@RaeC wrote:
We're in the process of bettering our scores and mine was easier than his; his issue is a LACK of credit history (and 2 accounts in collections, small amounts we plan on sending letters for). I app'd for 3 cards and was approved, and added him as an AU. His score jumped over 100+ points (from low 500s to mid 600s). So I tested the waters, checked for some pre-quals, and found none. At that point, I opted to try him for two 'easy' approvals -- Old Navy and Barclay. For both he got the 7-10 day message.
His credit age only shows as one month. Should we wait longer to app again so that my one month old CCs show up on his AAoC longer?
In my opinion & I am speaking from my own experience, lack of credit has to be dealt with through patience. Try Capt1 pre-qual 1st, if it comes up with nothing then you might consider secured card route. Barclay is far from an easy approval, they want minimum 6 month history. I made a lot of mistakes before I found this forum & one of them was blindly apping. Could have saved myself at lease 6 HP's on each CRA. With no history those HP's count against you. Do not go by your score at this point it is just a #, the hard part is waiting until he builds some history. I have found that the same card that someone with a thicker file can get with a 660 FICO, I will be turned down with a higher score because of no established history.
So, my advise is to concentrate on maybe a secured card & AU to build some history Then patiently wait & hit the pre-qual sites. Clean up the baddies & you will be pleasantly surprised, just takes a little time.
