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Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?

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mrcrisp023
Frequent Contributor

Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?

Hi all,

 

Any thoughts on if there is a tier level in terms of which BoA unsecured cards have the best approval odds?  They have several unsecured options and I'm fine with taking any one of them tbh, but I'd prefer to aim for the one that I have the best approval odds

for. I know their prequal is useless so no help there. I haven't had an unsecured card in several years now and am prepping for an app spree in a couple months once my last overdue debt from an old card is paid off and my ITIL drops to under 9%. 

 

Capital One SavorOne: $3000 / Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Visa Signature: $500 / Mission Lane: $1500 / Merrick: $2000 / CreditOne Amex: $850

Starting 09/2022 MyFico 08: EQ 648 / TU 659 / EX 644
Current MyFico 08: EQ 665 / TU 670 / EX 670

2024 EOY Goal: 750
8 REPLIES 8
SDMarik
Established Contributor

Re: Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?


@mrcrisp023 wrote:

Hi all,

 

Any thoughts on if there is a tier level in terms of which BoA unsecured cards have the best approval odds?  They have several unsecured options and I'm fine with taking any one of them tbh, but I'd prefer to aim for the one that I have the best approval odds

for. I know their prequal is useless so no help there. I haven't had an unsecured card in several years now and am prepping for an app spree in a couple months once my last overdue debt from an old card is paid off and my ITIL drops to under 9%. 

 


 

Is your siggy accurate? I would certainly wait to get your Ficos into the 720+ range (at least) before trying. Since you have an extremely thin file, you are probably better off waiting on issuers like Chase, Amex, BofA, etc. I would start with Capital One and Discover to get a history established with the revolvers. After 8-12 months of responsibly using and paying them off, you would be in a better spot to app with some of the more picky issuers. 

 

Also, even after the negative falls off, with a file that thin I would not reccomend any kind of app spree, pick up one or two and garden for 6-12 months. Racking up a bunch of inquiries and what will likely be subsequent denials after the first card or two will only set you back

 

A couple of years ago it might have been easier, but a lot of lenders are tightening their belts right now.



"When prosperity comes, do not use all of it"
Message 2 of 9
mrcrisp023
Frequent Contributor

Re: Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?

Thanks. I have some old creditors that I burned several years ago so I haven't had any unsecured cards since late 2017. I opened OpenSky sept 2020, and that's been in good standing since. 
I burned both Discover and CapitalOne at that time. I already did a prequal with Discover just for giggles last week and it got denied due to my past account. However I did a prequal with Cap1 and got back several offers. 
I expect my scores to rise, as my Util is 61% now because it's still counting one of my old charged off accounts as debt. Once that's paid off next month my util will drop dramatically I feel and I would think my scores should jump at least 20 points across the board. 

As an aside, I do have a current banking relationship with BoA so I'm not sure if that helps. I was thinking of waiting until my scores get to at least 690 to apply, but if not I was thinking maybe just going for the secured card. I'm weighing options. 

Capital One SavorOne: $3000 / Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Visa Signature: $500 / Mission Lane: $1500 / Merrick: $2000 / CreditOne Amex: $850

Starting 09/2022 MyFico 08: EQ 648 / TU 659 / EX 644
Current MyFico 08: EQ 665 / TU 670 / EX 670

2024 EOY Goal: 750
Message 3 of 9
SDMarik
Established Contributor

Re: Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?


@mrcrisp023 wrote:

Thanks. I have some old creditors that I burned several years ago so I haven't had any unsecured cards since late 2017. I opened OpenSky sept 2020, and that's been in good standing since. 
I burned both Discover and CapitalOne at that time. I already did a prequal with Discover just for giggles last week and it got denied due to my past account. However I did a prequal with Cap1 and got back several offers. 
I expect my scores to rise, as my Util is 61% now because it's still counting one of my old charged off accounts as debt. Once that's paid off next month my util will drop dramatically I feel and I would think my scores should jump at least 20 points across the board. 

As an aside, I do have a current banking relationship with BoA so I'm not sure if that helps. I was thinking of waiting until my scores get to at least 690 to apply, but if not I was thinking maybe just going for the secured card. I'm weighing options. 


The BofA banking relationship will certainly help, but I would still probably wait until you are over 700. Capital one pre-quals are known to be pretty solid, however seeing as you burned them before, it can certainly be a pre-qual -> denial situation. That burn is recent enough as to where you can almost certainly expect to be on their blacklist.

 

You can probably call them and make them whole before you apply and it will give you a better chance, at the very least you can probably get a discover secured card if you do that.

 

One thing with Capital one, they do not have any recon options. So you can't apply, get denied for burning them, and then call and try to pay off what you owe for an approval, it would have to be another app. And they hard pull all 3 bureaus. 

You can give Capital One a shot but I think it's probably going to be more likely a denial, but who knows, maybe you get out of there with a secured card. 

 

Honestly, I would app for a rebuild card that you know you have a high likelyhood to get approved for, maybe Credit one (secured if you have to), mission lane, etc and then just sit in the garden for another year or so. Even if you do get approved for some unsecured cards, they will definately come with baby limits, probably be bucketed, and stuck at those CL forever (specifially with Cap 1)

 

 



"When prosperity comes, do not use all of it"
Message 4 of 9
mrcrisp023
Frequent Contributor

Re: Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?

Thanks. I will say, I paid off CapitalOne about 18 months ago, so I am whole with them. Not sure if enough time has passed. I wasn't planning on going for Cap1 again, I just figured I see what came up since I read their prequals are solid. Would my scores be good enough to get the secured BoA?  There are a few different options for that on their site as well. I was still planning to wait until my scores surpass at least 680.  I just want to try not to waste inquiries. I don't have any over the last 2 years so my slate is clean there. 

Capital One SavorOne: $3000 / Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Visa Signature: $500 / Mission Lane: $1500 / Merrick: $2000 / CreditOne Amex: $850

Starting 09/2022 MyFico 08: EQ 648 / TU 659 / EX 644
Current MyFico 08: EQ 665 / TU 670 / EX 670

2024 EOY Goal: 750
Message 5 of 9
Namaste7
Established Contributor

Re: Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?


@mrcrisp023 wrote:

Thanks. I will say, I paid off CapitalOne about 18 months ago, so I am whole with them. Not sure if enough time has passed. I wasn't planning on going for Cap1 again, I just figured I see what came up since I read their prequals are solid. Would my scores be good enough to get the secured BoA?  There are a few different options for that on their site as well. I was still planning to wait until my scores surpass at least 680.  I just want to try not to waste inquiries. I don't have any over the last 2 years so my slate is clean there. 


Do you have a banking relationship with BofA? If no, consider other banks that may be kind to thin or rebuild credit profiles: Discover, AppleCard or some credit unions.

 

Specific to BofA: To avoid the secured card, consider deferring an app until your scores are closer to 720+ and you have 18-24 months of good payment history on your reports. If you have a strong desire to build a relationship with BofA, you can go the secured route with a 680 (possibly a bit lower, buy YMMV). 

~~MMXX~~
2024 Goal$
2023 Goal$
FICOs 760+
Message 6 of 9
SDMarik
Established Contributor

Re: Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?


@mrcrisp023 wrote:

Thanks. I will say, I paid off CapitalOne about 18 months ago, so I am whole with them. Not sure if enough time has passed. I wasn't planning on going for Cap1 again, I just figured I see what came up since I read their prequals are solid. Would my scores be good enough to get the secured BoA?  There are a few different options for that on their site as well. I was still planning to wait until my scores surpass at least 680.  I just want to try not to waste inquiries. I don't have any over the last 2 years so my slate is clean there. 


The fact that you paid them off is big, that really changes things and increases the chances of those pre-quals being solid, especially since you paid them a year and a half ago. I don't know much about BofA secured cards, but I would think it's an option for you, yes. If you wait until your Util drops and that derog falls off of your file, as long as those pre-quals for Cap1 are still there, I would think they would be pretty reliable. They might even work now, but if you can stand waiting it will help. When you're ready maybe take a shot at a Cap1 card that you like and then try BofA after for science. I would only caution against this if you wanted to try for something else also, after Cap1 pulls all 3 and BofA pulls EX(most likely) that might slow down another approval. You can try the pre-quals for Chase and Citi as well when things improve also (or even now I suppose). Some Amex cards, especially the charge cards, have easier UW than many people think and now not only can you pre-qualify, but you can fully App for an Amex and it will only HP you if you get approved and accept the offer, a denial stays a SP.  Obviously as in any SP approval case, be ready for HP either way, but I have not seen anyone reporting a HP denial from them recently since they made that change public facing.



"When prosperity comes, do not use all of it"
Message 7 of 9
mrcrisp023
Frequent Contributor

Re: Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?

Thank you all a ton for your help. 

I was considering trying for an Amex charge card once I hit 700, but again, not really sure on which ones are the easiest to go for. I tried a prequal for them as well but didn't get anything back. I have a slight relationship with them, I've had an Amex Bluebird card for like 10 years that I've always kept around for emergencies and have a small chunk of my direct deposits go in there (income 250k, not sure if that matters much based on my profile. Was way lower when I hit financial issues back when my cards all closed). Any thoughts on going for an Amex charge card?


My thoughts on all this are to go for a few cards on a spree and then basically garden until all of the inquiries fall off. I don't want a ton of cards and don't apply for credit often, I just want to have several cards available to use and take advantage of. 

Capital One SavorOne: $3000 / Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Visa Signature: $500 / Mission Lane: $1500 / Merrick: $2000 / CreditOne Amex: $850

Starting 09/2022 MyFico 08: EQ 648 / TU 659 / EX 644
Current MyFico 08: EQ 665 / TU 670 / EX 670

2024 EOY Goal: 750
Message 8 of 9
Jeffster1
Valued Contributor

Re: Easiest BoA unsecured card approval?

I've had a banking relationship with BofA dating back to 2017, and prior to that, I had a BofA CC from 2004 to 2013. Interestingly, they call ,me a "18 year customer" despite the gap. I had no BofA cc when I filed 13 in 2017 and got my DC in January 2021.


BofA was my primary bank during the course of my 13.

 

I applied two months after DC for their secure card (Secure Customized Cash Rewards). I opened with a $5000 deposit which I later added $5000 to. The nice thing about the BofA Secure card is you can add funds and raise your CL, unlike TD. (I have both). The BoA graduated about 7-8 months after I opened it. I got a CLI after graduation.

 

BoA is definitely a relationship bank. I don't think I would have been approved with my thin file at the time without my good track record with them.

FICO 8 (3/1/24) EX 805 EQ 824 TU 844
FICO 9 (2/17/24) EX 821 EQ 778TU 850
I practice AZEO - NEVER above 1% utilization across all cards.

Current lineup as of 9/23
American Express Gold | American Express Blue Cash Everyday 11K | American Express Blue Cash Preferred 10K I American Express Marriott Bonvoy Bevy 5K I American Express Hilton Honors Surpass 3K I Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Visa 20K | Kinecta MyPerks Rewards MC 35K | TD Bank Double Up Visa 4K | USBank Platinum Visa 5K | BMO Harris Cash Back MasterCard 12K | Capital One SavorOne MC 3K | Capital One Walmart MC 2K | NFCU Amex 15K | NFCU CashRewards Visa 15K I Citi Best Buy Visa 10K I Macy’s Amex 1.5K I Bread Financial American Express 8K l AAA Daily Advantage Visa Signature 6K I Wells Fargo BILT World Elite MC 30K I BCU Cash Rewards Visa 8K I Chevron Techron Advantage Visa 2.5K I JCPenney Mastercard $6K I UCLA Wescom CU Rewards Visa 7K I
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