BofA 99/500 CC approved! What to do next?

Anonymous · ‎04-23-2011

I have no credit history. I never had a credit card, no collections either. FICO score is N/A. I got denial letters from Macys and Dillards because of "short history" I applied for a Bank of america CC (I have a checking account with them) got a denial letter but a 99/500 secured CC preaproval! I applied and they approved me!!! I am so happy with my first CC. What should I do next? I want to start building my credit history ... Should I get another secured card?(orchard or cap1) or should I wait? Also how long does it take for the CRAs to give you a FICO score?

Thanks in advance for any advice

Eddie24CO · ‎04-23-2011

Congrats!

My advice charge something small on this BOA Card and PAY IN FULL each month! Continously do that and it will raise your credit score. In about 6 months, i'd apply for another card and I am sure you'll get approved for an unsecured credit card with a decent CL with no deposit.

I wouldnt apply for another now because it is another "hit" on your report.

It usually takes 30-60 days for this new card to appear on your Credit Reports.

Current FICO Scores as of June 2022:
Experian: 720
Equifax: 721
TransUnion: 719

texasman07 · ‎04-23-2011

congrats!! Dont apply for ORCHARD! stay far away. this card wont grow. they dont give CLI's or if they do it will be forever. I got approved for a secured boa power rewards. stay with boa. after 1 year they will give you a big cli and unsecure the card. also you will be available to product change the card. I have cap 1. been good to me. I have 750rewards card that i pif every month. I basically use it for all my transactions to get $ back. I also have a secured card with them. I up the $$ about 100every month. was told yesterday they will give me an unsecure amount in the next couple statements

vish1 · ‎04-24-2011

@Eddie24CO wrote:
Congrats!
My advice charge something small on this BOA Card and PAY IN FULL each month! Continously do that and it will raise your credit score. In about 6 months, i'd apply for another card and I am sure you'll get approved for an unsecured credit card with a decent CL with no deposit.

I wouldnt apply for another now because it is another "hit" on your report.

It usually takes 30-60 days for this new card to appear on your Credit Reports.

I will modify this approach a bit.There are multiple small problems with this approach.

If the OP keeps only this card, most probably he won't be able to get any prime card after 1 year with a reason "Not enough credit lines"
It's virtually very difficult to maintain 10% usage with a single card.
When he tries to apply for another card later, his highest (and only) CL will be 500 and you wont get a decent CL with this

IMO, OP should apply for a no AF store card like GEMB (JCP or walmart) in about 3 months from now (atleast a week after 2 BofA statements). That will give him 2 credit lines reporting, in addition as GEMB cards grow to about 1500 CL very quickly so after a year when OP is ready for prime, he will have 1 good CL, 2 accounts and a good util percentage (coz of extra 1500 or so CL on store card). In addition with this approach, by that time, all inquiries will be atleast 9 months old.

Anonymous · ‎04-24-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
I have no credit history. I never had a credit card, no collections either. FICO score is N/A. I got denial letters from Macys and Dillards because of "short history" I applied for a Bank of America CC (I have a checking account with them) got a denial letter but a 99/500 secured CC approval! I applied and they approved me!!! I am so happy with my first CC. What should I do next? I want to start building my credit history ... Should I get another secured card?(orchard or cap) or should I wait? Also how long does it take for the CRAs to give you a FICO score?

Thanks in advance for any advice

The most important thing is to use this card without any issues. I think you need 6 months of reporting to get a FICO score.

At this point having 2 secured cards is only little better than having one for building history. I suggest you only apply for CC with institutions that you would want to keep doing business with for the long term(secured or unsecured). If you want a Capital One card in the future, starting with a secured card is a good approach.

Also, If you have the funds available, adding to your deposit on your secured cards, generally helps get larger CL in the future.

I have Capital One and HSBC secured card. I would not recommend HSBC Orchard for you since they offer no prime cards whereas Capital One has prime cards that you could eventually get.

I think you have 3 good choices, depending on how aggressive you want to be, and if you have the funds available.

1. Wait over 6 months, and then apply for next card.

2. Add to BofA deposit

3. Get a second secured card

Open123 · ‎04-24-2011

Congrats! I think the 99/500 B of A card is a great start. It's a prime bank who will allow your card to potentiall unsecure with a large CL increase a year from now.

Before that time, it would be prudent to add a couple of tradelines as others have suggested. This is important for several reasons. One, it helps with utilization. Two, you'll have mulitiple credit references. Three, finally it'll give you some leverage if B of A decides to not unsecure your card, or impose a fee.

I've found that most banks will offer you more options if they notice you have other options. Diversifying your creditors always makes sense.

Good luck!

llecs · ‎04-24-2011

Congrats, OP! Good to know that their counter-offer is still around.

Anonymous · ‎04-24-2011

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice. I was thinking about Orchard but I read a lot of bad things a out them so I wasnt sure. I just read a post about a secured CC Capital One. I went to their pre-approval site and they offered me a secured CC $200 Cl with a deposit of $49 .... good deal considering my situation so I got it! Ok I am done with the inquiries! I will wait 6 months and see if my FICO score is available and maybe apply for a store card. I also heard BofA unsecures after 9 months and gives $500 CLI ... i will make sure to PIF everytime. I am just using the card for gas and groceries.

Does anyone know if Capital one is reporting credit limits to the Bureaus? When do they report my balance? After the statement closes?

vish1 · ‎04-24-2011

Cap1 reports to all 3 and as far as i think, they report after your statement cuts and report the statement balance.