What limit to choose for secured card?

Anonymous · ‎12-17-2014

I'm going to apply for a credit union secured card. I was wondering if it matters what limit I choose? If I choose a $100, $300 or $1000 limit for example, would there be any differnce in how it counts towards my credit score? This is assuming that whatever the limit is, the ballance is kept low and it is paid on time.

I would of course have to give the credit union the cash to hold until I cancel the card or get an unsecured card. So there is the issue of having cash tied up for a year or more. I would like to put as little as possible without having the amount to have an negative affect on my credit.

Creditaddict · ‎12-17-2014

it only matters what the balance reports to the credit reports relative to limit.

and sometimes you see creditors that will go higher than previous CL

Anonymous · ‎12-17-2014

Thanks, Creditaddict

If I had just a $100 limit, would the $100 limit be visable on my credit report? My only concern is after I get the card, that I may want to apply for another card or loan and the $100 limit on the secured card could be seen as a negative, because it could be assumed to be a secured card. I don't mean that it would be figured into a credit scoring algorithm, but interpreted that way by a loan underwriter or potential landlord. Maybe that's too much thinking on my part.

jsucool76 · ‎12-17-2014

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks, Creditaddict

If I had just a $100 limit, would the $100 limit be visable on my credit report? My only concern is after I get the card, that I may want to apply for another card or loan and the $100 limit on the secured card could be seen as a negative, because it could be assumed to be a secured card. I don't mean that it would be figured into a credit scoring algorithm, but interpreted that way by a loan underwriter or potential landlord. Maybe that's too much thinking on my part.

If you have the cash to spare I would say go for as much as you're willing to put down.

If you can get approved, I would say go for a cap1 secured card, and throw 3k in it if you have the cash. This card reports as a regular (non secured) credit card, so, if you chose to apply for more credit at a later date, it would appear as though you have a regular credit card with a 3k limit.

Anonymous · ‎12-17-2014

@Anonymous wrote:
I'm going to apply for a credit union secured card. I was wondering if it matters what limit I choose? If I choose a $100, $300 or $1000 limit for example, would there be any differnce in how it counts towards my credit score? This is assuming that whatever the limit is, the ballance is kept low and it is paid on time.

I would of course have to give the credit union the cash to hold until I cancel the card or get an unsecured card. So there is the issue of having cash tied up for a year or more. I would like to put as little as possible without having the amount to have an negative affect on my credit.

Is there a reason that you're opting for a secured card? Are the FICO scores in your sig accurate? If they are, your FICO scores -- while admittedly not great -- are good enough to likely qualify for some nice unsecured cards.

Anonymous · ‎12-18-2014

@Anonymous wrote:

I'm going to apply for a credit union secured card.

I don't think you need a secured card. Has your last baddie been a while ago?

I'd just go apply straight up for a Capital One QuicksilverOne. There's an annual fee but it looks by your score alone that you will be approved

There are other cards as well but the Cap1 is the easiest to get that doesn't kill you with fees.

IF you are trying to build your credit file thickness, go apply for some Shopping Cart Trick cards first since they are Soft Pulls. Then apply for your Cap1

Barclay might be within your reach but that is very much YMMV as may be Discover. Walmart is probably within reach as well

Anonymous · ‎12-18-2014

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:

I'm going to apply for a credit union secured card.

I don't think you need a secured card. Has your last baddie been a while ago?

I'd just go apply straight up for a Capital One QuicksilverOne. There's an annual fee but it looks by your score alone that you will be approved

There are other cards as well but the Cap1 is the easiest to get that doesn't kill you with fees.

IF you are trying to build your credit file thickness, go apply for some Shopping Cart Trick cards first since they are Soft Pulls. Then apply for your Cap1

Barclay might be within your reach but that is very much YMMV as may be Discover. Walmart is probably within reach as well

Thanks for the advice. I'm trying to build credit file thickness, since I currently only have the one card and no other open credit.

I have a $152 Verizon/Pinnacle collection from 4 years ago reported on all bureaus. A Chase CC collection of $680 from 6 years ago reported to just Equifax. And a $50 electric bill reported to all bureaus from 6 years ago.

I don't know if I should bother trying to get the collections from 6 years ago removed, since they will fall off in a year. I'm going to try to get the Verizon $152 collection removed for sure, since it's newer.

Anonymous · ‎12-18-2014

@Anonymous wrote:

Is there a reason that you're opting for a secured card? Are the FICO scores in your sig accurate? If they are, your FICO scores -- while admittedly not great -- are good enough to likely qualify for some nice unsecured cards.

Yes, the scores are recent, from yesterday.