I don't think running a bunch through the card is really nessessary, especially with NFCU, maybe credit unions in general. Just use it for your everyday stuff as your secondary or whatever card when your primary is coming up on its due date and statement cut off. With their being a CU they shouldn't value spend or usage like the for profit banks/issuers will. I think I saw before that you had a bunch of recent inquiries which is why the only option you had was the secured card, I think they just want you to prove the inquries weren't a red flag of credit seeking behavior while under financial distress so just continue work on it, do that gardening and continue to improve your relationship, besides the card what other accounts do you have with them?
There's even a chance after some time, even if the card hasn't graduated, they'll approve you for a second card while the other is still secured as I think others have experienced.
@MrZero @Thank you for your response that does make sense. I have a checking and a savings account with them currently that I actually do not use since all of my direct deposits run through chase currently and I do not think I am going to switch. However, I just recently opened up one of their high yield 12 month CDs for $3k and put about $2k in a money market with them. I wanted to space out savings into different products due to the economic uncertainty and liquidate some of my investments just in case! I was considering moving up to $11k over to them to split it between them and chase savings but I am not sure I trust their accounts just yet since I just opened accounts with them last month and I do not want to aggregate too much with one bank.
also, that is a good point. I do believe it was a prove yourself offer and I am planning on gardening for a year anyway due to mortgage shopping next summer (assuming the economy bounces back) so I won't have any inquiries over the next 12 months. I went on an app spree in the past 6 months getting 6 new cards in this time span including nfcu. I am sure with everything going on they just want to see I am not using credit to live on and am continuing to PIF every month. Hopefully they graduate me at the 6months! I plan to only spend $100-$200 a month on this card just for coffee/occasionally food using my chase and Amex cards for the bulk of spending.
hopefully this is more of a temporary card that will graduate once they see no new credit in 6 months or no new inquiries
then it will become more useable!
Hello Jds,
My card just recently graduated on 5/7/20 right after the 6th statement generated. It was my daily driver card and I used it for everything. I always let the statements report a balance up to as much as 997/1000 on the 5th statement. I paid it off of course, and had a $0 balance before the 6th statement cut.
As MrZero mentioned above, I applied for a second card (More Rewards) after 5 months of having the secured card, and was approved for 15K. I also learned from a couple members on here that you could request for CLI immediately after your card has graduated. I asked for 10K and they counter offered me w/ $4,500K limit.
Your Fico 9 score is very similar to mine - 680, so if you treat the card right, there's a good chance the card will graduate on time. Good luck!!!
@pt91978 wrote:Hello Jds,
My card just recently graduated on 5/7/20 right after the 6th statement generated. It was my daily driver card and I used it for everything. I always let the statements report a balance up to as much as 997/1000 on the 5th statement. I paid it off of course, and had a $0 balance before the 6th statement cut.
As MrZero mentioned above, I applied for a second card (More Rewards) after 5 months of having the secured card, and was approved for 15K. I also learned from a couple members on here that you could request for CLI immediately after your card has graduated. I asked for 10K and they counter offered me w/ $4,500K limit.
Your Fico 9 score is very similar to mine - 680, so if you treat the card right, there's a good chance the card will graduate on time. Good luck!!!
@pt91978, Love a great Navy success story