Which credit card should I start with?

[Anonymous]

I want to apply for a credit that can eventually be upgraded to a higher limit and get me rewards. I am a full time student and driver Uber. I make about 30k a year.

FICO BANKCARD SCORE 8

Equ:702

Trans: 695

Exp: 692

FICO BANKCARD SCORE 9

Equ: 694

Trans: 678

Exp: 678

I do have multiple late student loan payments that are over 4 years old. Accounts are now up to date. I also have a chargeoff on a Syncb/Be;l account.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I want to apply for a credit that can eventually be upgraded to a higher limit and get me rewards. I am a full time student and driver Uber. I make about 30k a year.

FICO BANKCARD SCORE 8

Equ:702

Trans: 695

Exp: 692

FICO BANKCARD SCORE 9

Equ: 694

Trans: 678

Exp: 678

I do have multiple late student loan payments that are over 4 years old. Accounts are now up to date. I also have a chargeoff on a Syncb/Be;l account.

---

When was the Sync. charge off?

Without lates or charge off I would say the answer is almost certainly Discover Student card.

With lates, charge off, and Covid era underwriting harder to guess.

[Anonymous]

For Transunion it says closed date for that account is 4/3/15. Its blank for Equifax and Experian.

Last activity says 02/2015 for Equifax and 03/2016 for Transunion. Experian is blank. 

[Jetiquette]

If you're looking to enter into the points world, I would recommend the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Then, later down the road get the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve once your credit history and scores improve further. 

[Anonymous]

Start by trying the prequal pages for various lenders. With everything going on right now in the world, it's a crapshoot at best to guess on cards, especially without recent history to go by. See who offers what and reply and we can help you better.

[HeavenOhio]

Welcome, @Anonymous.

I'd check Discover's pre-qual first. Also check AMEX and Capital One. Don't mess with Chase right now except to feel free to check their pre-qual.

My inclination is that Discover will be your best bet. You might get a result from AMEX and Capital One, but I'd bet on an approval from either of them being for a low limit. Chase likes to see that one's oldest revolver is at least a year old. Technically, you have that, but I wouldn't want to rely on a charged off card to fulfill that requirement.

Don't apply for anything without checking back here first. My crystal ball reading could easily change based on information you provide. Along with your pre-qual results, any interest rates offered will be helpful in guageing your chances of approval.

[Anonymous]

Good afternoon,

I did a Discover pre qual. Income $30k rent payment $500. It came back and said the below:

Thank you for your interest in Discover®. Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to provide you an offer due to the following:

NO CREDIT RECORD AVAILABLE

Rest assured, your request did not impact your credit score. For helpful financial tips and information on managing your credit, visit Discover.com/resources.

You can submit another request eight days from the date of this letter.

Sincerely,
Discover Credit Operations Team
1-877-330-4223
Reference Number 202301241234800
ADA100025

Our credit decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained in a report from the consumer reporting agency listed below. You have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to know the information contained in your credit file at the consumer reporting agency. The reporting agency played no part in our decision and is unable to supply specific reasons why we have denied credit to you.

You also have a right to a free copy of your report from the reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60 days after you receive this notice. In addition, if you find that any information contained in the report you receive is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency.

For a free copy of your credit bureau report, contact:

EQUIFAX DISCLOSURE DEPARTMENT
PO BOX 740241
ATLANTA, GA 30374
(800)685-1111
WWW.EQUIFAX.COM

[HeavenOhio]

Interesting response, @Anonymous. You're able to pull reports and Discover can't. One thing I'd do for sure is try again in eight to ten days to see if anything has changed. I'd also see if other pre-qual tools yield similar results. Other than that, I'm not sure how to handle a situation like this. Maybe either @K-in-Boston or @Remedios has an idea.

Another idea is to check out credit unions. Tell them exactly what you told us, i.e. about the old charge off, the previous lates on your student loans, and the response you got from Discover. NFCU is a very popular option around here. You're eligible to join if you have a military connection, e.g. a parent, grandparent, sibling, or maybe an aunt or uncle.

[Remedios]

@Anonymous  are your student loans currently in deferrement? 

[SouthJamaica]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I want to apply for a credit that can eventually be upgraded to a higher limit and get me rewards. I am a full time student and driver Uber. I make about 30k a year.

FICO BANKCARD SCORE 8

Equ:702

Trans: 695

Exp: 692

FICO BANKCARD SCORE 9

Equ: 694

Trans: 678

Exp: 678

I do have multiple late student loan payments that are over 4 years old. Accounts are now up to date. I also have a chargeoff on a Syncb/Be;l account.

---

What kind of credit card would you like to have?

E.g.,

-cash back

-travel rewards

-low interest