topic Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what? in Credit Cards

Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 23:22:37 GMT

I've been hiding from the credit world for 7 years and am basically starting over and rebuilding. Scores were somehow around 655. I researched Capital One and it seems many people's scores have improved because of them. I got approved for the secured. $49 Deposit and $200 limit. I didn't want to send in more than that because it seems some never get their deposits back despite what it says on the website of it taking 5 months.

1. Any reson to back out and not send in the security deposit? Will it hurt my credit more to get approved and not follow through? I guess a good way of looking at it is my credit sucks so $49 is buying me some credit for the next year.

2. How soon did people start getting unsecured, offers elsewhere after starting with this card?

3. I figure I'll attach my $40 gym membership to this card, pay it the same week and leave it alone for the month. Good enough? This will keep my utilization at 20%.

4. Should I apply for another bank ASAP then avoid hard pulls for a good 6+ months or so? Aren't a few hard pulls at once better than 3 months apart?

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 23:40:10 GMT

So you have a totally fresh start right now? What I would do is get the card. Cap One is generally the easiest of the good banks, so if they offer you secured take it and be glad you avoided the subpar lenders. PIF and keep utilization under 30%. Don't apply for anything else right now. After 3 statements have passed check Cap One prequalified site to see if you have any new offers, if you do you can grab another card probably unsecured. Then at 6 months I would app for Discover as they are fantastic and like to grab people with thin files that have a little good history. It's best to wait at least 1 year before apping with Chase/Citi/Amex/BOA. Avoid unecessary store cards of little stores. Once you hit that 1 year (12 statement cuts) start checking prequals and you will be on your way. If you want some of the better Chase cards read about 5/24 and have a plan for that. Good job and good luck.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 23:44:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So you have a totally fresh start right now? What I would do is get the card. Cap One is generally the easiest of the good banks, so if they offer you secured take it and be glad you avoided the subpar lenders. PIF and keep utilization under 30%. Don't apply for anything else right now. After 3 statements have passed check Cap One prequalified site to see if you have any new offers, if you do you can grab another card probably unsecured. Then at 6 months I would app for Discover as they are fantastic and like to grab people with thin files that have a little good history. It's best to wait at least 1 year before apping with Chase/Citi/Amex/BOA. Avoid unecessary store cards of little stores. Once you hit that 1 year (12 statement cuts) start checking prequals and you will be on your way. If you want some of the better Chase cards read about 5/24 and have a plan for that. Good job and good luck.

What they said👆

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 00:41:05 GMT

get the card; you've already used 3 HPs for it. you scores should only get better with time.

3-6 months from now you could look to start adding others

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

rmduhon — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 00:44:20 GMT

You have to wait 6 months in between apps for Cap1 now.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

austinguy907 — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 01:00:43 GMT

Personally having seen the threads around here and 99% of cap1 cards not converting over I would push more in the direction of Discover.

https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/secured

$200-$2500 deposit

Start reviewing at month 7 for converting

Earn rewrards

Usually get a decent CLI when it converts

Usuaully a week after it converts you can get a manual CLI for the rest of the money on the table

SP CLI's once you get to know each other well.... they may want a HP depending on what they see on a SP... HP requests usually don't last that long

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

EAJuggalo — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 01:32:40 GMT

Get the secured card, look into getting a secured Discover as well. For as little as $200 you can get in with them, treat it right and it will grow. You will start getting offers for unsecured cards pretty quickly, but make sure that those are offers you want before you take them. I was in your shoes a year ago with the only thing on my credit report a 14 year old auto loan from Chase. I now have two Chase cards, a Citi DC, an AMEX and my Capital One. The only thing I wish I did was take the secured Discover when it was offered to me.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 01:48:43 GMT

@austinguy907 wrote:
Personally having seen the threads around here and 99% of cap1 cards not converting over I would push more in the direction of Discover.

https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/secured

$200-$2500 deposit
Start reviewing at month 7 for converting
Earn rewrards
Usually get a decent CLI when it converts
Usuaully a week after it converts you can get a manual CLI for the rest of the money on the table
SP CLI's once you get to know each other well.... they may want a HP depending on what they see on a SP... HP requests usually don't last that long

I agree with this. I'd prefer the Discover Secured to the Cap1 Secured. Obviously, since you already have the Cap1 Secured, that is great! You avoided having to apply to sub-prime predatory lenders like Credit One. I'd recommend using the Cap1 card for a few months, always paying in full. Then, apply for the Discover Secured card. You will almost certainly be approved if you have a good record with the Cap1 card. Use both of those cards for 6-7 more months and they will likely be upgraded to unsecured cards. From there you can begin your journey through unsecured credit! As others have mentioned, I'd recommend getting in with one of the Chase 5/24 cards early, as you'll have to wait 2 years if you get 5 cards before them.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 02:35:44 GMT

Wow, thanks for all the info. I guess I'm just having credit application remorse. I do like that I avoided "subpar lenders" as someone just put it.

Got it. So take the Cap1 Secured, try for Discover 3 or 6 months later and then Chase looks like a good option. I checked the Discover website to see if I'm prequalified and the Discover It Cash Card came up which seems unlikely for me at this point. I tried the Discover ScoreCard and it couldn't find me in the system.

.Capital One doesn't show on my reports yet that a card was actually "issued" to me or a credit line. lol. I'm going to call in the morning and se what's going on with it. Any chance this means I could actually get approved for Discover Secured now? They do look like a better option even though it's a $200 deposit.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

austinguy907 — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 02:42:57 GMT

If scorecard can't find you then a pre-app with Disco is probably spitting out the 11.xx% - 23.xx% range. That's purely marketing when there's not a match with your info. If it's a 3% spread then it might actually happen.

Both cards will serve their purpose of getting things on the books and building history but, Disco will actually grow with you when you have to close out the Cap1. If these are your starter cards and you don't have anything else open then I would go ahead and get Disco so, when the time comes to cut Cap1 loose you still have an "oldest account" that's going to stay open and grow with time and use. The HP isn't going to hurt that much and Disco likes a good thin file when they consider someone. $200 is a good investment and if you need more you can make additional deposits unlike w/ Cap1.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

enjoimorenow — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 02:46:18 GMT

you already took the HPs for cap one, so you might as well pay the $49 and get the card.

I wouldn't put much faith in the discover prequal, seems most people say it's not very accurate.

Your cap one card will probably not show up on your credit reports until the 2nd statement, that's how mine was.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 08:11:16 GMT

@austinguy907 wrote:
If scorecard can't find you then a pre-app with Disco is probably spitting out the 11.xx% - 23.xx% range. That's purely marketing when there's not a match with your info. If it's a 3% spread then it might actually happen.

Both cards will serve their purpose of getting things on the books and building history but, Disco will actually grow with you when you have to close out the Cap1. If these are your starter cards and you don't have anything else open then I would go ahead and get Disco so, when the time comes to cut Cap1 loose you still have an "oldest account" that's going to stay open and grow with time and use. The HP isn't going to hurt that much and Disco likes a good thin file when they consider someone. $200 is a good investment and if you need more you can make additional deposits unlike w/ Cap1.

That is along the lines I was thinking when I asked this. Even if I get knocked down to 600, I can't touch my credit for a good 6+ months anyway so it's only uphill from here. Thanks again.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 11:07:23 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've been hiding from the credit world for 7 years and am basically starting over and rebuilding. Scores were somehow around 655. I researched Capital One and it seems many people's scores have improved because of them. I got approved for the secured. $49 Deposit and $200 limit. I didn't want to send in more than that because it seems some never get their deposits back despite what it says on the website of it taking 5 months.

1. Any reson to back out and not send in the security deposit? Will it hurt my credit more to get approved and not follow through? I guess a good way of looking at it is my credit sucks so $49 is buying me some credit for the next year.

2. How soon did people start getting unsecured, offers elsewhere after starting with this card?

3. I figure I'll attach my $40 gym membership to this card, pay it the same week and leave it alone for the month. Good enough? This will keep my utilization at 20%.

4. Should I apply for another bank ASAP then avoid hard pulls for a good 6+ months or so? Aren't a few hard pulls at once better than 3 months apart?

I was in nearly the same position when I got the CapOne secured a year ago (12th statement just cut). It's a fine card. Get it. In a few months, the limit will go to $500. The Discover secured is a better overall card, so if you want that one too, I'd say go for it. Though, depending on your situation, it might make more sense to wait until you build with the CapOne for a little while and might have a better chance at the unsecured Discover.

You are about to get a ton of mailers for subprime cards. Just shred those. They're horrible.

As far as when to look for unsecured cards, that's hard to say. Many say a year, but I was getting approved for great cards after about 7-8 months with the CapOne secured. Each situation is different. Either way, I'd recommend only applying for things you've been pre-approved for whether online or through the mail (again, good cards only).

Also, set-up autopay online so that it you'll have that safety net in case you forget. Though, I personally just pay before the statement is actually cut to keep utilization rates near 0.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 14:13:46 GMT

Cap 1 secured was an excellent and safe choice to get started with. The $49 is nothing and you will get it back later. They just recently started graduating people to unsecured so it could take some time. Wait 6 months and apply for their Quicksilver One. Then use it a bit and if you've been good you can upgrade that to a regular Quicksilver via online chat/call (no annual fee). I'd go for the Discover It unsecured after that. That one is sweet because you can get 10% cash back in the first year. After a year and a half or so (of good use) you should have access some premium opportunities for free travel, hotels, cash back, better rates on everything, etc.

Anyway, that is pretty much what worked for me. It all seems like a lot of work at first but its totally worth it and becomes easy. I have more points for flights and hotels than I even know what to do with now. Scores have gone up drastically, and it all started with a cap 1 secured about 2 years ago.

1. You get the 49 back any time you want so dont look at it as if you are losing money and a couple hard pulls are not really going to hurt you. I put down 99 and waiting for it to unsecure still. Doesnt really matter to me. I just perceive it as if it's sitting in savings somwehere. Im not going to close out the account any time soon just to get the 99 back since it is the oldest. Average age of accounts matters on your scores.

2. I would say 7 months to a year before you start getting better offers. You need to look at other factors on your reports too though. Certain lenders are sensative to certain things.

3. Attaching it to a gym membership is a good way to go. You can actually max out the card, you just want to get it paid and make sure the utilization is low (20% or lower ideally) when it reports. A small balance is ok.

4. If you apply for multiple cards from the same lender at the same time they will typically use the same inquiry. Applying for multiple cards from different lenders at the same time not so ok.. This makes you appear as a risk. Especially in beginning stages.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 18:37:59 GMT

I was in nearly the same position when I got the CapOne secured a year ago (12th statement just cut). It's a fine card. Get it. In a few months, the limit will go to $500. The Discover secured is a better overall card, so if you want that one too, I'd say go for it. Though, depending on your situation, it might make more sense to wait until you build with the CapOne for a little while and might have a better chance at the unsecured Discover.

You are about to get a ton of mailers for subprime cards. Just shred those. They're horrible.

As far as when to look for unsecured cards, that's hard to say. Many say a year, but I was getting approved for great cards after about 7-8 months with the CapOne secured. Each situation is different. Either way, I'd recommend only applying for things you've been pre-approved for whether online or through the mail (again, good cards only).

Also, set-up autopay online so that it you'll have that safety net in case you forget. Though, I personally just pay before the statement is actually cut to keep utilization rates near 0.

Thanks. Good to know about the $500 CLI as it sounds so much better and not so far away. Good idea about auto pay. That aleady comes out of my checking so I can just send it to Capital One instead and keep the card in a drawer... maybe max it out for specific online purchases and just pay right away.

I have read quite a few people on here getting approved for unsecured around the 7 month mark. It even happened to the person that directed me to this forum and their scores are lower than mine.

I'm still torn on whether to take the chance and apply for Discover now. I may have a chance because Capital One still isn't on my reports and someone said earlier that it took2 months for them. Everyone is saying they like people with thin credit files but what about as a starter or 2nd starter card? So a secured Discover will "graduate" to unsecured and you get to keep the same account/credit history? If the card is unsecured in 2018, then it shows as opened in 2017? Do I have that correct?

So far for online pre-approvals I got BOA Secured. which is funny because I am on their crap-list from years ago. I don't even think they'd give me a checking account but they pre-approved for a $500 secured card with a $300 deposit.

Discover's "Find My Offer" gave me the Discover it® Cash Credit Card but I guess getting approved is another thing.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 22:54:54 GMT

Deposited my $49 with Capital One.

Got Denied for Discover. Reason being "Unable to verify credit references/application information"

huh.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

EAJuggalo — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 23:10:58 GMT

Was that app specifically for the Secured version? If so I'd wait a month or two for the Cap One to report then try again, or give them a call.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 23:14:46 GMT

No, the Discover Cash It they pre-approved me for. I figure if denied they would just approved for the secured which is what Capital One did. There was a box to check on Discover's applicaion to consider for other offers if denied which I selected.

Nothing on Credit Karma showing a hard pull yet if they're instant.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

EAJuggalo — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 23:21:16 GMT

Website Pre-Approvals are notoriously unreliable for Discover. I got denied with a paper pre-approval last year, got offered the secured and didn't take it. At that time you had to be declined for an unsecured card before they would offer you the secured version.

CK only updates once a week when you log in, the Capital One credit tracker has given me real time notifications.

If you get the Discover Secured, when it graduates you will keep everything the same: Same card, same number, same history. Usually a higher CL.

Re: Got approved for first card. (Cap One) Now what?

joltdude — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 16:32:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
No, the Discover Cash It they pre-approved me for. I figure if denied they would just approved for the secured which is what Capital One did. There was a box to check on Discover's applicaion to consider for other offers if denied which I selected.

Nothing on Credit Karma showing a hard pull yet if they're instant.

Discover tends not to offer the secured if denied these days... you could try calling disco (during the week) and seeing if they will entertain a secured card .... but more likely you will need to take the HP again.... but if you are using credit scorecard.. (free fico from discover for non-cardholders)... that can be an indicator to app.. ... tough call.. could app now directly for the secured, or wait for scorecard for an offer, or just wait for your capital one to report......frankly id just rip the bandaid off and directly cold app for their secured card.. but id try a phone call....

-J