Good Cards for Beginners

[CreditInspired]

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@Hut1 wrote:

If she's desperate, CreditOne has a credit building CC. I don't highly recommend them as the CL's are low and she'll eventually outgrow it. https://www.creditonebank.com

Probably sucks to hear this, but she needs time to age her accounts. Disco & Amex in 6-12 mos sounds like a good plan.

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Nope, never be desperate enough to get a Credit1. Patience is a virtue. Just hold out. 

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Raisondetre wrote:
She needs to let what she has age a bit before applying for anything else. You don't want her to have so many HPs on such a thin file. Have her pull her FICO and see where it's at right now and then the rest is patience.

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She has some pretty decent scores, TU 751, EQ 720, EX 790 but the thin file is what's killing it right now.

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That a big separation in scores. Do you know what’s causing it?

[Anonymous]

I agree with everyone else who said it's a good time to stop applying for six months or so.

I also agree with never going for Credit One.

Finally, I disagree with trying for any secured cards unless it's a pure necessity sort of deal.

I'd use the Quicksilver for everything non-Ikea, pay it down a few times a month so it reports a low balance when the statement cuts, and garden. Quicksilver is a solid beginner card, good rewards, and no fee. I'd garden the six months on that, then try for a CLI on it. Then I'd potentially start looking at Discover around that six month mark.

Also interested in the reason for score deviations as another user said.

Just want to echo the sentiment that it's time to stop applying for a while.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My fiance is fairly new to credit, I have her as AUs on my 6 Credit Cards right now and I had her apply for the Capital One Platinum which she was approved for back in April 2019 for $300, after 3 months I was looking to see if she was eligible for an upgrade and I had her upgrade to the Quicksilver after that we needed a new bedroom set so since I knew I was at my limit I had her apply for an IKEA card and she was instantly approved for $6,000

After awhile she started to see how far good credit can get you and understood where I was coming from especially with us saving up for a house in the next 2 years. So I tried to apply for another card under such as beginner cards. I tried Amex Express Everday which was denied for lack of history, a week later I asked her to apply for tha BoA Cash Rewards card and she was denied then she went on her own to apply for the Discover Card Gas & Resturant and she was denied again. I was attempting to have her apply for Ducks Unlimited just primarly on gas since we drive around a lot but I'm not sure if they do well with new credit seekers, does anyone have any suggestions?

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At this point she has too many inquiries, so she should stop applying for awhile.

[jpro]

I’d definitely recommend letting her accounts age for a bit before trying to apply again. You don’t want to be getting these hard pulls just to not get approved.

[AverageJoesCredit]

790 sounds great in theory but in practice means almost nothing for a thin file. Concentrate on aging what she has and after a year, more options will be available.

[Anonymous]

What’s the status of the AU accounts?  Are they clean (no lates)?  What’s their utilization?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's an eye opener for sure, I think once her report updated this morning on experian and seen how the inquiries took a toll. It's a reality check and she decided just to be happy with what she has and figured December would be her early chirstmas present for an approval. 

As far as my AU's, the oldest is 2 years old, the rest are around the 7-8 month mark. 0 Lates, I pay all my balances in full. The most recent one which I haven't put on her report yet is the Paypal MC, I'm waiting for atleast 6 months maybe a year to add it on her account.

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's an eye opener for sure, I think once her report updated this morning on experian and seen how the inquiries took a toll. It's a reality check and she decided just to be happy with what she has and figured December would be her early chirstmas present for an approval. 

As far as my AU's, the oldest is 2 years old, the rest are around the 7-8 month mark. 0 Lates, I pay all my balances in full. The most recent one which I haven't put on her report yet is the Paypal MC, I'm waiting for atleast 6 months maybe a year to add it on her account.

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Yep, it is an eyeopener. And IMHO, December is still way too early. I suggest trying the prequals for AmX and Disco in March (preferably wait ‘til Sept 2020). Every time one applies for credit, it decreases the AAOA; and if approved, once card hits CR, there is another possible point or 2 lost.

Also, before you add her to any more of your CCs, please be sure that it will not count as a new account on her CR. And IMHO, since your cards are still young, I dont see much benefit of adding her to any more of your accounts. 

[HeavenOhio]

@CreditInspired, I think the scoring disparities may have to do with how the various FICO models are treating the AUs.

@Anonymous, when you're looking to improve the look of a credit report, it's best that AUs be at least two years old. (Note that an AMEX AU will always report as a new account.) As it stands, some lenders may be looking at her as having opened eight new accounts in the last eight months. In this case, I'd have added her as an AU on your oldest card and then stopped.

I wouldn't apply again until at least April. That makes her oldest card a year old, and it allows for six-plus months since her recent denials. Better yet would be around July, after her Ikea card becomes a year old. Best would be next September/October, when the inquires for the denials become a year old.