757 (Synchrony/Amazon)
10/01/16 EX: 619 (Credit One score)

9/20/16 TU8: 624 (Synchrony/Amazon)
9/10/16 TU: 624 (applied for Commenity/LOFT card $500)
9/15/16 TU8 Bank Card: 628 (Merrick go score)
9/1/16 EX: 614 (Credit One score)

8/24/2016 EQ: 591 EX: 554 TU: 635 (myFICO score; applied to Amazon $800)

8/2016 EX: 608 (Credit One score)

8/13/16 TU8 Bank Card: 635 (Applied for Merrick $700)

7/2016 EX: 602 (Credit One score)

6/2016 EX: 586 (CreditOne score)

4/2016 EX:585 (Credit One score)

2/2016: EX: 554 EQ: 591 TU: 606 (myFICO scores)

1/27/16 Applied to CreditOne ($300)
1/2016: EX: 549 EQ: 591 TU: 606

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 02:44:13 GMT

@vear23

Sweeeeeet!!!

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 04:16:38 GMT

Hey vear23,

Congratz on YOUR achievement!

Keep doing what you are doing, it only gets Better ! ! !

Best Wishes!

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

vear23 — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 13:10:08 GMT

Can anyone tell me what to expect if I cancel the CO acct after a year?

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 16:13:28 GMT

When a charge off is removed, it's a big jump UP in fico pts. Like 10-15 I believe😄

Re: Secured Credit Card vs Unsecured Credit Cards

vear23 — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 02:36:54 GMT

The card is in good standing but I don't want to have to pay an AF when a year comes around. I meant what could possibly happen if I close out the card after a year?