@NightTrader wrote:I am losing patience with Navy Federal Secure Card. I had it for about eight months use and it no credit limit increase or graduation.
I think the mistake I made was to put $1,000.00 on it. I should have put $200.00 on it to open the account. Might try the pledge loan. The only issue I can think of is $24,000 in student loans, which are all current and never late.
What are the pros and cons to closing the secure card?
I may close out and get added as an authorized user to my dad's Cash Rewards Card. The secure card starting to seem worthless especially when I qualify for other regular credit cards with Captial One.
Data points
Scores 680-703
5 cards balance $400 --- 3% utilization $14,900 total credit
Bankruptcy file date 07/2020
Discharge 10/2020
NightTrader
In your shoes I'd ride it out for at least a year; eight months is not at all too long to wait.
@pip3man wrote:Don't feel bad about it, you're not alone. I secured mine with $5k which was a huge mistake I made as well. It seems like those who deposit under $500 graduate around the 6 months mark like clockwork. I've tried every strategy from maxing out the card, to no usage at all, to paying in full and keeping a balance yet none worked. We have similar stats, my BK7 discharged July 2020... had the card for exactly 1 year now and got about $50k in student loans with at least 6 years of perfect payment history. Had this not been my first card post BK7 I would have axed it by now.
Wow, I'm stunned, I didn't know NFCU was slow to graduate high limit cards and am so very happy I didn't opt for the nRewards card last year when I started rebuilding after my Chapter 13 discharge. Instead I dropped a $5,000 security deposit on TDBank's secured TDCash card and it graduated exactly six months to the day following my first charge; and not only did it graduate to unsecured, by virtue of the fact all unsecured TDCash cards with at least a $5,000 credit limit are deemed Signature Visa cards, I got that graduation as well.
Have you called NFCU and asked about graduation?
I think it is dependent upon profile mostly but it seems higher deposits may take longer. Mine was 5k and they gave me a Flagship before the secured card graduated. I took 2 years but my scores were not good. I would think about a second card from them.
@NightTrader wrote:I am losing patience with Navy Federal Secure Card ... The secure card starting to seem worthless especially when I qualify for other regular credit cards with Captial One.
A quick search of the forum will produce a million or so threads titled, "Am I Being Bucketed by Cap One?" or "Why won't Cap One give me a CLI?" while a similar search of the Approvals forum for Navy will produce enough OMGs and exclamation marks to supply a classroom of pre-teens for a solid year.
This credit thing is more marathon than sprint. The tortoise gets all the lettuce in the end. 
I have had an NFCU Secured card for 5 months now with a $1,000 starting credit limit. They increased my credit limit to $1,200 at 4 months without my having to deposit any additional funds (emailed me saying I was doing a good job). Curious what will happen at 6 months.
Data points
Scores 620-642
4 cards balance $5,200 --- 45% utilization (Will be around 4% utilization for next month)
No bankruptcies
Are you allowing a balance to be reported to your card?
Last update: 4/8/2024
