topic Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice? in Rebuilding Your Credit

Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:32:03 GMT

Hello,

I'm in the process of trying to begin rebuilding my credit. I had a chapter 13 BK in April of '08 and converted to chapter 7 this August. My current FICO is 624. I have no credit cards or loans of any kind at the moment. I've done a lot of research and believe the next step in rebuilding should be to get a credit card, use it, and pay it off monthly....I do not know if I would qualify for an unsecured card at this time. I know I could get a secured card, but I'd prefer unsecured if possible simply to prevent me from tying up money with the security deposit. I'm reluctant to apply for an unsecured card because I don't want the inquiry to impact my score if I can't get the card. My question is simply:

Do I chance applying for an unsecured card and hope my 624 gets it or is the safer bet the secured card? Does anyone have any thoughts / suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

~El T

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

sudofdisk — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:56:52 GMT

I am in the latter stages of rebuilding my credit (middle score went from ~440 to ~680 today) and I got both. A secure card through US bank and an regular through Orchard. I am no expert but I believe both were very helpful in improving my score. The secure card was converted to a regular account after a year.

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

jdxprs1 — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:48:30 GMT

get the best buy reward zone mastercard. seems they approve everyone.

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:49:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello,

I'm in the process of trying to begin rebuilding my credit. I had a chapter 13 BK in April of '08 and converted to chapter 7 this August. My current FICO is 624. I have no credit cards or loans of any kind at the moment. I've done a lot of research and believe the next step in rebuilding should be to get a credit card, use it, and pay it off monthly....I do not know if I would qualify for an unsecured card at this time. I know I could get a secured card, but I'd prefer unsecured if possible simply to prevent me from tying up money with the security deposit. I'm reluctant to apply for an unsecured card because I don't want the inquiry to impact my score if I can't get the card. My question is simply:

Do I chance applying for an unsecured card and hope my 624 gets it or is the safer bet the secured card? Does anyone have any thoughts / suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any advice,
~El T

Has your Ch. 7 been discharged? If not, you may experience problems obtaining unsecured credit and, at times, even secured credit.

If it has been recently discharged, I would get both a secured card and an unsecured card. Orchard or several others may approve you and Orchard isn't really a bad card to have.

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Carbusys — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:38:21 GMT

Since an unsecured credit card is going to be very tough to get right after a bk, I would only try a couple of places to keep your inquiries down. Try the rebuild credit cards from Orchard and Credit One Banks. If they do not approve you, then try a secured card. Good luck.

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 02:13:13 GMT

Use myFICO's credit card finder. They list the required appox. score to get approved for that particular card. i would be leary of using another card finder as they may not be as secure as myFICO. Not sure about the BK issue but a 620 will open the door for an unsecured credit card. Granted the door may only be big enough for your pinky nail. For now your best bet if your worried about inquiries is to just get a secured cc and only have the one inquirey for it and keep it for a while and if you go with a big company say capital one or a bank secured card. Here is one thing I will def share with you. DO NOT try to apply for Bank of America Secured Credit Card. Not sure why but they turn down people regularly if your score is not about at least a 650. Why I'm not sure but to avoid the inquiry and denial just stay away from them. I have a really bad credit score and got a capital one secured credit card and the good thing is after 12-18 months I am eligible for an unsecured card as long as I have made on time payments for the months preceeding.

Good Luck!!

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:19:53 GMT

Everyone seems to recommend Orchard. The only concern I have is that Orchard is issued by HSBC, which was one of the creditors discharged in my Chapter 7, as was Capital One. If I apply to a creditor that was in my Chapter 7, won't I automatically be denied? I don't know, that's why I ask.

Thanks

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

chasmith — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:40:31 GMT

I discharged a balance on an HSBC Best Buy Card, and two balances on Capital One. I was denied by Orchard after their pre-qual site said I could get a small CL. Tried again 2 months later, still denied. They took hard pulls each time, the reason stated was "previous history with HSBC".

Similarly I came up with an offer from Capital One's site, applied and was denied. At least they said they used internal records (blacklist?) and didn't take a pull.

Last week I tried the BBRZ Mastercard after their prequal site said I'd be OK, and got instant approval for a $500 CL. I don't have the card in hand yet but fingers are crossed.

Citibank definitely blacklists - they returned my deposit for a secured card!

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:16:34 GMT

@chasmith wrote:
I discharged a balance on an HSBC Best Buy Card, and two balances on Capital One. I was denied by Orchard after their pre-qual site said I could get a small CL. Tried again 2 months later, still denied. They took hard pulls each time, the reason stated was "previous history with HSBC".

Similarly I came up with an offer from Capital One's site, applied and was denied. At least they said they used internal records (blacklist?) and didn't take a pull.

Last week I tried the BBRZ Mastercard after their prequal site said I'd be OK, and got instant approval for a $500 CL. I don't have the card in hand yet but fingers are crossed.

Citibank definitely blacklists - they returned my deposit for a secured card!

I've seen the same with HSBC -- their blacklisting technology slips up a lot. I've also seen Citibank slip up a lot for many people.

They both should take lessons from AmEx who rarely makes mistakes. Or just give up on the crazy idea of blacklisting in general.

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 21:34:04 GMT

Well I pre-qualified for BBRZ....but I'm not gonna go ahead just yet. I want to do a little more research on some other cards first. All of this info has been a tremendous help guys, thanks to all for the replies.

~El T

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:04:07 GMT

I do have one more question after re-reading some of these replies. It would seem risky for me to apply for Orchard (HSBC) or Capital One as I had accounts with them that were discharged through my Ch7, even if I pre-qualify through their websites. I could try the BBRZ but to be honest, I really would have no use for that card. I would much rather have a card I could use anywhere. Someone mentioned above that Capital One didn't do a hard pull so maybe I should try them just for the hell of it...I'm wondering if that sounds like a good idea or a dumb idea. I'm also wondering if anyone knows of any other cards that I might be eligible for that are not through HSBC or Capital One, or Citi. Seems MyFico's credit card finder shows lots of cards by Orchard and Capital One but not many other banks. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:26:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I do have one more question after re-reading some of these replies. It would seem risky for me to apply for Orchard (HSBC) or Capital One as I had accounts with them that were discharged through my Ch7, even if I pre-qualify through their websites. I could try the BBRZ but to be honest, I really would have no use for that card. I would much rather have a card I could use anywhere. Someone mentioned above that Capital One didn't do a hard pull so maybe I should try them just for the hell of it...I'm wondering if that sounds like a good idea or a dumb idea. I'm also wondering if anyone knows of any other cards that I might be eligible for that are not through HSBC or Capital One, or Citi. Seems MyFico's credit card finder shows lots of cards by Orchard and Capital One but not many other banks. Any suggestions?

Thanks

The BBRZ is a Best Buy Rewardzone Mastercard that can be used anywhere. It is not the store card. Capital One does not pull a hard for their pre-qualifier but once you apply it is a hard pull across all three CRAs, even if you are only getting a secured card from them.

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:15:23 GMT

Oh I guess I was mistaken about the BBRZ card. If that card can be used anywhere, perhaps that's my best option at this point. I'm still worried though as even that card is issued by HSBC. I guess I'm paranoid about a hard pull form a company I defaulted on. I supposed at some point I may need to risk it if I can't find a card that I may qualify for from someone other than HSBC or Capital One. If anyone has any suggestions for such a card, I'd be grateful for the info.

Thanks

~El T

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:27:58 GMT

I would go with a secured credit card. I got a Public Savings secured card. They don't run a credit check, so if you have the money to deposit, you are going to get it. Plus, if you are like myself, and now have plenty of cash, but you have a recent BR on your record, this is going to be the only way you are going to get a card with any kind of decent credit limit. Initial deposit can be up to $2000, which you can later increase up to 5K.

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:25:08 GMT

chasmith: If you get that BBRZ, please let us know. I'm trying to stay away from a secured card if possible because I don't really want to tie that cash up (my wife is currently unemployed and we need every dollar right now). That BBRZ card is looking like a good option I'm just worried cause it's HSBC. If you get it after discharging on HSBC, I'll be a lot more comfortable applying myself.

Thanks

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

chasmith — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:22:15 GMT

I've still got my fingers crossed. Got a thin envelope from them this afternoon, but it was related to the AU I added when I applied. So they're still processing.

Re: Secured or unsecured credit card - best choice?

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:10:10 GMT

Just thought I would update everyone here. I applied for and received a BBRZ mastercard. It's a $100 limit...was pre-approved on the website on Sept 9th and received card on Sept. 18th. So just to clarify - I did have HSBC in my Ch7 and this card is issued by HSBC but apparantly that's not a problem, at least not to get this card. It is of course an unsecured card which is what I was after. Thanks for everyone's advise and help!