New Credit Card Search

[FireMedic1]

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@Anonymalous wrote:

I'm a thin file with almost no personal credit history, who used an AU card to bolster my credit scores as well. So my experiences and research might help.

First of all, AU cards do help with utilization. But they help with overall utilization, not with the individual utilization on other cards. Both matter.

Secondly, I agree with everyone else that the AU card with the high utilization is hammering your score. The one possible exception is if the card is really old and your other AU card is really young, in which case it could conceivably be propping up your score more than hurting it (due to the boost to average age). But that's unlikely, and not being able to control utilization is a real detriment, so you should probably have it removed from your file.

More generally, the boost to scores from an AU is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that you have no real personal credit history. That will be the deciding factor for most lenders, not your score. Ignore all advice about how someone with a score X should be able to qualify for card Y; it doesn't apply to you. You're effectively an empty file, and that means you should be looking at starter cards. Avoid lenders who typically want to see a year or more of credit history (Chase will not give you one of the Freedom cards, for instance), and avoid the more conservative financial institutions. I'd avoid AmEx, as well. Your income doesn't really fit the kind of profile they prefer.

So where should you start? Your first card or cards should be keepers, because as your oldest cards they'll anchor the average age of your accounts. This doesn't mean they have to be cards you'll use as your primary drivers over the long term (a token amount of spend works), but it does mean avoid annual fees.

Also, since you're a clean file, and the AU cards have made your scoreable, you should be able to qualify for an unsecured card out of the gate (I qualified for the C1 Platinum with no credit history or scores at all). If I were you, I'd still take a secured card if that's all they're willing to offer. Secured cards from a real financial institution are a better option than unsecured cards from a subprime lender. But I'd first try to apply for an unsecured card

Discover is one of the two obvious starting points. They like young files. The Discover It is a potential long term card with the 5% rotating categories, while the Discover It Miles is effectively a 3% in everything card for the first year (1.5% doubled). DPs are mixed about CLIs, but generally positive. The secured card seems reasonable, and graduates.

The other obvious starting point is Capital One. Avoid the Quicksilver One, because they'll never upgrade it and you'll be stuck with an AF forever. You might (?) have a chance at the Quicksilver for good credit (no AF, but no SUP). But the default is the Platinum. It has no rewards, but it's a real card from a prime lender, and you'll eventually be able to upgrade it to a Quicksilver (took me 6 months) or maybe even a Savor One. Though C1 is notorious for bucketing people -- my card certainly is. But I didn't have a credit score at the time, and you do, so there's a chance you might not be stuck with a very low credit limit forever. Their prequal tool is supposed to be fairly accurate, but remember your profile is an outlier, so who knows.

Another option is Navy Federal CU, if you qualify for membership. If you have a parent, sibling, or grandparent who was honorably discharged, that's all it takes. They don't have to be members, or even alive. They gave me a real card with a real limit, even though I only had 6 months of personal credit history at the time I applied. They don't seem to care that my score was propped up by an AU card. People seem to think the prequalification tool isn't that reliable, but their secured card seems reasonable, and graduates.

Local credit unions might be an option, but they'll probably want to start you with a secured card. If you have some history with them, that can help a lot.

You might also want to consider the fintech cards, like the Petal 2 or Tomo. They assess creditworthiness using things other than credit scores. I don't know a lot about them.

There's also the Apple Card, if you're in the Apple ecosystem. Another I know little about, but they seem friendly to people new to credit.

Finally, there seems to be a recent surge of lenders expanding into the starter card arena. Some are out, some are in the wings. Look around, especially if you have an existing relationship with a financial institution. Chase Slate Edge might qualify. 

Normally, you'd want to stagger applications. Apply for a card, wait 3 to 6 months, apply for another, and so on. This gives you the best chances, and the best credit limits. But if you think you might apply for an auto loan in a year or two, you might want to apply for a couple at once, so the hard pulls will drop off sooner (HPs have no effect on your score in 1 year, and vanish entirely in 2 years). Three personal cards is a good target, because it's enough to practice AZEO, but I wouldn't try for more than 2 at once. Credit seeking hurts a young/thin file a lot more than an old/thick file.

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This.

You'll want to get a secured card that will graduate. Who do you bank with? Do they have secured cards? Try them. Did you try the Cap1 pre-qual? Any open loans presently also.

[FireMedic1]

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@Red1Blue wrote:

I think you should call or request CRAs to remove you from the cards as AU. That will help you with utilization. You should try to pre-approval with hit to scores. You can try for Apple Card (Pulls TU) and FNBO (Pulls EX) Cards. They both do a soft on your reports and give you what they might approve. If you agree then you can move forward and there will be a hard inq and approval. My suggestion test the waters with pre-qual and see what they are willing to offer. It will be only soft inq.

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Creditors remove AU account status not the CRA's.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am looking to get a credit card for myself to begin to tackle the issue that is my thin credit file. I will have a defintie need in the near-ish future (within 1 to 2 years) to buy or lease a car. However due to my very limited credit file my odds of approval would be slim or result in high interest rates and patments. For whatever reason I kind of let this sit on the backburner until now which was clearly a mistake, but now I'm hoping to fix the issue and start building my own credit with my own accounts.

Some background:

I have been employed for the last 5 years (counting this year) by the local school district as as substitute teacher. The last two of those years I was completeing my Masters degree and teacher prep program which is the only student loan debt I have. I am currently an Autohorized User on 2 accounts, which is what has helped me have some type of credit. This was from my parents during my time in college which we all agreed to do. One of those accounts has a $0 balance on a 3,300 limit and one of them has a $4,083 balance on $4,400 limit (I understand this is extremely high usage, but its not my spending). 0 late payments, with no reason to expect any.

My info

Income: $30k

FICO score 8: EQ: 725 TU: 724 EX: 657

FICO Bankcard Score 8: EQ 706 TU 711 EX: 606

Students Loan Debt: $17,663 (Payments do not start until September, Income driven)

My questions are then, where should I start my credit card search?  What banks/credit lenders will I have the best chances of approval with? and is it possible to be approved for a card that also offers rewards with my scores and limtited credit profile?

Thanks for any help!

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A good place for you to start would be the Discover IT card.

You should immediately get yourself removed from the maxed out card of your parent.

[Anonymous]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

Welcome @Anonymous!

Is there a reason why your Experian scores are so much lower than the others?

Subject to what might be on your Experian report, I would think you'd qualify for an unsecured card. Discover could be a good place to start.

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From what I can gather from looking at my reports it seems that experian is not considering the AU cards as heavily in there calucaltions to determeine a score. I could be wrong though, so if I am anyone feel free to correct me.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymalous wrote:

I'm a thin file with almost no personal credit history, who used an AU card to bolster my credit scores as well. So my experiences and research might help.

First of all, AU cards do help with utilization. But they help with overall utilization, not with the individual utilization on other cards. Both matter.

Secondly, I agree with everyone else that the AU card with the high utilization is hammering your score. The one possible exception is if the card is really old and your other AU card is really young, in which case it could conceivably be propping up your score more than hurting it (due to the boost to average age). But that's unlikely, and not being able to control utilization is a real detriment, so you should probably have it removed from your file.

More generally, the boost to scores from an AU is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that you have no real personal credit history. That will be the deciding factor for most lenders, not your score. Ignore all advice about how someone with a score X should be able to qualify for card Y; it doesn't apply to you. You're effectively an empty file, and that means you should be looking at starter cards. Avoid lenders who typically want to see a year or more of credit history (Chase will not give you one of the Freedom cards, for instance), and avoid the more conservative financial institutions. I'd avoid AmEx, as well. Your income doesn't really fit the kind of profile they prefer.

So where should you start? Your first card or cards should be keepers, because as your oldest cards they'll anchor the average age of your accounts. This doesn't mean they have to be cards you'll use as your primary drivers over the long term (a token amount of spend works), but it does mean avoid annual fees.

Also, since you're a clean file, and the AU cards have made your scoreable, you should be able to qualify for an unsecured card out of the gate (I qualified for the C1 Platinum with no credit history or scores at all). If I were you, I'd still take a secured card if that's all they're willing to offer. Secured cards from a real financial institution are a better option than unsecured cards from a subprime lender. But I'd first try to apply for an unsecured card

Discover is one of the two obvious starting points. They like young files. The Discover It is a potential long term card with the 5% rotating categories, while the Discover It Miles is effectively a 3% in everything card for the first year (1.5% doubled). DPs are mixed about CLIs, but generally positive. The secured card seems reasonable, and graduates.

The other obvious starting point is Capital One. Avoid the Quicksilver One, because they'll never upgrade it and you'll be stuck with an AF forever. You might (?) have a chance at the Quicksilver for good credit (no AF, but no SUP). But the default is the Platinum. It has no rewards, but it's a real card from a prime lender, and you'll eventually be able to upgrade it to a Quicksilver (took me 6 months) or maybe even a Savor One. Though C1 is notorious for bucketing people -- my card certainly is. But I didn't have a credit score at the time, and you do, so there's a chance you might not be stuck with a very low credit limit forever. Their prequal tool is supposed to be fairly accurate, but remember your profile is an outlier, so who knows.

Another option is Navy Federal CU, if you qualify for membership. If you have a parent, sibling, or grandparent who was honorably discharged, that's all it takes. They don't have to be members, or even alive. They gave me a real card with a real limit, even though I only had 6 months of personal credit history at the time I applied. They don't seem to care that my score was propped up by an AU card. People seem to think the prequalification tool isn't that reliable, but their secured card seems reasonable, and graduates.

Local credit unions might be an option, but they'll probably want to start you with a secured card. If you have some history with them, that can help a lot.

You might also want to consider the fintech cards, like the Petal 2 or Tomo. They assess creditworthiness using things other than credit scores. I don't know a lot about them.

There's also the Apple Card, if you're in the Apple ecosystem. Another I know little about, but they seem friendly to people new to credit.

Finally, there seems to be a recent surge of lenders expanding into the starter card arena. Some are out, some are in the wings. Look around, especially if you have an existing relationship with a financial institution. Chase Slate Edge might qualify. 

Normally, you'd want to stagger applications. Apply for a card, wait 3 to 6 months, apply for another, and so on. This gives you the best chances, and the best credit limits. But if you think you might apply for an auto loan in a year or two, you might want to apply for a couple at once, so the hard pulls will drop off sooner (HPs have no effect on your score in 1 year, and vanish entirely in 2 years). Three personal cards is a good target, because it's enough to practice AZEO, but I wouldn't try for more than 2 at once. Credit seeking hurts a young/thin file a lot more than an old/thick file.

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This was a very helpful reply. I will be dropped off as an AU form the card with the high utilization within the next day or two. I have used the prequal tools for both capital one and doscover. C1 recommended about six cards, both quicksilvers, both savor cards, and and both venture cards. Discover recmmonded the secured DiscoverIT card. I also applied for the Aple card since they do a soft pull in order to make you an offer before you accept or decline. They offered a $2,000 CL with a 21.99% APR which I declined since I was only interested in seeing what I could pre-qual for before making any final decisions. I do bank with a local credit union but I know they genreally hand out secured cards to first time or thin credit seekers. 

[Anonymous]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

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@Anonymalous wrote:

I'm a thin file with almost no personal credit history, who used an AU card to bolster my credit scores as well. So my experiences and research might help.

First of all, AU cards do help with utilization. But they help with overall utilization, not with the individual utilization on other cards. Both matter.

Secondly, I agree with everyone else that the AU card with the high utilization is hammering your score. The one possible exception is if the card is really old and your other AU card is really young, in which case it could conceivably be propping up your score more than hurting it (due to the boost to average age). But that's unlikely, and not being able to control utilization is a real detriment, so you should probably have it removed from your file.

More generally, the boost to scores from an AU is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that you have no real personal credit history. That will be the deciding factor for most lenders, not your score. Ignore all advice about how someone with a score X should be able to qualify for card Y; it doesn't apply to you. You're effectively an empty file, and that means you should be looking at starter cards. Avoid lenders who typically want to see a year or more of credit history (Chase will not give you one of the Freedom cards, for instance), and avoid the more conservative financial institutions. I'd avoid AmEx, as well. Your income doesn't really fit the kind of profile they prefer.

So where should you start? Your first card or cards should be keepers, because as your oldest cards they'll anchor the average age of your accounts. This doesn't mean they have to be cards you'll use as your primary drivers over the long term (a token amount of spend works), but it does mean avoid annual fees.

Also, since you're a clean file, and the AU cards have made your scoreable, you should be able to qualify for an unsecured card out of the gate (I qualified for the C1 Platinum with no credit history or scores at all). If I were you, I'd still take a secured card if that's all they're willing to offer. Secured cards from a real financial institution are a better option than unsecured cards from a subprime lender. But I'd first try to apply for an unsecured card

Discover is one of the two obvious starting points. They like young files. The Discover It is a potential long term card with the 5% rotating categories, while the Discover It Miles is effectively a 3% in everything card for the first year (1.5% doubled). DPs are mixed about CLIs, but generally positive. The secured card seems reasonable, and graduates.

The other obvious starting point is Capital One. Avoid the Quicksilver One, because they'll never upgrade it and you'll be stuck with an AF forever. You might (?) have a chance at the Quicksilver for good credit (no AF, but no SUP). But the default is the Platinum. It has no rewards, but it's a real card from a prime lender, and you'll eventually be able to upgrade it to a Quicksilver (took me 6 months) or maybe even a Savor One. Though C1 is notorious for bucketing people -- my card certainly is. But I didn't have a credit score at the time, and you do, so there's a chance you might not be stuck with a very low credit limit forever. Their prequal tool is supposed to be fairly accurate, but remember your profile is an outlier, so who knows.

Another option is Navy Federal CU, if you qualify for membership. If you have a parent, sibling, or grandparent who was honorably discharged, that's all it takes. They don't have to be members, or even alive. They gave me a real card with a real limit, even though I only had 6 months of personal credit history at the time I applied. They don't seem to care that my score was propped up by an AU card. People seem to think the prequalification tool isn't that reliable, but their secured card seems reasonable, and graduates.

Local credit unions might be an option, but they'll probably want to start you with a secured card. If you have some history with them, that can help a lot.

You might also want to consider the fintech cards, like the Petal 2 or Tomo. They assess creditworthiness using things other than credit scores. I don't know a lot about them.

There's also the Apple Card, if you're in the Apple ecosystem. Another I know little about, but they seem friendly to people new to credit.

Finally, there seems to be a recent surge of lenders expanding into the starter card arena. Some are out, some are in the wings. Look around, especially if you have an existing relationship with a financial institution. Chase Slate Edge might qualify. 

Normally, you'd want to stagger applications. Apply for a card, wait 3 to 6 months, apply for another, and so on. This gives you the best chances, and the best credit limits. But if you think you might apply for an auto loan in a year or two, you might want to apply for a couple at once, so the hard pulls will drop off sooner (HPs have no effect on your score in 1 year, and vanish entirely in 2 years). Three personal cards is a good target, because it's enough to practice AZEO, but I wouldn't try for more than 2 at once. Credit seeking hurts a young/thin file a lot more than an old/thick file.

---

This.

You'll want to get a secured card that will graduate. Who do you bank with? Do they have secured cards? Try them. Did you try the Cap1 pre-qual? Any open loans presently also.

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I do bank with a local credit union, so Im relativley certain I could get a secured card through them. I replied to another user in more detail, but I did try the C1 pre-qual and was recommended both versions of the quicksilver, venture, and savor cards. Im not sure how accurate there prequal is though. I also did the discover and Apple prequals which I mentioned to @Anonymalous in another comment in this thread

The only loans I have open are my student loans from graduate school, which totals $17,663 

[mgood]

Excellent post, @Anonymalous !

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@Anonymalous wrote:

The other obvious starting point is Capital One. Avoid the Quicksilver One, because they'll never upgrade it and you'll be stuck with an AF forever. You might (?) have a chance at the Quicksilver for good credit (no AF, but no SUP). But the default is the Platinum. It has no rewards, but it's a real card from a prime lender, and you'll eventually be able to upgrade it to a Quicksilver (took me 6 months) or maybe even a Savor One.

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One thing I'd take issue with is I don't think I've heard of anyone being able to product change to a Savor or SavorOne.

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@Anonymous wrote:
 . . . I have used the prequal tools for both capital one and doscover. C1 recommended about six cards, both quicksilvers, both savor cards, and and both venture cards. Discover recmmonded the secured DiscoverIT card. I also applied for the Aple card since they do a soft pull in order to make you an offer before you accept or decline. They offered a $2,000 CL with a 21.99% APR which I declined since I was only interested in seeing what I could pre-qual for before making any final decisions. I do bank with a local credit union but I know they genreally hand out secured cards to first time or thin credit seekers. 

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The Discover it secured card will usually graduate to a non-secured card and that one is definitely a keeper.
The C1 Quicksilver gets 1.5% back on everything, making it not a terrible card to have. Avoid the QuicksilverOne. As mentioned it is rarely changed to something without a fee and you'll be reluctant to cancel it due to it being an old card but want to get rid of the fee, causing lots of frustration down the road. Savor and SavorOne look like very good cards to me.

I know nothing about the Apple card except that a lot of people here seem to like it. If they offered a $2k limit, that might be about as high of a limit as you're going to find for a starter card. I'd consider it (if I used Apple products).

[Anonymalous]

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@mgood wrote:

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One thing I'd take issue with is I don't think I've heard of anyone being able to product change to a Savor or SavorOne.

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I've seen one or two people on the board mention they showed up as options, but it seems really rare. It's probably safe to assume that 99% of the time, the upgrade path from the Platinum is the Quicksilver. (It was for me.)

[mgood]

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@Anonymalous wrote:

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@mgood wrote:

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One thing I'd take issue with is I don't think I've heard of anyone being able to product change to a Savor or SavorOne.

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I've seen one or two people on the board mention they showed up as options, but it seems really rare. It's probably safe to assume that 99% of the time, the upgrade path from the Platinum is the Quicksilver. (It was for me.)

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Yeah, I upgraded Platinum to Quicksilver myself. Since it gets 1.5% it was better than nothing, but since I now have multiple 2% cards, it doesn't really do anything for me. I'd jump at the chance to PC to SavorOne. The website says I can PC to Venture or VentureOne.

[Anonymalous]

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@mgood wrote:

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Yeah, I upgraded Platinum to Quicksilver myself. Since it gets 1.5% it was better than nothing, but since I now have multiple 2% cards, it doesn't really do anything for me. I'd jump at the chance to PC to SavorOne. The website says I can PC to Venture or VentureOne.

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Once you have a 2% card, the Quicksilver doesn't make a lot of sense. But for someone starting out, 1.5% makes a perfectly fine everything else card. The difference between 2% and 1.5% is small enough, that it makes sense to skip the 2% cards and instead apply for cards with higher multiples like the 3% on key categories cards, or the 5% rotating cards. Plus, the QS has some nice features, like the virtual cards, and what seems to be the easiest cash redemption out there. I could see myself using my QS for quite a while, if it had a reasonable CL like yours. But mine is stuck at $300, which is crippling.