@Anonymous wrote:Hey folks, I've been lurking for a while, recently joined and got my first secured card.
I haven't checked my scores yet but i got paid today so that should be happening shortly.
Can you guys give me some basic tips? My goal is just to start off a good record, I plan
on renting an apartment in the next year or so, and a house in the next 5-6. Modest income,
like 20k (still in school with 2 PT jobs). Only bad thing I can think of on record is an old
hospital bill thats still in collections for 2k. Any help is appreciated! thanks.
If you have the funds you can try and do an PFD for the collections. Make sure they give you documentation that they will delete it off CR. You can use your secured card maybe once an month and have it report from 1-9% utilzation. Hopefully there will be others here that can give you more or better advice.
thanks for the info! I was wondering if I should go ahead and try for another card nowor let the BoA mature.
I'm considering the CapitolOne secured only because i wanna be on the safe side. When I went in to BoA
the clerk said I should just try for a regular card, she "didnt see why i wouldnt be approved" but I declined
because i felt she was just trying to sell me and I hadn't checked my scores yet.
About the 1-9% utilization, I have an idea what that means but Im not entirely sure, somebody school me haha. please? 
short version basically is your CL/Balance if its over 10 % when your cc reports to cra no bueno.
Ok, your on the right track! Heres what I would do, I helped my ex gf with no credit successfully gather a couple "prime" cards I suppose you could call them.
I would definitely grab that captial one secured, not sure how it is now but when I had helped her get that card it wasn't a fully 100% secured card which is awesome. They just want a partial amount down as a collateral. It was $39 or $59 down (whatever capital one felt safer with) and they start you with a 200 limit I believe. For the next 6 months use 90 utilization or so [UTL (utilization) is the percentage used from your credit limit. for instance, 90% of 200 would be 180. (200 x .90)]. Anyways what I would do is definitely use up to around $180-190 of your CL and PIF! Do that for about 6 months, then you might be able to grab a couple other decent cards. If you in college I would go for Chase freedom and/or discover it for students and possibly even amex green, if declined try again in another 6 months. Also try for citi cards, they are quite easy to get with 6 months - 1 year of solid history. By 1 year of good history you should be able to pick up some good cards. BTW I believe capital one auto CLI the secured to around 700 or so after 3-6 months, I can't remember.
Hope that helps, definitely where you should start though, as I said before I have done this route successfully with my ex within a year ago. And she now has all the cards I mentioned in this post within 1 year of starting her journey. Let me know if you have any questions, Good luck!
@Anonymous wrote:Hey folks, I've been lurking for a while, recently joined and got my first secured card. (BoA $300 Limit)
I haven't checked my scores yet but i got paid today so that should be happening shortly.
Can you guys give me some basic tips? My goal is just to start off a good record, I plan
on renting an apartment in the next year or so, and a house in the next 5-6. Modest income,
like 20k (still in school with 2 PT jobs). Only bad thing I can think of on record is an old
hospital bill thats still in collections for 2k. Any help is appreciated! thanks.
My advice to you would be to check out the garden thread and stick to it for 6-12 months before applying for any other card.
Also, before you app think to yourself:
Is this a want or a need??
Do not apply for creit unless you need it.
