I really would not go on an app spree right now with your scores. Not judging your scores many including myself have been there before. I was finally able to get my reports cleared up, but I really do wish I would have done what you are doing when I first began.
Once I got my reports cleaned up I only had one TL reporting on my credit file and it was opened in 1997. That card was paid off and closed years ago and is on my file, but is reporting as inactive. So I really wish I would have opened up a secured card back them when I first began repairing. This way once my file was clean I would have built up age which I really do need more of right now!
I would suggest getting a revolving TL reporting as soon as you can and then begin the credit repair process. I bet while you are in repair mode you WON"T miss a payment on the new TL! LOL.
I have heard that National City is a good option for a repaired card and also many have had luck with Bank of America. I know with BOFA they have a completely secured card and a partially secured card 99/500. While it may seem tempting to get the partially secured card some have said that it doesn't upgrade in the future well. I am not too sure about that so you might want to check into it.
I do know that many people have opened the completely secured BOFA card and started with about $200 and continued to add money to the card over time. Then if you have maintained that account positively they will upgrade the secured card into unsecured status and return the initial money. This is a really good way to build a really decent credit limit. If you are able to get the secured card up to 5K or 10K or more (depending on your financial situation) then in about a year you will have that amount of credit unsecured. Not to mention you will get your money back. What is really great about this is that when your credit is good and your ready to apply for other major prime credit cards they will usually at least match your BOFA limit.
Otherwise, if you go with the bad credit starter cards that give you a very low limit and charge you all kinds of high fees you will have a card that won't grow with you. It will help you out to establish positive payment history, but eventually you will want to close out that account because of all the high fees you will be charged and you won't need or want that card anymore. Many people have also said that having these types of sub prime cards on their credit histories after they have established positive credit history actually can hurt their credit somewhat. The problem is that when you go to close out that sub prime card it usually carries a great deal of age with it.
However, if you really aren't in a position to go with a secured card right away and want to get a TL reporting ASAP. You could go with crown jewelers. Not sure if you have ever heard of them or if they are mentioned alot on this board because I am new to this board. This is what I did to get started even though I had a clean file it was just as hard to get any approvals w/o any active pos. TL's reporting. So I applied for a Crown account because it was a guaranteed approval. I checked all 3 of my reports and they never even pulled a soft inquiry! So, as long as you provide them with correct information when applying so they can verify it, they will approve you. In order to get them to report on your credit reports you have to buy something from them. Just be sure not to go overboard with their cheap overpriced jewelry. This really isn't a card you will want to use often. Just use it enough to accomplish your goal. They will approve you for somewhere in between $500 and $1500. They approved me for $1500 and they report my credit limit as being $1500. I purchased a pair of sterling silver earings for about $50. So buy something reasonably priced because you will be required to make a down payment right away. I believe my down payment was $10 and then I had to pay shipping upfront. Once I did this they began reporting very quickly. I noticed that w/i 10 days they had reported, but YMMV. Once you have made 6 payments on time they will not require a down payment from you. Like I said though, I am NOT a fan of their jewelry so I don't suggest buying any of their gold or diamonds. You really cannot go wrong with something simple like a pair of silver hoops. If you are a guy then maybe a gift for a GF, wife or mother.
Hope this helps and sorry for the long post. I have never been good at getting straight to the point! LOL
IN GOD WE TRUST ~ ALL OTHERS MUST DOCUMENT!
