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Do you have a banking relationship with any of these credit cards? If so, I would pursue a secured card with them and Discover.*
CreditKarma scores are Vantage scores so they are pretty much frowned upon by everyone as a gauge of if you are qualified for credit or not. Try creditchecktotal for $1 and cancel before their trial period is over. It will provide you with all 3 FICO scores as well as detailed credit reports.
*I don't have experience with a bankruptcies and timing so I would wait on advice on that.
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Bankruptcy/Bankruptcy-Friendly-Credit-Cards-Pt-2/td-p/3999737
@Anonymous wrote:
Hey all, I’m new to myFICO and I’m trying to find my way back to the excellent credit rating I had just a couple years ago. I know it’s going to be a long road.... My CH7 discharged 4 months ago and I have yet to apply for any new credit for fear of being denied and taking an unnecessary HP. I burned just everyone in town, so I know it’ll will be awhile before I can get into their good graces (AE: 14k, BB: 3.8k, CO: 8.5k, Chase: 35k, and Citi: 13k, Synchrony: 6k).
According to Credit Karma and NerdWallet my scores are TU: 683, Equif: 689, and Experian: 632 (Experian site). I’ve tried the pre-qual for CO, Disc, and Citi - no offers. BofA recommended a secured card and Kohl’s said that I am Weldon’s to apply. I’d like to apply for a BofA travel rewards card and if not approved, I can contact them and request a secured CC using the same HP.
Let me know what you guys think. I’m open to suggestions!
BOA is a no go this close to your discharge. Might need to try something like Merrick Bank to get going. They are a subprime card, but one of the better options.
And while they get a lot of bad-mouthing here, I started my rebuild with a Credit One card with a starting limit of $1500. They have some wonky policies and you have to watch their fees and be careful, but it will get you going.
If you have a way into Navy Federal, open an account with them (but note they won't approve anything unsecured until 1 year post discharge. I do believe you can get their secured card before that year, and it's a great card that will graduate.
PenFed is also an option and anybody can get membership, but I think they take a little longer to approve unsecured.
Don't get a bunch of stupid toy limit score cards. Keep your inquiries low. Slow and steady wins this race.
I am 4 years and 5 months discharged and have just shy of $100k in available credit . . with Navy most recently giving me an instant approval for a $25k platinum card @ their lowest interest rate offered of 7.99%.
@Johan1 - Your scores aren't bad considering you just went through bankruptcy. I'm in the process of filing. Question: Were any of your accounts past due before you filed? I'll be happy as hell if my scores resembled yours after discharge. TD Bank's secured card graduates... as well as NFCU.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Justme79... Prior to filing Ch 7, I did not have any lates and all accounts were current. So, I guess that worked in my favor. Also, I applied for a secured NFCU card today and was approved for a $200 SL (w/$200 deposit). The rep I spoke with mentioned that I could request a higher limit, but I didn’t want to take any chances - so I stuck with the minimum limit. Good luck!! **Slow & Steady**
This is great news!
The amount of your secured card doesn't matter . . just have to make sure it only reports a very small balance so you don't have high utilization. Find a $10-ish recurring subscription to put on each month and autopay it and let it roll.
@Johan1 - I would definietly get a secured card that graduates.