Few Questions About CC's

[MaryJane197]

Hey Guys,

Im new to having a CC.  I am 32 and never had one before.  Funny huh? lol   But i was told that having a CC is the fastest way to improve your credit scores.  So 6 months ago i got a Contienal Finance CC.  It is the only one i could get.  Im happy with it.  Paid a few fees to have it but all in all they have been good to me.  I have some questions though.

Today i recieved a offer in the mail from First Premier with a CC offer.  Their credit building CC.  It has a processing fee of 29 dollars.  I only have one CC now.  Should i have more than one?  The limit i have on my Continetal is 375.  This one says i will have 200.  What would be the point of having two low CL cards?

Should i try to get a secured card and deposit 1k instead?  So that i have a low CL card and a high CL card?  Does it make a difference?  My minium payment on my Continetal card just dropped so i could add on another card. 

Also i plan on paying off my balance on my Continetal card and saving it for emergencys.  Once its paid off do i still make the monthly payment?  That only has to be paid if you have a balance for something you charge on it, right?  Will it help my credit score if the balance is paid off and i dont use it for awhile?

When do credit cards start reporting to the credit bureau?  Ive had mine for over 6 months now and it isnt showing up on my credit report yet.

[SCF]

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@MaryJane197 wrote:

Hey Guys,

Im new to having a CC.  I am 32 and never had one before.  Funny huh? lol   But i was told that having a CC is the fastest way to improve your credit scores.  So 6 months ago i got a Contienal Finance CC.  It is the only one i could get.  Im happy with it.  Paid a few fees to have it but all in all they have been good to me.  I have some questions though.  Honestly, good for you!  No credit means no credit problems, and now you know what you're getting yourself into.

Today i recieved a offer in the mail from First Premier with a CC offer.  Their credit building CC.  It has a processing fee of 29 dollars.  I only have one CC now.  Should i have more than one?   The limit i have on my Continetal is 375.  This one says i will have 200.  What would be the point of having two low CL cards? I think that you could benefit from having more than one card, many folks see a score increase for their first two CC accounts on their file.  Also a thicker file over time will make you more appealing to lenders and having more than one account makes it easier to only have 50% of you accounts report a balance and still show CC use (which does help your score a bit).  As for taking a First Premier card... not unless you have to in my opinion.  What else is on your reports, do you have positive installment loan/mortgage accounts, any baddies?

Should i try to get a secured card and deposit 1k instead?  So that i have a low CL card and a high CL card?  Does it make a difference?  My minium payment on my Continetal card just dropped so i could add on another card.  I think a secured card with a prime lender might be a good fit for you because it will unsecure and then grow with you, unlike the Continental and First Premier, which will have limited CLIs (if any).  Why don't you pop over to the BoA site and hit up their pre-selector, that will give you some sense of where you stand.  Also, if you app for their regular Visa and are denied, you may get a counter offer of their 99/500 card, a partially secured Visa that people around here have had really good experiences with.  Also, CLs don't directly impact your score, what does impact your score is your utilization.

Also i plan on paying off my balance on my Continetal card and saving it for emergencys.  Once its paid off do i still make the monthly payment?  That only has to be paid if you have a balance for something you charge on it, right?  Will it help my credit score if the balance is paid off and i dont use it for awhile?  Does your account have a monthly "service fee" or bill your annual fee in monthly installments?  If so, you will need to continue paying those fees even if you don't make purchases on the card.  Usually only rebuilder cards have monthly fees like this, which is part of why you will want to dump them eventually for "prime" replacements.  It will not help your score to not use the card because you'll lose points for not showing recent use of credit cards (with this being your only account).  A small purchase (cup of coffee small) will avoid this, and then you can PIF to avoid interest.

When do credit cards start reporting to the credit bureau?  Ive had mine for over 6 months now and it isnt showing up on my credit report yet.  Your card should definitely be reporting to the CRAs by now.  I would call them to ask what's up.  Is it missing from all 3 reports?

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[MaryJane197]

I have alot of baddies on CR.  Ive just never used CC's.  The baddies are from bills i couldnt pay for being out of work.  Bad descion making really.  So its not that i dont have any credit.  Its just that im starting to clean up my bad credit.  I will defintely take a look at BOA's CC offers.  Ive been reading the other threads and was going to go for a Wells Fargo Secured card but i believe ive changed my mind.

The Continetal Finance card i have does include monthly fees.  I forgot about those so i guess i will have to keep using it. They charge 18 a month or something like for their fees.   Yep, my card isnt reporting to any of the three credit reporting agencys.  Shouldnt it be reporting by now?

[SCF]

Either secured card would be good for you I think.  I know some folks don't like Wells Fargo, but I bank with them and get good service 95% of the time (and the rest of the service isn't bad, it's just a little... confusing?), so just do your research and make a choice you'll be happy with.  Also, your Wells Fargo CC will show up on your online banking site with your other accounts with them, if that's something that appeals/applies to you.

Now, $18 a month!  For $18 a month they had best report to all of the CRAs!  Yes, it should DEFINITELY be on your reports by now.  I would call them and see what's up and do whatever you can to get your credit to a point where you can trash them for a secured card or a better (cheaper, really) rebuilder.

[MaryJane197]

Okay i got it taken care of.    Thank you

Message Edited by MaryJane197 on 01-09-2009 05:51 PM

[smallfry]

I would go for a Bank Of America secured credit card.