topic Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third in Credit Cards

Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

neverrain — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:35:13 GMT

Hi guys,

I just wanted to ask your advice on my situation and what you think is the best route for my situation.

A brief history - My current FICO is 618 (through this site). I currently have an Orchard Bank card (unsecured) which I got when my score was around ~550 about a year and a half ago. My limit on the card is $320 with a $65/annual fee (I think). I usually just put random reoccurring online charges on it, Netflix, etc and pay it off monthly. I've never been late, never missed a payment. The annual fee isn't a big deal to me, the $65 isn't difficult for me to pay. I'm more interested in the reporting.

I have a second secured Visa through my credit union with a $900 limit. I use this for larger purchases and pay it off over a couple months when I make larger purchases with it. Never been late, never missed a payment. There is no annual charge for this and the interest rate is in the low teens.

I was just approved for a Capital One card with a $500 limit. Capital One (unitl now) wouldn't approve me. They offered 0% until next October then it jumps to 22%. I wouldn't ever be carrying a balance on this card as I would pay this off monthly as well.

My question for you guys - Do you think having a third credit card is detrimental to the recovery of my credit? Despite negative reviews online, I've never had an issue with the Orchard card, but I did call after making my 12th payment asking for a limit increase, to which I was told that such increases were not given anymore or provided by asking. Should I dump this card now? Any ideas on keeping all 3?

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:49:57 GMT

When does your annual fee kick in? If it is in 8-10 months I say dump it right before the AF your score could be high enough by then to get you an even better card. The best thing to do is keep your util between 1-9% total preferably only on one card with the other cards a 0 balance. Most CC's report the balance on your statement to the bureaus, so paying it off monthly could still be hurting you. For example, if you had a statement cut on your Orchard Bank card with a balnce of $240, then your util would be 240/320. 75% not good for scoring or trying to get new credit. The way to avoid this isto pay your bill right before the statement cuts, and leave a $20 balance that will show on the CR, then pay the $20 before the bill is due. This will show activity on the card and give you the best util.

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

-Cain- — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:55:28 GMT

If you close the Orchard, you should keep it as a positive tradeline for 10 years, so that shouldn't hurt much now. The addition of the Cap1 will give you $200 extra to help utilization should you cancel the Orchard, so you shouldnt be hurt much there. Having three open cards shouldn't hurt you either. I thought I read somewhere that Orchard offered to lower the AF when someone threatened to close the account, it could've been a different card though. It is really up to you, but as long as you keep your accounts paid on time and in good standing, other CCs with bigger CLs, better perks/rewards, and possibly even better customer service will be waiting for you. Good Luck whichever route you take.

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

LS2982 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:55:44 GMT

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:11:56 GMT

@neverrain wrote:
Hi guys,

I just wanted to ask your advice on my situation and what you think is the best route for my situation.

A brief history - My current FICO is 618 (through this site). I currently have an Orchard Bank card (unsecured) which I got when my score was around ~550 about a year and a half ago. My limit on the card is $320 with a $65/annual fee (I think). I usually just put random reoccurring online charges on it, Netflix, etc and pay it off monthly. I've never been late, never missed a payment. The annual fee isn't a big deal to me, the $65 isn't difficult for me to pay. I'm more interested in the reporting.

I have a second secured Visa through my credit union with a $900 limit. I use this for larger purchases and pay it off over a couple months when I make larger purchases with it. Never been late, never missed a payment. There is no annual charge for this and the interest rate is in the low teens.

I was just approved for a Capital One card with a $500 limit. Capital One (unitl now) wouldn't approve me. They offered 0% until next October then it jumps to 22%. I wouldn't ever be carrying a balance on this card as I would pay this off monthly as well.

My question for you guys - Do you think having a third credit card is detrimental to the recovery of my credit? Despite negative reviews online, I've never had an issue with the Orchard card, but I did call after making my 12th payment asking for a limit increase, to which I was told that such increases were not given anymore or provided by asking. Should I dump this card now? Any ideas on keeping all 3?

Here is what I recommend call Orchard and tell them you want the AF waived or you will be closing the card, if the first person doesn't budge ask to be transferred to a supervisor...if the supervisor offers to waive half...ask to speak with their supervisor who will more than likely waive it all since half wasn't satisfactory. Don't give up until you speak to someone with authority to waive the AF.

Second become a member of USAA and sign up for the credit monitoring service. See how your reports look across all 3 bureaus.

Then see if your parents or any family member who has a credit card with Amex, Barclay, BoA, Chase, Citi, Discover, etc that they have had for 5+ years with low UTI...ask them to add you as an auth user. Try to become an auth user on a few cards because that will help with showing more credit for you and their history will help your credit length history.

Refresh your report daily with the USAA credit monitoring. Once your scores jump apply for credit cards with creditors that you are an auth user with and your chances will be good of being approved assuming you don't have any negative stuff in the last 2-3 years reporting.

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

LS2982 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:17:10 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@neverrain wrote:
Hi guys,

I just wanted to ask your advice on my situation and what you think is the best route for my situation.

A brief history - My current FICO is 618 (through this site). I currently have an Orchard Bank card (unsecured) which I got when my score was around ~550 about a year and a half ago. My limit on the card is $320 with a $65/annual fee (I think). I usually just put random reoccurring online charges on it, Netflix, etc and pay it off monthly. I've never been late, never missed a payment. The annual fee isn't a big deal to me, the $65 isn't difficult for me to pay. I'm more interested in the reporting.

I have a second secured Visa through my credit union with a $900 limit. I use this for larger purchases and pay it off over a couple months when I make larger purchases with it. Never been late, never missed a payment. There is no annual charge for this and the interest rate is in the low teens.

I was just approved for a Capital One card with a $500 limit. Capital One (unitl now) wouldn't approve me. They offered 0% until next October then it jumps to 22%. I wouldn't ever be carrying a balance on this card as I would pay this off monthly as well.

My question for you guys - Do you think having a third credit card is detrimental to the recovery of my credit? Despite negative reviews online, I've never had an issue with the Orchard card, but I did call after making my 12th payment asking for a limit increase, to which I was told that such increases were not given anymore or provided by asking. Should I dump this card now? Any ideas on keeping all 3?
Here is what I recommend call Orchard and tell them you want the AF waived or you will be closing the card, if the first person doesn't budge ask to be transferred to a supervisor...if the supervisor offers to waive half...ask to speak with their supervisor who will more than likely waive it all since half wasn't satisfactory. Don't give up until you speak to someone with authority to waive the AF.

Second become a member of USAA and sign up for the credit monitoring service. See how your reports look across all 3 bureaus.

Then see if your parents or any family member who has a credit card with Amex, Barclay, BoA, Chase, Citi, Discover, etc that they have had for 5+ years with low UTI...ask them to add you as an auth user. Try to become an auth user on a few cards because that will help with showing more credit for you and their history will help your credit length history.

Refresh your report daily with the USAA credit monitoring. Once your scores jump apply for credit cards with creditors that you are an auth user with and your chances will be good of being approved assuming you don't have any negative stuff in the last 2-3 years reporting.

Solid advice

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

neverrain — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:19:07 GMT

The orchard card is actually $79/year. I think I'll give them a call today or tomorrow, even though it's not due until September.

I was actually looking at USAA for the credit monitoring, but I thought you needed a military family member to get in? My dad was in the Navy for a while and when I asked him about USAA he had never heard of them lol. The odds of me getting his social for the application is slim.

Great advice though. I really appreciate it.

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

LS2982 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:24:15 GMT

@neverrain wrote:
The orchard card is actually $79/year. I think I'll give them a call today or tomorrow, even though it's not due until September.

I was actually looking at USAA for the credit monitoring, but I thought you needed a military family member to get in? My dad was in the Navy for a while and when I asked him about USAA he had never heard of them lol. The odds of me getting his social for the application is slim.

Great advice though. I really appreciate it.

Is that your oldest card??? I'd be axing that if not!!

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:41:51 GMT

@neverrain wrote:
The orchard card is actually $79/year. I think I'll give them a call today or tomorrow, even though it's not due until September.

I was actually looking at USAA for the credit monitoring, but I thought you needed a military family member to get in? My dad was in the Navy for a while and when I asked him about USAA he had never heard of them lol. The odds of me getting his social for the application is slim.

Great advice though. I really appreciate it.

Persistence pays and if talking to no one gets the AF waived then the next thing is to write to the CEO or someone in the executive team expressing your dissatisfaction and considering closing the card due to the AF. More than likely that will get the attention of someone to waive it.

Regarding USAA...I signed up as a limited member about a month ago and opened a checking/savings account plus also signed up for the credit monitoring service. It's only $12.25 a month to monitor all 3 plus I have read that if you call their customer service and let them know that you heard others are paying half of that they will more than likely give you the 50% special price for the first 12 months. Will follow up with that once I call

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

JustMe77 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:28:18 GMT

Orchard wasn't giving CLIs for a while because of the Cap One buyout I think, but I just got one a few weeks ago when I called (from $500 to $600, lol). I would personally dump Orchard, right before your next renewal, because of the AF. Even if you can pay it, it's high for a card with no rewards. I would also get rid of the secured card to get my $$ back. Then, I would just keep the usage of Cap One to under $40/month, to keep utilization low.

I have Orchard (with a $79 AF) and am closing in August before the AF hits again. I would close it now, except I just paid the AF in September and will now hold onto it for another year because I've already paid the stupid AF. Its interest rate is lower than my other current cards, so I'm hanging on to it until then just in case I ever want to carry a balance (rare).

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

neverrain — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:01:05 GMT

Yea I'll talk to Orchard and see what I can get out of them. I have a few (10) months to make a decision on it.

One of the reasons I got the secured card with my credit union was to build some kind of credit with them for the future when i want a car or home loan. I feel like that will help if I have a spotless history with them. Plus they report to all 3 bureaus as well, so it does have that benefit.

Is my only option with USAA to have a bank account with them as well? I'm really happy with my credit union and I am grandfathered into a pretty large family plan, so I have top benefits for my account already. I can't buy just the monitoring service?

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

-Cain- — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:06:01 GMT

I created a USAA account, do not have any banking services with them, but I think I saw an option to get the CMS last time I logged on. I will double check that for you if nobody else chimes in.

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:14:20 GMT

@neverrain wrote:
Yea I'll talk to Orchard and see what I can get out of them. I have a few (10) months to make a decision on it.

One of the reasons I got the secured card with my credit union was to build some kind of credit with them for the future when i want a car or home loan. I feel like that will help if I have a spotless history with them. Plus they report to all 3 bureaus as well, so it does have that benefit.

Is my only option with USAA to have a bank account with them as well? I'm really happy with my credit union and I am grandfathered into a pretty large family plan, so I have top benefits for my account already. I can't buy just the monitoring service?

I believe you can become a limited member without needing to open a bank account...but if you do I believe you only need $25 to open an account and no minimum required to stay in the account. Once you sign up for the monitoring service and your EQ report looks good you can apply for their credit card. I would also recommend to take advantage of the 10 day free trial of EQ Fico Watch here before you go applying for new credit (assuming you haven't takend advantage of it yet) Don't forget first to become an auth user on a few cards with 5+ years of history and low UTI of 10% or less on the cards.

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

neverrain — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:52:42 GMT

I was able to sign up for the CreditCheck Premium service without opening a bank account or using my father's military info/SSN. Service looks pretty good. Also looks like I need to have some 7+ year old items removed from my report.

I'm not sure if the family would be cool with me piggybacking onto their credit cards, so I'll have to go that alone. The Orchard card is my oldest credit card listed on my credit history (that I can see), so should I not close that even if I can't get the AF removed?

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:24:12 GMT

@neverrain wrote:
I was able to sign up for the CreditCheck Premium service without opening a bank account or using my father's military info/SSN. Service looks pretty good. Also looks like I need to have some 7+ year old items removed from my report.

I'm not sure if the family would be cool with me piggybacking onto their credit cards, so I'll have to go that alone. The Orchard card is my oldest credit card listed on my credit history (that I can see), so should I not close that even if I can't get the AF removed?

Why do you think they won't want to help you out? Is it because of some negative item you have on your report?

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

neverrain — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:37:00 GMT

I guess the best answer to that is that I was once 18 and stupid.

My dad is currently helping me with the loan on my car through Chase and I just made my 13th payment on it (to him) without issue. I mean, I guess it doesn't hurt to ask, but how would that affect his credit? Is there any negative to that at all?

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

neverrain — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:38:19 GMT

Also, I saw another thread saying that it's possible that too many piggybacks could be bad in the long run? Is there proven success doing that? How does it really benefit me being authorized on someone else's credit card?

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

Revelate — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:46:00 GMT

@neverrain wrote:
I'm not sure if the family would be cool with me piggybacking onto their credit cards, so I'll have to go that alone. The Orchard card is my oldest credit card listed on my credit history (that I can see), so should I not close that even if I can't get the AF removed?

Are you trying to solve a 3 month problem or a three year one?

The AF is frankly who cares over the course of the lifetime. Yes it's expensive, yes there are absolutely better cards; however, you don't have access to them yet (neither do I for that matter). 2 vs 3 credit cards *shrug*, they're both good numbers, but I suspect 3 might be slightly better when it comes down to it, especially on a manual review.

Since we're stuck in this position together: we had issues in the past, we're attempting to re-establish credit now. We need to prove to lenders that you're worthy of being granted credit again... until that happens we frankly get stuck with some stupid crap like a $79 dollar fee, or a 19% APR on a car, and various other expensive and somewhat humiliating crap: banks are like that, we hosed somebody in the past, and they're going to take their pound of flesh until we make it right.

Clean up your report, take the extra Cap 1 card, use it responsibilty, and don't randomly close the Orchard card with the ridiculous AF unless you really need that 80 bucks right now. Wait till you can get a *real* card and then start trashing your starter ones, which both the Orchard and the Cap 1 qualify as. Also the secured card is definitely worth keeping too, again, if you don't have a short-term cash flow problem and it sounds like you don't. You're trying to show that you can handle additional credit... heck, use closing one of them as a selling point in a manual review when you go for a prime card, it'll make them feel better (more likely you'll use theirs!) and it's something you'd probably do anyway.

As for the authorized user (AU) bit, if you can get it, take it. It will help both short-term (3 months) and mid-long term (3+ years); unfortunately I don't have that luxury as my folks lived the same cash-based existance that I have, and I have a longer credit card history than they do. Sure, too many might be a flag in a in either an automatic approval or manual review, but you only want one. It'll boost your FICO and that can get you auto-approved for other things later, though you're right it probably doesn't help much in a manual review; however, you have to *get* to the manual review step first, and an AU account can greatly facilitate that.

You don't want your parents card in this case, you just want to be listed as one for credit scoring purposes. If you get sent a card, cut it up right in front of them or some similar melodramatic gesture. If your parents are helping you out with a car loan, you obviously haven't pissed them off enough that they wouldn't be willing to do that .

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:03:17 GMT

@neverrain wrote:
I guess the best answer to that is that I was once 18 and stupid.

My dad is currently helping me with the loan on my car through Chase and I just made my 13th payment on it (to him) without issue. I mean, I guess it doesn't hurt to ask, but how would that affect his credit? Is there any negative to that at all?

All your Dad needs to do is add you as an auth user on a card or two that he has had for 5+ years with low UTI and possibly high credit limit. He doesn't need to request a card for you. Adding you as an auth user will not effect his credit. By having the card(s) reported on your report it will help boost your score because it will show some major credit cards with high credit limits and 5+ years of history which will also be good for your AAoA. I have read from others who were approved for a Citi Platinum card by only having credit reporting as an auth user on their report. Of course YMMV since I don't know how clean your report is vs theirs. But either way to sum it up having major credit cards with 5k plus credit limits with low UTI, 5+ years of history/AAoA will help boost your scores which will increase your chances of being approved for the cards I suggested in a previous reply.

Re: Rebuilding Credit - Have 2 cards, approved for third

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:59:34 GMT

IMO, 3 cards is better than 2 for rebuilding.

Now that you have 3, I suggest you do nothing else at this point. Use the Capital One to develop some good history with them. Keep the secured card with the CU to develop a history with them. Keep the Orchard as it will be sold to Capital One before AF is due. If Capital One doesn't improve the terms before AF is due, then close it.