HSBC Question

[Anonymous]

I should start by saying, like many others, I'm currently in the process of credit building.

I have two accounts with HSBC. From what I understand, they only allow two accounts maximum. One is a revolving CREDIT account and the other is a revolving CHARGE account. The credit account is only a few months old and the charge account is 7 months old.

Unfortunately, the charge account is one with Helzberg from when I was engagement shopping and I can't use it anywhere but Helzberg. So it probably won't get a lot of use. This isn't to say I'm a cheap **bleep** and won't ever buy my future wife jewelery. We just don't have any Helzbergs within 3 hours of here.

The question is, would it be better to close the charge account and try and open a 2nd credit account that would be more frequently used? Or should I just keep the charge account with the 7 months history at 0 balance?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

[Anonymous]

There are so many better companies out there.  Personally, I would apply for Chase or BoA if you have an urge for another card.  Don't close the store card, let it report zero balance and try to buy something cheap online every six months to show activity.

[marty56]

Try National City.  They were the first ones to give me a prime card after DMP.  They also offered 0% BT for 15 months and no fee.  Also they will send you the money so it was actually a cash advance.

So far so good with them but we will see.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.

I've applied pretty much everywhere I could so I could simply build accounts with good standings as they progress.

The one baddie I have is a CO from 2001.

I know there are much better options out there, but BofA and Chase denied me both. As did a number of other creditors. The problem is, I don't have a whole lot of credit period. That, combined with the fact that I have a CO from 2001 is probably what's hurting me.

My FICO scores are in the 630-660 range.

I figured I would need to stay sub-prime until that CO fell off in 2008, and in the mean time I could build history with those sub-prime cards. After the CO falls off and I have a year or so of history with various sub-prime cards I could make the move towards Chase, BofA, Wells Fargo, Amex, etc.

Another thing to note, is that I don't really NEED the credit right now. So it's not like I need to convert the charge card to a credit card. I'm just interested in whether or not it would be a better move in the long run.

And charge accounts contribute to your overall util just like credit accounts do right?

Thanks again,

Mike

Edit: I haven't tried National City. I'll look into them. Before I went on my credit building spree (apping, using cards, PIF) I told myself, sub-prime or not, I wouldn't accept any cards with annual fees attached to them. Call me spoiled or whatever, I just don't like the idea of an annual fee even if it's to help build history.

Message Edited by MikeM on 04-20-2008 03:02 PM

[Anonymous]

Call the Chase recon number...My highest score is 609 (EX) and I have some lates on student loans, child support and other stuff...I haven't been late in over a year and have slowly been pulling myself backup. I was approved on a soft pull for BOA Choice Hotels and rec'd a 6k limit. I then applied for a bunch of Chase cards and was denied on all of them. But after reading on this forum, I called and recon'd a couple of apps: approved for 5k and 2k

Chase loves to say yes...

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info. I'll give them a call and we'll see what happens.

Anyone have the recon number?

[unknown_entity]

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MikeM wrote:

Thanks for the info. I'll give them a call and we'll see what happens.

Anyone have the recon number?

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This is the number I used.  1-888-245-0625.   I think you have to wait until tomorrow during normal business hours though.   Good Luck!!

[haulingthescoreup]

MikeM, you need to check into a credit union. Try a local one, rather than one of the big ones that get discussed here. You can probably even print out your FICO scores and have a face-to-face with a lending officer. Tell him/her that you're not authorizing a hard inq, but ask if they would probably extend credit based on those scores. Do the same at all the ones in your area.

If there are several in your area, try asking around at work who uses which one, and what they think of them. The CU's in my area are engaged in a continual membership competition, and they have great deals.

This will add another TL, and it will probably have a decent CL. Most CU's pull EQ. They are focused on customer service, and they are typically more friendly to those rebuilding, especially when their baddies are fairly distant, like your CO.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the number unknown_entity.

Mike

[Anonymous]

Great info haulingthescoreup. There are quite a few CU's in this town I'm in. For the population density competition should be good. I'll take my credit reports in tomorrow and we'll see what happens.

My guess is that I should be able to get a "yes" or "no" from the reports I bring in, but if it's a "yes" they'll more than likely need to pull my reports from their system, right?

Either way, thanks again for the good info.

Mike