Approval for high CL

[Anonymous]

Hi! I'm very new to this. Just built my credit up from basically nothing. I have one secured card for $200 from cap one. Scores are EQ 653, TU681 and EX 715. I have settlement on my house Friday, so after that I'd like to get a high limit card. Should I wait awhile after settlement? I don't know how that affects my score, getting a mortgage - if it drops or if it goes up. Or can I apply for a card sooner, like the next day? Just curious about best chances of getting approved for a high limit and what card you would recommend applying for!

[Anonymous]

I can't speak to the settlement question. I've heard some people have had success right after while others have not.

I would recommend waiting a little bit though. I only say this because your EQ score might hold you back from the high limit you really want. (I could be completely wrong on that though.) You could always try for the Chase Sapphire Preferred I suppose since their lowest starting credit is $5000. But then that all comes down to whether or not that card will benefit you int erms of the rewards it offers. If you travel often and dine out a lot it can be a very beneficial card to have as ong as you don't mind an annual fee. 

Discover it is another option and they can give high limits and there's no annual fee. There's the quarterly rotating 5% cash back in select categories and i believe 1% on all other purchases which is nice.

[Anonymous]

Hi, since you are just starting out with one $200 secured card, creditors are generally not going to give you a high limit card, I'm sorry to say. Credit is a journey and you can't race to the finish line without a progression of steps.

Most prime lenders also want to see a full year of credit history before giving you a card.

Wait until the house closes and see where your scores are at once that happens. If you have a full year of history on your current secured card, then see where your scores are at after closing and possibly apply for Barclay Rewards or Discover to continue on your credit journey

[Anonymous]

As humu said, this is a journey not a sprint. I know it's hard. (I did it.) But it is worth it to do it right. 

Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

I know 😒 Ahhhh. I also have a paid off studen loan from a few years ago, a personal loan ($1k) taken out solely to build credit and my father added me to his cc to piggy back off his credit card and that has also been reporting. Does that stuff help?! 😬

[Appleman]

The paying off of a student loan and personal loan may actually drop your score. The positive payment history is great but not having the mix of credit types can hurt. Adding back in a mortgage should remedy any drop from the pay-offs.

AU may help. Hopefully the card has a positive payment history and does not report a high utilization from month to month.

As others have said, it will take TIME. For many of us that is the hard part, we all want things to improve today! (self included)

[dragontears]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi! I'm very new to this. Just built my credit up from basically nothing. I have one secured card for $200 from cap one. Scores are EQ 653, TU681 and EX 715. I have settlement on my house Friday, so after that I'd like to get a high limit card. Should I wait awhile after settlement? I don't know how that affects my score, getting a mortgage - if it drops or if it goes up. Or can I apply for a card sooner, like the next day? Just curious about best chances of getting approved for a high limit and what card you would recommend applying for!

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to start with, what do you concider a "high" limit?

as for how long should you wait after settlement... once your loan is funded (this varies by state, some it is funded at closing some it takes a few days) you can apply whenever you feel your profile is strong enough for the card you want.

as for the effect of a mortgage on your score it depends, could go up a few points, could go down a few points or could have no big score change. keep in mind most the time it takes several months before they start reporting. long term a mortgage is actually good for your FICO. I refi'd my house last month and when the closed mortgage account hit my reports my scores went down 7-10 points. I don't expect the new mortgage to hit my reports for a few more months.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi, since you are just starting out with one $200 secured card, creditors are generally not going to give you a high limit card, I'm sorry to say. Credit is a journey and you can't race to the finish line without a progression of steps.

Most prime lenders also want to see a full year of credit history before giving you a card.

Wait until the house closes and see where your scores are at once that happens. If you have a full year of history on your current secured card, then see where your scores are at after closing and possibly apply for Barclay Rewards or Discover to continue on your credit journey

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I completely missed the part where the secured card was mentioned. If that's the case I would definitely try for Discover or something before the CSP or any other "premier" card.

[thummel]

I thought in order to get a CSP Chase generally wants to see a 5K line already established or has that since changed? That's what they wanted when I applied for mine. Discover might open there doors or possibly Amex though.

[Anonymous]

That must have changed because I didn't have anywhere near a 5K line when I applied and was approved.