Thin Credit History

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

After destroying my credit in the 1990's, I've been a cash person for the last 15 years. I pulled my free 3 credit reports last month, and to my surprise, they were clean. No good accounts, bad accounts or collections. So I started applying for cards with no FICO and no credit history:

Walmart - declined

JCPenney - declined

USBank - declined

Barclays - declined

Chase - declined

Citibank - declined

PNC - declined

Capital One - approved for $300

Capital One - approved for a second card for $300

Discover It - approved for $750

After seeing how good the cashback was on Discover, I paid off and closed both $300 cards before the first statement posted. Both Capital One cards show on my credit reports as closed by consumer and paid in full, so these will help my age of accounts for the next 10 years.

In January when my 6th statement from Discover posts, I should finally have a FICO score. I'm going to do the $2 trick (actually $3 because its Discover) with the January statement, so my FICO score should be around 720?

So my question is what card can I get accepted for in January with only 6 months of credit history? I also have 7 hard inquiries on all 3 of my reports.

I really want the Chase Freedom, but I know they want to see 2 years of credit history. The Capital One Venture looks pretty good, but I don't know if I would get approved after closing my 2 cards with them.

Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

No. No. No. No. No.......

You should have kept those Capital One accounts. They we're establishing a AAOA for you, and not only that... but it's not exactly uncommon for those cards to become $1,500 to $2,300 lines, over time. 

Really the biggest thing, is establishing AAOA, and having more than one account. It just looks good on your report, to show you have multiple cards, and a good AAOA. Even if one line is $500, and the other is $15,000. 

What I would advise is (since you probably have a ton of INQ's, is to wait atleast a year before applying for anything else. At the very least wait until you have a real FICO at 6 months, and you'll have more options. Right now... to Banks, your dead on paper, no offense, but you have no FICO or anything to back you up. 

Get a FICO Score, and let those Inquires Age and you'll be all set. 

[Anonymous]

---

 So I started applying for cards with no FICO and no credit history:

Walmart - declined

JCPenney - declined

USBank - declined

Barclays - declined

Chase - declined

Citibank - declined

PNC - declined 

---

On a side note, PNC & US Bank both offer secured credit cards. When you we're denied, you could have asked for a Secured Credit Card application, using the same hard pull. Bank of America & Wells Fargo, and I think PNC does this. 

Sucks, having to put down a deposit, but it's a start. (If it's been less than 30 days, it might be worth calling to consider) 

[Anonymous]

I'm happy with just having Discover for now, hoping to get a cli at day 91 and maybe an auto. 

In January when I have a FICO I want one more card, but something with a limit of around $2,000 would be great!

[Anonymous]

Curious, do you know how many Hard Pulls/Inquiries you have? (TransUnion, Experian, Equifax)

[Anonymous]

I had a wrong address on my credit reports, so I did online disputes with all 3 and could see the hard inquiries. 7 hard pulls on all 3.

[Anonymous]

Do you remember how many Inquires you had, on each report? 

[Anonymous]

7 on each

[ddemari]

OP- keep those cards and stop applying for other cards. u need to show positive payment history and the ability to maintain accounts. 

all the cards u have can grow and be upgraded or what not down the road. DiscoverIt is awesome! Just keep them open, pay your bills and give it time.

Time is the hardest thing to give but it will pay off. 

[Anonymous]

You should have kept those Capital One cards open. You need at least 3 credit cards to build your file. You should have kept them open for at least a year.