topic Re: What Credit Card to get?!? in Credit Cards

What Credit Card to get?!?

tonyjones — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:00:18 GMT

My FICO score was 548 last month but I fixed a lot of the negatives and now my FICO score is 652, what credit card would you guys recommend? My Goal is to reach a FICO score of 730

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

rebuildingmission2013 — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:04:23 GMT

Capital 1 is a good start

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

Themanwhocan — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:13:20 GMT

Approximately what is your income level? Are you a student? How old are each of your existing credit lines?

And why is your FICO already so low?

PS: and read my credit journey below. One secured credit card for just shy of one year got me to 732 from no credit. Just using less than 10% a month and showing that I would pay in full each month. But, there are other ways to do it. Secured card is probably the traditional method though. If you have available cash to spare.

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

09Lexie — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:08:15 GMT

Welcome to the forum!

If you do not mind sharing your credit profile, I'm sure we'll be happy to give you great advice!

Current cc's?
Number of inq's?
FICO/FAKO.
Baddies?
AAOA?
Are you a member of a CU?
Who do you bank with?

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

tonyjones — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:12:27 GMT

The only CC I have currently is a Capital One VISA Platinum with CL of $300.

My annual salary is $80,000, I am 28 years old, I use to have tons of CC when I was 19 and I stopped paying them that is why my score is so low.

FICO SCORE IS 652 (EQ).

Number of inquiries is 4.

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

09Lexie — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:17:02 GMT

What baddies are left on your cr?

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

tonyjones — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:28:20 GMT

One judgement and one collection account that is "Paid, Closed" but I'm not sure why different credit reporting agencies keep them on there and others remove them entirely. Equifax removed them completely but TransUnion and Experian still show them as negative but they are "Paid, Closed"

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

09Lexie — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:29:27 GMT

Dates?

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

tonyjones — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:33:57 GMT

Dates for what? The Judgement is still on there, I'm paying it offer, it will be done in two months. The collection that is Paid, Closed is student loans which I am paying off as we speak. Dates on those are 04/07/2013, status updates I guess?

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

09Lexie — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:37:28 GMT

When was the judgment entered on your CR's? How long has it been since you paid the CA? Creditors will not just look at your CS but also delinquencies paid or not if they are older or recent is important to know to give you the best answer.

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

tonyjones — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:41:16 GMT

Which CR do you want me to grab that info from? It seems to differ by a little from each report.

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

Themanwhocan — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:42:21 GMT

Ok, we can keep asking you for more information, but eventually we also need to give some answers . So, take what I say with a grain of salt, as there are more experienced people on this discussion board.

Basically, you need a 2 pronged approach. This is what i would do:

1) Fight to get as many of the negatives off your reports, any way you can. The others here can assist with that, since I've only read about that in books, whereas there are many here who have experienced it first hand. This is the MOST IMPORTANT of the two steps, though.

2) I agree with you wanting a second credit card. But ONLY a second card at this point, not a third. And you need to get a credit limit increase on that $300 limit card. I would suggest getting a secured credit card for $1000 or so from your bank or credit union. Since its Secured, you should be a shoo-in to get it, and since you're putting up the cash to secure it, you should be able to get a $1000 limit card, which takes you at least one step out of toy credit limit land.

Use both cards, between 1% - 9% usage each month, and pay in full. This should quickly get you at least a small bump in Fico. Then you start asking for the credit limit increase on the $300 card, ask for, oh, $1500 or so, but you really want to get at least $1000. Remember, you're NOT asking for an increase because you NEED it, tell them you want to keep your credit usage to 10% or less, and a higher limit would make it easier to manage the card.

Then, just keep using each card at 1% - 9%, pay each card off in full and on time each month, and just before 12 months are up on the secured card (ie, just before you have to pay an annual fee) your Fico should be in good shape, and you haven't requested credit in about a year, so you would have a good shot at applying for a good credit card from a prime lender. You might even be surprised at how large they might start you out (I was, when they gave me $8,500 on my first non-secured card).

Good luck.

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

tonyjones — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:48:00 GMT

I've made two payments on the Capital One Card already in full for two months now, but it hasn't showed up on any CR? does it take a while?

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

rebuildingmission2013 — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:57:08 GMT

Cap 1 was slow with reporting on my report initially as well.

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

09Lexie — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:06:32 GMT

Before you start applying, you need to look at each cr and pick the cc that will give you an approval based on the CRA they usually pull from. If you have an unpaid judgment on your cr your choices are slim.

For example, your TU does not show the judgment but shows the paid CA. Based on that info, I would suggest a GE store card and or a Barclay based cc.

Obviously, the best thing to do is to address all the negatives and then start applying. Rebuild and repair should be done at the same time as much as possible.

Cap 1 can take two- three months to report but they will report.

Again, review each cr and notate the baddies- their age and status. Based on that information it will be better to choose the type of cc ( store vs charge) that will work best for you.

You might also look through the Rebuilding Forum. They may be able to assist as well.

Re: What Credit Card to get?!?

tonyjones — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:10:11 GMT

thanks for the tip guys!!