Best Secured Card / Max Allowable Deposit?

Anonymous · ‎10-31-2012

Hello, I have a PNC Secured card that reports to the 3 agencies. However, the maximum you can put on the secured card is $2,500. My goal is to get the US Bank Cash+ card.

Can someone please recommend a secured card that I can put say, $10k in, to increase my credit utilization. My plan is to let the $10k sit in there until February and not use the card at all. I will reapply for the Cash+ card mid February.

My current scores are in the 650-679 range on the three agencies.

Thank you!

cashnocredit · ‎10-31-2012

Wells Fargo has a secured card with a 10k limit and $25AF. They unsecure but there is no way to deterimine when. They review cards in the spring and fall and if they unsecure you get a note, a new card (but keep the account and history). One positive is that when they unsecure they don't hard pull. That was my first rebuilding CC. I also deposited the max. At the time Cit had a card with a limit up to 25k but they since reduced it to 5k and you have to apply in store.

I have reestablished credit over the last couple years
so my moniker is, well, rather out of date.

WM Discover $1800, WF Plat 12k, Chase Freedom Siggy18k, Amex Plat (60k H/B), Citi AA EWMC 25k

Anonymous · ‎10-31-2012

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello, I have a PNC Secured card that reports to the 3 agencies. However, the maximum you can put on the secured card is $2,500. My goal is to get the US Bank Cash+ card.

Can someone please recommend a secured card that I can put say, $10k in, to increase my credit utilization. My plan is to let the $10k sit in there until February and not use the card at all. I will reapply for the Cash+ card mid February.

My current scores are in the 650-679 range on the three agencies.

Thank you!

You should get a secured rewards card from US Bank. If you want their card in the future, build your relationship with them.

You can get a $5,000 secured card with them. After a year you should have a shot at the cash+.

Anonymous · ‎10-31-2012

Do you have negatives on your credit report, or are you just new to credit?

Anonymous · ‎10-31-2012

cashnocredit,

If I go with WF. Will they graduate me to a card that has a 10k limit, assuming I put in 10k to secure, or would they give me back my 10k and then graduate me to a card with a lower credit line?

Dustink,

I have all "paid in full" on my accounts. Those accounts were negative, school bills that were not paid on time.

By, "build a relationship", do you mean that I need to actually use the card? At this time, I am only using the Discover card for the 5% cash back on department store & internet purchases. I only use Discover for the 5% cash back feature and pay immediately via bank transfer.

Thank you both for your time!!!

The cash + 5% card would provide my household with ~$750 annual worth of cash back from utilities alone.

Anonymous · ‎10-31-2012

Dustink,

I have all "paid in full" on my accounts. Those accounts were negative, school bills that were not paid on time.

By, "build a relationship", do you mean that I need to actually use the card? At this time, I am only using the Discover card for the 5% cash back on department store & internet purchases. I only use Discover for the 5% cash back feature and pay immediately via bank transfer.

Thank you both for your time!!!

The cash + 5% card would provide my household with ~$750 annual worth of cash back from utilities alone.

Yes, you would need to actually use the card. Demonstrate that you can handle the limit and are going to be a good customer. They offer secured cards to airlines. One of them may benefit you either directly or with a partner airline.

Work hard to get any negative off your reports with GW letters.

It may be hard to get the Cash+ with any baddies on your reports, but having a $5k secured card with them for a year will help.

cashnocredit · ‎10-31-2012

@Anonymous wrote:
cashnocredit,

If I go with WF. Will they graduate me to a card that has a 10k limit, assuming I put in 10k to secure, or would they give me back my 10k and then graduate me to a card with a lower credit line?

Yes, when they graduate it is with the same CL and they just refund the deposit. In my case they also gave me an auto-cli a month after unsecuring. At the time I only had two CCs, both secured. WF unsecured a few months before Citi. Neither dropped the CL though I had some concern Citi might since they had stopped offering a 25k card. Also, At the time the unsecured I had paid baddies including a PR and several CAs though they were all over 3 years old.

I have reestablished credit over the last couple years
so my moniker is, well, rather out of date.

WM Discover $1800, WF Plat 12k, Chase Freedom Siggy18k, Amex Plat (60k H/B), Citi AA EWMC 25k

Anonymous · ‎10-31-2012

Great thanks!

I will sign up for these two cards and put the cash in to increase my available credit.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/credit_cards/secured/

https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/secured-card.html

How much should I spend per month on the card? Quite frankly, our expenses are nowhere near the credit limits.

It seems that with this type of structure, I should wait a year or so to apply for the cash+ card.

Anonymous · ‎10-31-2012

Check out the other secured cards US Bank offers.

You can get one with rewards, no fee for the first year, and a lower APR.

DO NOT GET THE BASIC SECURED CARD!

https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/compare.html?filter3=Cards+to+build+or+re-establish+credit

Anonymous · ‎10-31-2012

Compare your options and see what makes the most sense for you, but this one looks the best:

https://www.usbank.com/cgi_w/cfm/credit/aero_mexico/usb_aeromexico_sec.cfm?ics_src=87960

You might end up with enough points for a vacation.