topic Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one? in Credit Cards

Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

StevieK — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 07:31:39 GMT

I fell into hard times 7 years ago, lost my condo, car, job, ability to pay depts, etc.

Now it is 7 years later and the last of the negatives just fell off my reports.

All I have on my reports now are the following:

A bunch of paid-off student loans
Two paid-off car loans
Capital One MC with $10,000 credit limit

So, a "thin" credit file, basically.

I am a Costco member and want to get a Visa so I can get points for my purchases there (they don't accept MC). I applied once two years ago and was denied, but I had negatives on my CR. Now, since they last of them have fallen off, I am thinking of applying again.

Problem is, Citi (who administers the Costco Visa) denies a bunch of applicants (see https://www.creditkarma.com/creditcard/CCCitiBank1200), and this leaves a hard inquiry on your CR. Also, it seems that some Costco people are unhappy with Citi. However, the 4x rewards for gas are pretty appealing to me.

Question - Should I try again for the Costco Visa at the risk of being rejected due to my thin file, and at the risk of a hard inquiry added to my CR?

Or, is there another Visa that would be better?

Or, should I do something else for my 2nd card (e.g. Discover) and come back and try for a Visa later?

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

Physh1 — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 23:02:50 GMT

The last thing I believe hold any weight are the card reviews from Credit Karma. Credit Karma attracts people who typically aren't well versed in credit. Citis's standards are well known here. Also, any application for almost all products, whether approved or not, leaves you with at least 1 hard pull. There is no 'risk' in a hard pull. It's a required part of aquiring, or trying to acquire, credit. Don't be afraid of them.

If I was you I'd apply. However, please keep in mind many lenders are becoming tighter on standards considering the times we are in currently.

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 23:10:15 GMT

Agree that Credit Karma reviews are not trustworthy. Many I have stumbled across on there are less trustworthy than the Fako scores they provide.

What are your current credit scores? I think if the point of getting a Visa is for Costco, the Costco card obviously makes the most sense. It's a good card for a lot of other things too. Not sure how eligible you'd be though without some more info.

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

StevieK — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 03:04:50 GMT

Okay, just signed up.

My scores are as follows:

Equifax - 689
TransUnion - 669
Experian - 674

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 03:26:02 GMT

Your scores are indicative of issues in your profile. You said the derogs fell off so do you have;

• a high balance on the card?

• remaining lates on the closed loans?

A clean profile with low utilization and no lates should be a lot higher - your profile may be thin but it's aged, and that counts. What else is going on that is holding your scores down?

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

StevieK — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 03:33:41 GMT

I looked, and a couple of old student loans have a 90 days past due from October 2014.

I guess it's one more year before that will go away.

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

Slabenstein — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 03:51:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Agree that Credit Karma reviews are not trustworthy. Many I have stumbled across on there are less trustworthy than the Fako scores they provide.

I hadn't read CK reviews before. The format seems to be that you take something that happened to you with regards to the card that would be an expected outcome of something you did with the card and tell a rambling, convoluted story about it without paragraph or possibly even sentence breaks. End the story with HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE in all caps, rate the card one star, and you're done!

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

cashorcharge — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 04:44:17 GMT

Agreed with other feedback provided. While this site has been down since April, I am thinking it will come back once Citi is more comfortable with the direction of the economy.

You can use this site to see if you'll get approved if you don't want to cold app for the card.

https://www.citicards.com/cards/credit/application/flow.action?isInvitation=N

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

sxa001 — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 05:08:43 GMT

The Citi Costco is a great card for Costco shoppers, while you can always apply and you might get lucky I think it will be harder with your current scores. I think they pull EQ, I was in the 730's when I got mine. I would think with a score of 720+ you would have a better chance. Of course overall profile is a big factor, not just score.

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

NRB525 — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 13:12:54 GMT

I would not put much hope on the Citi prequal returning very soon. I also would think 6 year old lates may be less on an issue overall.

With no recent apps, my suggestion would be to go "in branch" at Costco and have one of the nice CC marketing people help with submitting the app. The card sounds like it fits OP needs, so worth a shot.

The fact that you get a HP is not a reason not to apply for one card.

Re: Negatives finally fell off after 7 years. Have had MC for 1.5 years, now want a Visa. Which one?

coreysw12 — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 20:41:42 GMT

It would also be helpful for us to know which bank(s) you burned before, and how badly, and whether or not you eventually paid them. Because, even if they have fallen off your reports, those banks have MUCH longer memories than 7 years.

Some banks will give you a second chance, some won't. Sometimes it depends on how badly you burned them before.

I would definitely use the online pre-qualification tools to your advantage. I think Chase has one, as does Discover. As mentioned by others, Citi usually does, but not right now. Wells fargo I think has one but only if you bank with them.