I started my American credit journey from scratch in January, when I obtained my SSN. With my freshly minted SSN, I applied for and got denied by Cap1 for a secured card.
Then I decided to try my luck with Bank of America. I was approved for a secured cash rewards card after two months of back and forth, with a $500 deposit.
I've checked my credit score on CK for six months, and they always reported a score between 680-685, regardless of utilization (<20%, usually <10%).
When my card turned six months old, I decided to check my newly generated FICO score and was in for a shock! My EX score was 742, with two inquiries (BofA, Cap1).
I decided to hit apply on Amex's website, and got instantly approved for two cards with one hard pull:
Premier Rewards Gold, 50k bonus points with $2000 spend in 90 days
Everyday, 25k bonus points with $2000 spend in 90 days, $1000 starting limit
Before I applied, I saw prequalified offers for the BCE and ED, both of which had solid APRs and offers. This really surprised me, as I didn't expect anything with a score of 680 from CK.
I'm leaning towards something from TD for my next card as they can look up my Canadian history ($12.5k limit north of the border), but I'm not sure if that's necessary at this point.
Does anyone have any wise words of wisdom for me? Thanks in advance!
tl;dr 8 month old SSN, 6 months history, 2 inquiries, 1 secured card, Amex PRG + ED approved
Use them and pay
best advice to be had