Hi Chipluv, welcome to the forums!
What, exactly, do you mean by "bad credit"? It would be helpful, for both yourself and us, if you could provide the details of your credit profile so we may better assist. Depending on your credit issues, we may suggest acquiring a secured credit card or unsecured, non-predatory credit card, while also offering assistance to help repair/rebuild & improve your credit.
This forum is not in the habit of simply sending folks off to apply for any old credit for which they may be approved, but also may ultimately prove more detrimental. We make every attempt to focus on rebuilding credit after past mistakes and advising how to maintain a good credit standing for the future.
If you wouldn't mind telling us a bit more about your current credit situation, including FICO scores, derogatory accounts/information, and accounts in good standing, we'd be happy to offer some sound advice.
Capital One is a good bank with good policies.
Discover has been know to give average and slightly below a chance.
Navy Federal can be extremely generous once you build a relationship with them.
Cap One and Discover both have prequalification pages that will not hurt your credit to check.
Welcome and Good Luck.
@Anonymous wrote:
My credit score 501 I’m working with a law firm now I have 5 negative items and my credit mix is 10# I was informed I need to get credit cards to build my score up but I kept getting denied
I'm assuming the score you are providing is a FICO score and not one based on an alternate scoring model such as Vantage 3 (such as the ones provided by Credit Karma, Wallet Hub, etc). Can you confirm?
Also, I just want to point out - there is really nothing a law firm or "credit repair agency" can do for you & your credit that you cannot do for yourself with some dedicated time, persistance, and knowledge. Please be mindful of wasteful spending on fees to such entities if you are not seeing results.
You say you have 5 negative items -- what types of negatives are they? Late pays, collections, charge-offs, public records (bankruptcy / liens) etc.?
Since you've already faced denials in your attempts to acquire credit, I'd recommend against additional applications and inquiries at this time. I would suggest you start with a secured credit card from a lender gauranteed to approve with no credit check. OpenSky is such a card and is non-predatory. Your deposit is your credit limit and they report to all 3 bureaus. You don't need to deposit a high dollar amount as credit limit doesn't matter - you can start with a line as low as $200 and reap the same scoring benefits as a $10K line. What matters is on-time payments and utilization. You need to make sure you pay your monthly bill ontime, everytime and keep your reported utilization (balance) below 8.9% of the credit limit. My advice is to open this card, keep it in good standing for 6 months, then apply for an unsecured card from a fairly lenient lender -- you can come back at that time for recommendations as it will depend on the progress you've made over this time.
@Anonymous wrote:
my credit mix is 10#
I 'm not sure what ^^this means. Do you have any installment loans on your reports?
I was in that score range after a foreclosure and all my student loans going DQ for a year. It was a year after that when I applied for my first credit card ever, and it was an OpenSky.
The advice on this thread is solid so I won't repeat it. I will, however, vouch that OpenSky is going to give you a secured card with no check, report it, and not screw you over. Low security deposit and a $35 annual fee is pretty much impossible to beat. There are other people that will approve you, but they are fee harvesters and could charge you hundreds of dollars A MONTH and not provide any useful service.
I started my rebuild with OpenSky and now have $50,000 in credit lines with good, premium cards. Listen to the advice here. These people know what they're talking about.
