Discover Secured Graduation?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So... it's been 21 months since I got the secured Discover it card and they did one soft pull last April and that was it. I put on  the minimum $200 limit and used it frequently at first but once I got approved by capital one with some high limits and cash back offers, I used Discover for some recurring charges and PIF each month never reported a balance regardless. I tried their pre-qual site numerous times with no luck. 

Today, however, I got an alert from NerdWallet letting me know my credit score finally went above 690 (694 TU / 697 Eq) and so I logged in and had a Discover it card offer. I hadn't apped in a few months so I figured what the heck. 

Low and behold, approved for $5k SL. I do not understand Discover.

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Congrats! This is good to hear. I am 16 months into my secured card, and I don't have any prequals for a second. But maybe my score just needs to be higher. My TU has always been my lowest, not sure if that's what they go by.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

So... it's been 21 months since I got the secured Discover it card and they did one soft pull last April and that was it. I put on  the minimum $200 limit and used it frequently at first but once I got approved by capital one with some high limits and cash back offers, I used Discover for some recurring charges and PIF each month never reported a balance regardless. I tried their pre-qual site numerous times with no luck. 

Today, however, I got an alert from NerdWallet letting me know my credit score finally went above 690 (694 TU / 697 Eq) and so I logged in and had a Discover it card offer. I hadn't apped in a few months so I figured what the heck. 

Low and behold, approved for $5k SL. I do not understand Discover.

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Congrats! This is good to hear. I am 16 months into my secured card, and I don't have any prequals for a second. But maybe my score just needs to be higher. My TU has always been my lowest, not sure if that's what they go by.

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Not sure if this is region specific, but two different credit reps @ Disco told me that after approval (TU for some) all the rest of the decisions for existing members are based on EX.   IME, this holds true as my EX is the highest score and my SL's and CLI's are much higher. 

I also started with a secured card that graduated at 7mos, but NO CLI, and the CLI's on that card were 200 once every 6 months.  I got a second card and it was much better.  Closed the grad card, and got a second second card LOL  and it was even better.  Both with CLI's much higher as well. 

[CLARKakaSIX]

Well guys, moment of truth coming up. 7th statement should cut on monday, so I guess I'll know by next weekend. I've done my best to eliminate all my old debt, but I've still got just under $2k left, which is down from about $5250. Hopefully it's good news

[sarcean1]

I graduated over a year ago and was instantly given $2000 credit line (from something like $700 secured). I have not missed a payment and mixed it up between heavy usage and light usage. I've carried a balance and then had $0 balance for several months too.

No matter what I still keep getting denied from credit limit increases :/ FICO is mid 600s.

[RehabbingANDBlabbing]

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@sarcean1 wrote:

I graduated over a year ago and was instantly given $2000 credit line (from something like $700 secured). I have not missed a payment and mixed it up between heavy usage and light usage. I've carried a balance and then had $0 balance for several months too.

No matter what I still keep getting denied from credit limit increases :/ FICO is mid 600s.

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What is the reason you are getting in the denial letters? I kept getting denied for about a year after I graduated. In those letter they said "not enough experience at current credit limit." After that, I was denied a couple of time due to "high balances on bankcards," but once I paid off all my credit card debt, they approved me for an increase of $1,000.

[Anonymous]

They graduated you with a score of 589? That's the lowest I've seen on here. Which CRA is that and is it FICO 8 or Vantage? Also, did you have anything negative on your report? 

[Anonymous]

It was a Transunion FICO Score 8 - the same score discover provides every month. As for my credit profile: 

Data Points: account opened early July with a $200 SL, added another $200 a couple months later for a total of 400. I run it up and PIF every month, about 3-4K charged through since opened. 

Also have a CITI secured with a $200 SL that has been open for about 13 months, and a Capital One Platinum at $300 SL that has since received an additional $100, and another $100 from credit steps in a couple of months. 

I have some COs that are about 1-2 years old, over all credit has improved since first secured opened (lower debt balance, resolving some CO debts) I am hopeful that these cards graduate with perfect payment history and improving profile. 

I think also importantly was that since opening the account I made improvements on some of the negative accounts listed. My experience make some believe that if you're approved, then handle the account well, and don't have any new negative information added you have a solid chance at graduation. I'm sure usage may play a role too! Nothing seems to be concrete with discover though! So just my own DPs. 

Interestingly enough citi did not graduate me and chose to add another year for my deposit. 

TU FICO score 8 is now up to 610!

[Anonymous]

Discover is definitely a mystery. I've seen many posts here of people with better credit profiles than yours staying secured for years with no explanation from Discover. Doesn't seem to be any discernible pattern at all with them. 

[CLARKakaSIX]

GREAT NEWS GUYS!!!! Got unsecured at my first chance. CL increase from $500 to $2000. Some data points: opened card 9/19 with a $300 deposit. First month's statement caught me by surprise and so i ended up with $155 on my first statement. Other than that first statement, I've kept a zero balance except for one month which i left $29 on the account. Never over the limit, no late payments. My TU score (through Discover FICO Credit Scorecard) was 551 in 10/19, and gradually increased ending up at 607 this month 4/20. As mentioned in a recent post, I've gotten my credit card (closed accounts) debt down to $1800 from just over $5000 during this time. In March (03/20) I deposited an additional $200 for my secured limit to be increased to $500. During this time, this has been my only active credit card, but i did have one other account, a Self Lender CD, which has been paid on time each month. My secured card got a fair amount of use, $2594 over the seven statements. Hope this information helps. Thanks for all the advice everyone!

[KJinNC]

Congrats, Clark ...

... and grumble grumble about the fact that my secured card had a CL of $1,000, my history was also flawless with them, my FICO scores were well in the 700s when it unsecured, and my CL is still stuck at the $1,500 it unsecured to in December. It is my oldest open card and my lowest CL now. Discover moves in mysterious ways.