topic Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA in Credit Cards

Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

sudofdisk — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:15:37 GMT

I did a search on the forums but I wanted to get a response that was directed to my specific situation.

My scores are too embarassing to post in my sig like many of you do and the research I have done indicates that I am at the beginning of a long journey to fix my credit scores. It looks to me like part of the solution is getting a secure CC.

From the search I did it seems most people prefer BoFA over US BANK because BoFA graduates and US BANK does not. In my situation US BANK has a branch office in my city and BoFA does not have one within 100 miles. I am not "in love" with the bank I do my checking through now so it would be nice to have all of this done at one place, plus I could make my paymnets on the secure card at a local branch rather than via snail mail.

I did want to get some expert opinions on one thing though before I pull the trigger. It seems to me the US Bank card not "graduating" can be overcome by leaving the tradeline open and adding a second new card rather than closing it.

I mean, once you get your credit established enough that BofA would convert you, you are going to want new credit lines anyway right?

I mean you don't get the deposit back this method, but the $500 bucks isn't my biggest concern nor will it be in a year, I am just trying to bring up my scores. So given this am I really giving up that much by going with US instead?

Thank you for your time.

Message Edited by sudofdisk on 04-10-2008 06:15 PM

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:21:39 GMT

boa secured is imho the absolute best secured product on the market. i vote boa.

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:22:32 GMT

If your scores are really really low, you'll have issues even getting the secured BofA card and may need to start somewhere else - like Orchard or somewhere. They won't graduate (most likely) but it'll help you build some positive history.

Don't be embarrassed about your scores! Post 'em up and let people throw suggestions your way. We're all friendly here and I've never seen anyone get discouraging responses about their scores We're here to help

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:22:53 GMT

I agree with ducky!

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:22:00 GMT

Don't ever be embarrassed to post your scores. This is the place you will find help and encouragement for what ails you. But I must warn you. As your score begins to rise as you put to practice the things you learn here. You may find yourself addicted to OURFICO. I don't know where I would be without this site. It will become addictive if your serious about recovery. That's an oxmoron I think

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:36:00 GMT

even though office not near you.... online option is available.

I like BofA idea cause you keep the card 1 year and then it graduates... so no need to cancel card in year or 2... like most people do with regular secured cards.

I was offered the 99/500 card at BofA and I took it but wouldve been happy with regular 500/500 card from BofA. and hey... atleast when it graduate you get a new type card and 500$ back ;p

other option with USBank.... 1year later you still got card but no money back

or maybe you can qualify 99/500 from BofA and then get a USBank secured also.. lol ;p

Message Edited by antsmith101 on 04-10-2008 10:36 PM

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:05:03 GMT

I agree with others that you should post your scores for the best advice. BofA Secured is absolutely the best secured card on the market, but it's also not that easy to get as far as secured cards go. If you post your scores we can tell you whether it's even worth applying.

No shame or embarassment here. That's one of the great things about this forum. Almost all of us who post regularly have aired some dirty laundry on this board, and in the rare case of obnoxious or unproductive posts in response to someone else's credit situation, we take care of those as soon as we see them.

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:52:49 GMT

Never be afraid. Most of us have a story similar to the Phoenix rising from the ashes -- in my case it looks something like this:

June 05: EQ440/TU473/EX495

April 08: EQ675/TU672/EX653

I know that's a long period of time, but the biggest jumps occured in the past 6 months when I understood exactly how bad util affects scores.

We're all here to help!

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

M-2008 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:42:43 GMT

I have the USBank secured card -- I opened it about a year ago because I have other relationships with USBank. The customer service is okay and the online access is easy to navigate. The security deposit earns "interest" at 0.04%. My ficos were all in the low 500s when I opened the card.

A few key facts about the card:

pulled TU

$35 annual fee

current interest is 22%

report balance updates monthly (athough TU is usually about 2-3 months behind)

CRB list as "secured credit card"

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

sudofdisk — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:15:56 GMT

OK, I submit. Here are my scores: (these are TrueCredit.com "fako" scores, if that matters)

TransUnion Experian Equifax
512 492 530

From the sounds of it BofA might not be an option anyway, I wasn't aware I could get denied on a secure card.

Message Edited by sudofdisk on 04-11-2008 08:15 AM

Message Edited by sudofdisk on 04-11-2008 08:15 AM

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:35:18 GMT

TU 2/2-4/1: 495-554-561<br>EX 2/2-4/8: 539-553-588<br>EQ 2/2-4/7: 528-519-513-526

FAKO's and FICO's can vary pretty greatly, some people have even seen a 100 pt difference between those two scores.

Right now my FAKOs are TU 524 EX 514 EQ 551

Right now my FICOS are TU 561 EX 588 EQ 526

Those are all from this month, but are probably a bit different on the Fico side now since I've had a few new accts post and some balances drop.

I got the regular BofA secured, Orchard secured, and Crown jewelers to rebuild with when my EX score was in the 550ish range.

You can definitely start the repair process going off your reports that came with your Fako, but you probably want to pull your fico's before starting to apply to rebuild. Crown Jewelers is usually pretty much a shoe in, very few people even have their credit checked by them. I've only heard of 1 maybe 2 cases of that, but they don't report until you buy something and only report to EX and TU.

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:08:02 GMT

sudofdisk wrote:
OK, I submit. Here are my scores: (these are TrueCredit.com "fako" scores, if that matters)

Yes, it does matter. FAKO scores are useless. FICO scores are the only ones that matter.

Yes, it is possible to be denied for a secured card. Many banks, particularly BofA, like to give secured cards only to candidates whom they believe will be able to graduate to an unsecured card in a year or so. If the bank determines that even after a year of perfect history, you probably still wouldn't qualify to unsecure your card, they will deny the secured card.

Do you have a local credit union you can look into? CUs are much more lenient regarding their standards for secured cards.

Message Edited by cheddar on 04-11-2008 02:08 PM

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

sudofdisk — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:45:03 GMT

Thanks for all the advice here. So what is the least expensive way to check my FICO scores with all three CRAs?

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:47:16 GMT

@sudofdisk wrote:
Thanks for all the advice here. So what is the least expensive way to check my FICO scores with all three CRAs?

Right now! As there is a discount for the month of April.

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

athensguy — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:47:56 GMT

FICO Credit Complete and the coupon code listed at the top of the products page is the cheapest way to get all three FICOs.

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

sudofdisk — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:15:20 GMT

*About FICO® scores and credit reports
FICO® scores are the credit scores most lenders use to determine your credit risk. You have three FICO® scores, one for each of the three credit bureaus - Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Each FICO® score is based on the information that each credit bureau keeps on file about you. As the information in each of your credit reports change, your credit scores tend to change as well. When you purchase your FICO® scores and credit reports from myFICO, you are getting a snapshot that is accurate at the time of your purchase.

OK, I know I am getting off topic but if I am reading correctly, I pay 40 something bucks a year, minus 25% to see the same snapshot of my score for a year? In order to see if it has changed I must purchase again?

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:17:41 GMT

sudofdisk wrote:
*About FICO® scores and credit reports
FICO® scores are the credit scores most lenders use to determine your credit risk. You have three FICO® scores, one for each of the three credit bureaus - Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Each FICO® score is based on the information that each credit bureau keeps on file about you. As the information in each of your credit reports change, your credit scores tend to change as well. When you purchase your FICO® scores and credit reports from myFICO, you are getting a snapshot that is accurate at the time of your purchase.

OK, I know I am getting off topic but if I am reading correctly, I pay 40 something bucks a year, minus 25% to see the same snapshot of my score for a year? In order to see if it has changed I must purchase again?

That's correct, but you don't have to choose the option to auto-renew every year. You can just purchase a one time pull of all three reports and FICOs.

Keep in mind that, as you said, you are only purchasing a snapshot. The product will NOT update your scores and reports as they change.

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

sudofdisk — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:33:06 GMT

Thanks cheddar, I will have to do that probably next week.

Message Edited by sudofdisk on 04-11-2008 11:33 AM

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:33:40 GMT

I'll add that most of us also subscribe to some sort of monitoring service (like your TrueCredit) so we can track the small changes and get some instant gratification versus paying for scores all the time. (Unless you're like me and still pay once a week or so -- I gave up Starbucks so this can be justified!)

Re: Secure card for a noob, US BANK vs. BofA

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:30:10 GMT

oh dang, I never thought about giving up my starbucks for fico reports. Ive been trying to find a way to ween myself off of them..... hmmmm