How do you build credit on a lower income w/ NFCU?

[Anonymous]

I recently just went for a CLI on my Cashrewards card, which has always been at a 500 CL since I got it Oct 2016. After doing a lot of research on the community page I realized that people say to just go  for the 25,000 CLI and NavyFed will counter offer possibly. I went for it and was denied, but I am going for reconsideration. I guess my question is, what should I do when I am resting at 594 (Equ & TU) and 626 FICO, making less than 20k a year. Hope that makes sense.

[pizza1]

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wrote:

I recently just went for a CLI on my Cashrewards card, which has always been at a 500 CL since I got it Oct 2016. After doing a lot of research on the community page I realized that people say to just go  for the 25,000 CLI and NavyFed will counter offer possibly. I went for it and was denied, but I am going for reconsideration. I guess my question is, what should I do when I am resting at 594 (Equ & TU) and 626 FICO, making less than 20k a year. Hope that makes sense.

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I would say at this point its not your income, its your scores holding you back. I would try and do whatever I could to get my scores higher.  Do you have baddies? If so, what are they? BTW..Welcome to the boards

[jlitnns]

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wrote:

I recently just went for a CLI on my Cashrewards card, which has always been at a 500 CL since I got it Oct 2016. After doing a lot of research on the community page I realized that people say to just go  for the 25,000 CLI and NavyFed will counter offer possibly. I went for it and was denied, but I am going for reconsideration. I guess my question is, what should I do when I am resting at 594 (Equ & TU) and 626 FICO, making less than 20k a year. Hope that makes sense.

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Is the 594 your EQ FICO 9 provided by NFCU or is that the 626? And what Pizza said ^^^^, what is holding your scores back? That on top of requesting a $25k limit when your income is $20k.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the welcome!

I would say the only baddies I have would be the fact that I have maxed out my CC multiple times (bad spending habits, gotten a lot better). I recently paid off a majority of it which should help a lot. So I guess my question would be, after your response, what is the best way to get that score up besides having more credit availibility? 

[Anonymous]

The 626 is the one provided by NFCU. And I responded to Pizza with what would be holding it back. 

[pizza1]

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wrote:

The 626 is the one provided by NFCU. And I responded to Pizza with what would be holding it back. 

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OK...list out your cards with current bal and CL....lets see what we can do here.

EX...Cap1 $250/$500

[Anonymous]

So I only have one card currently, because I wanted to stay away from more inquiries on my account. I've had 15 inquiries since 2015 or so (another baddie I guess), so I decided to stick with one to try and stay away from tempting myself haha. Current balance from the last statment is $493/$500, and I just paid $356 today bringing it down to $137 whenever the transaction goes through. I also have a car note which will be  year old in April. I have never missed any payments. 

[Anonymous]

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wrote:

I recently just went for a CLI on my Cashrewards card, which has always been at a 500 CL since I got it Oct 2016. After doing a lot of research on the community page I realized that people say to just go  for the 25,000 CLI and NavyFed will counter offer possibly. I went for it and was denied, but I am going for reconsideration. I guess my question is, what should I do when I am resting at 594 (Equ & TU) and 626 FICO, making less than 20k a year. Hope that makes sense.

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Your credit score is holding you back. You need to get those credit scores above 650 to start worrying about real limit increases. And with a lower income you can’t expect them to give you limits above your yearly salary. At some point how much you make matters. When you get your scores up you can more than get the limit up over $10k thru time and increases. Just follow everyone’s advise on here to get rid of baddies and good credit practices and thru time increases will come. 

[Anonymous]

I appreciate it! I will definitely work on getting that all sorted out in 2018. I am hoping to raise it above the 700 mark by the end of the year. 

[Meanmchine]

If all you have is 1 credit card, you need to add 2 more credit accounts to your file.

Look for a good secured card. I hear OpenSky or Discover are good for beginners.

Ask your parents / siblings if they can add you as an AU to one of their accounts.  They dont have to give you the cards.

Search the threads for the Allient secured personal loan. Apply for it and pay it off in 6 months.

Dont ask for another CLI from NFCU for awhile. Getting a CLI on NFCU now will not signnificantly increse your scores