topic Re: First Progress or OpenSky? in Credit Cards

First Progress or OpenSky?

CreditDrama85 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 01:02:30 GMT

i was thinking about adding another card. my scores are rising but i still have baddies. do both report as secured? has anyone gotten a credit line increase from FP or OpenSky without adding additional security deposit?

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

-Wade- — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:21:13 GMT

@CreditDrama85 wrote:
i was thinking about adding another card. my scores are rising but i still have baddies. do both report as secured? has anyone gotten a credit line increase from FP or OpenSky without adding additional security deposit?

On the OpenSky the only way to get an increase is additional security deposit ! Also you have to pay 20 or 25 dollar fee to add it! The FP I don't know anything about it.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

-Wade- — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:25:21 GMT

OpenSky

CAN I INCREASE MY CREDIT LIMIT?

Yes. You can request a credit line increase at any time by calling our Customer Care Representatives.Upon approval you will receive instructions on how to send the additional security deposit needed to fund the increase to your credit line. You may also be assessed a fee to obtain the increased credit limit, see our current fee schedule for this fee amount. You should be aware that we do not allow for charges that will cause your credit limit to be exceeded. If you are at your limit and a new purchase will cause the limit to go over your approved limit, the new transaction will be denied.

All credit lines are subject to underwriting approval.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:42:32 GMT

You might look at the SDFCU secured Visa.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

-Wade- — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:51:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You might look at the SDFCU secured Visa.

Great idea, I am a member of SDFCU and their secured card APR 6.99% if I remember right

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

CreditDrama85 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:52:07 GMT

thanks i will look into it and see what membership requirements are

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

-Wade- — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 03:56:22 GMT

@CreditDrama85 wrote:
thanks i will look into it and see what membership requirements are

It's very easy to become a member didn't cost me a penny

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 04:08:56 GMT

i wouldn't worry about whether or not a secured card reports as "secured" or not on your CR. If you look at my signature, ALL cards pictured were obtained with two secured cards reporting as secured.

From a FICO perspective, I think the effect of a secured card reporting as secured is negligible. It might not even have any effect at all (I think the fallacy comes from secured installment bank loans which do get scored a little differently than unsecured ones). So when you apply for a credit card or loan and the computer is computing whether to approve (based on FICO/internal scoring) I don't think a secured card listed as secured is going to ruin your chances of acceptance. As for manual underwriting, I don't think a flesh-and-bone underwriter is going to care all that much whether a card is secured vs. unsecured. They are going to be much more concerned about any baddies, age of accounts, and definitely utilization. If it gets to the point where they are looking at the quality of your open accounts, they would probably look much more unfavorably on sub-sub-prime accounts (First Premier/Credit One) and store cards with extreme toy limts of $200 than they would any secured accounts. The former screams out "this person is desperate for credit" while the later says, "this person is trying to fix their credit and invested cash to help them do that". Just my life lessons learned from the School of Hard Knocks...

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

CreditDrama85 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 04:13:08 GMT

i agree the notation of secured has no effect. i was asking because eventhough i have paid most of my debts, i wouldnt want a third party to see the notation of secured and attack the collateral in the event there was a judgment and i decided not to pay the third party creditor might attack the account if it showed secured but they would have no idea there was potential $ there if it didn't read secured.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

-Wade- — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 04:13:55 GMT

@Wade64 wrote:
@CreditDrama85 wrote:
thanks i will look into it and see what membership requirements are
It's very easy to become a member didn't cost me a penny

You may join SDFCU if you are an employee of The Department of State or one of the following organizations. Additionally, as a consumer, you may be eligible to join our credit union through the American Consumer Council (ACC), a nonprofit advocacy group. When opening your SDFCU account you will need to choose ACC on your application.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

CreditDrama85 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 04:17:06 GMT

thanks! i might give it a try

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 04:57:40 GMT

@CreditDrama85 wrote:
i was thinking about adding another card. my scores are rising but i still have baddies. do both report as secured? has anyone gotten a credit line increase from FP or OpenSky without adding additional security deposit?

I've had the First Progress card since July, just closed it today. It reported very quickly after account opening to all 3 bureaus & no it did not report as "secured". I deposited $500 for an equivalent CL & never inquired about or tried for a CLI. Only had the card for about 6 months, used it quite a bit the first few months. Usage started dwindling last month - only used it for (1) token charge last month & this month - and decided it was time to shut it down. So, I can't say if they ever would have upped my CL without an additional deposit. Although, IIRC, their T&L reads that a CLI without an additional deposit is possible....I guess I'll never know! Also, I believe it said that the highest CL available on this card was $5K (?).

Anyway, I hope this helps. First Progress was my first rebuilder card when I started this process last July. And, although it certainly doesn't compare in regards to the perks/benefits of the prime cards out there & there's a lot to be desired with their website &, at times, their customer service, it definitely served its purpose.

By the way, my DH also opened (and still has) the First Progress card. FP & Credit One are/were his 2 rebuilders. Credit One's website is much better & Credit One is unsecured (and with a much higher AF). Overall though, we both like FP better. As noted, Credit One's fees are much higher & they offer no grace period. So, last night DH decided to close Credit One, but to keep FP.....for now anyway.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

CreditDrama85 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 05:24:49 GMT

thanks for the info. did your reports say first progress or synovus bank?

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 05:31:12 GMT

@CreditDrama85 wrote:
i agree the notation of secured has no effect. i was asking because eventhough i have paid most of my debts, i wouldnt want a third party to see the notation of secured and attack the collateral in the event there was a judgment and i decided not to pay the third party creditor might attack the account if it showed secured but they would have no idea there was potential $ there if it didn't read secured.

Okay, well given that additional information (and after a cursory look at your posting history) I would recommend NOT opening any more credit cards at this time, secured or unsecured. It would probably be wise to close any open accounts you currently have and cut the cards up. You need some time away from credit to rethink your financial life and plan a strategy for rebuilding, but having open accounts isn't going to help.

Take a year or two and pay cash for everything, pay off whatever debt you have, and hopefully save up some money so that when you do reemerge, you do so in better financial shape. Above all, keep your spending < income and live within your means.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but this is what you need to hear...

Good luck.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

CreditDrama85 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 05:41:47 GMT

i disagree. everyone's situation is different and each person knows why they ran into credit trouble. there is a fine line between opening too many accounts and lowering your AAoA but IMO not re-establishing credit while tackling items on your credit is a mistake. the damage has already been done with baddies why not let the clock start ticking on positive history while you do PFD, settlements, and disputes.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

-Wade- — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 05:48:15 GMT

@CreditDrama85 wrote:
i disagree. everyone's situation is different and each person knows why they ran into credit trouble. there is a fine line between opening too many accounts and lowering your AAoA but IMO not re-establishing credit while tackling items on your credit is a mistake. the damage has already been done with baddies why not let the clock start ticking on positive history while you do PFD, settlements, and disputes.

You do have a point ! Might as well get some good history while waiting on all the bad to fall off! you do what's best in your book

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 05:54:12 GMT

@CreditDrama85 wrote:
thanks for the info. did your reports say first progress or synovus bank?

They report as "1st Progress/1st Equity" on EX, "First Progress Card" on EQ, "FSTPROGRESS" on TU.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 06:58:29 GMT

@CreditDrama85 wrote:
i disagree. everyone's situation is different and each person knows why they ran into credit trouble. there is a fine line between opening too many accounts and lowering your AAoA but IMO not re-establishing credit while tackling items on your credit is a mistake. the damage has already been done with baddies why not let the clock start ticking on positive history while you do PFD, settlements, and disputes.

Yes, everyone's situation is different and I don't know how or why you ran into difficulty. I do know you've been rebuidling for at least six years (quote from one of your posts in 1/08: "while in the process of repairing my credit and getting back on track..." So in six years, you've been basically going in circles. From a purely mathematically, FICO perspective, it probably does make sense to open new positive accounts, but one of the problems with this message board is that everyone has a "FICO über alles" mentality. FICO is only one aspect of your financial picture- it doesn't tell the whole story. There are plenty of people who currently have 750+ credit scores who are a year away from bankruptcy.

About the same time that you made that statement in 2008, I was probably in much worse shape than you were. Conventional wisdom (and everyone else) told me to open up new tradelines to improve my credit score. I ignored that advice because I'd gone down that road before. I decided to shun credit for a while. I paid my outstanding debts, paid with cash (or with debit cards), lived within my means, and built a nice nest egg. By the time I decided to get back into the credit game last year, all my baddies had dropped off and I quickly went from 0 to $31,000 in credit in six months all without going through scum issuers like First Premier or junk store cards with $200 limits. Would trying to add "positive credit" while letting negative credit age and drop off had given me better credit than I have now? Perhaps, but my time away from the credit rat race gave me time to break old spending habits, reflect on exactly how it had all gone bad, reassess my goals, and plan my eventual return to good credit.

Just something to think about...

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

CreditDrama85 — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 07:20:40 GMT

thanks for the feedback but at the same time i don't think its safe to assume my credit took a dive because of poor spending nor that i have been going in circles (maybe i just had a lot of debt and it took years to pay). i asked a specific targeted question having nothing to do with your advice which has taken a turn and is based on a lot of assumptions. You recently recovered from credit problems and you dont see me saying that you have too many cards listed in your signature because its not my business.

Re: First Progress or OpenSky?

myjourney — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 07:33:13 GMT

I love a lively debate and encourage differences of opinions to show all sides of the topic.

As long as it's friendly and not against the TOS and this one seems to have strayed.

Let's stick with the topic please

Monitoring thread

Thanks MJ