For anyone who is searching or browsing the MyFICO forums on information on the Discover IT Secured, or for anyone who is rebuilding and wondering what secured card to go with, I thought I would share my experience with Discover. (Spoiler alert: I LOVE DISCOVER)
In January 2018 I had abysmal credit. My TransUnion FICO 8 score was 552. I had nothing currently good in my credit file. My only open accounts were three collections (one paid in full, two open with balances), two charge-offs (one paid in full, one with a balance), and my mortgage which had 12 months of on-time payments but before that had many many lates, December 2016 being 120days late. I had some closed accounts that were closed in good standing (a few credit cards, a student loan, and a car note), but anything open was bad news bears.
After weeks of researching how to rebuild and what secured card to apply for, I settled on Discover IT. The main reasons I went with Discover were:
- You are eligible for "graduation" from a secured card to a regular card after eight statements
- You can put more money on your card when it's secured to increase your credit limit at any time
- When you "graduate," Discover returns your deposit back to you
- Cash Back Rewards even during your secured phase
So, I applied online. I paid $200 for an opening deposit and was instantly approved, which was surprising to me because of how bad my credit scores were. Here's how things went from there:
- January 2018 (01/01/18 TU FICO 8 score: 552)
- Applied with $200 deposit. Approved for a $200 limit. Used my card for a few small purchases and paid in full before the statement date, so my card reported -$0- to the credit bureaus.
- February 2018 (02/01/18 TU FICO 8 score: 562, +10 this month)
- Continued to use my card for a few small purchases and paid in full before the statement date; card reported -$0- to the credit bureaus.
- March 2018 (03/01/18 TU FICO 8 score: 582, +20 this month, +30 since opening Discover)
- Added another $200 to my secured balance limit for a total of $400.
- Used card for small purchases and paid in full before the statement date; card reported -$0- to the credit bureaus.
- April 2018 (04/01/18 TU FICO 8 score: 585, +3 this month, +33 since opening Discover)
- Used card for small purchases and paid all but $20 (5% UTI) before the statement date. Paid in full after reporting to bureaus.
- Total Available Credit: $400. 5% overall UTI
- May 2018 (05/01/18 TU FICO 8 score: 597, +12 this month, +45 since opening Discover)
- Used Discover card for small purchases and paid all but $20 (5% UTI) before the statement date. Paid in full after reporting to bureaus.
- Opened a second CC - a store card using SCT with $300 limit. Used once and paid in full before statement date; card reported -$0- to the credit bureaus.
- Total Available Credit: $700. 2.85% overall UTI
- June 2018 (06/01/18 TU FICO 8 score: 601, +4 this month, +49 since opening Discover)
- Used Discover card for small purchases and paid all but $19 (4.75% UTI) before the statement date. Paid in full after reporting to bureaus.
- Used second card once and paid in full before statement date; card reported -$0- to the credit bureaus.
- Total Available Credit: $700. 2.71% overall UTI
- July 2018 (07/01/18 TU FICO 8 score: 615, +14 this month, +63 since opening Discover)
- Used Discover card for small purchases and paid all but $5 (1.25% UTI) before the statement date. Paid in full after reporting to bureaus.
- Used second card once and paid in full before statement date; card reported -$0- to the credit bureaus.
- Total Available Credit: $700. 0.71% overall UTI
- August 2018 (08/01/18 TU FICO 8 score: 626, +11 this month, +74 since opening Discover)
- Used Discover card for small purchases and paid all but $41 (oops - auto charge went through after paying down to $15) (10.25% UTI) before the statement date. Paid in full after reporting to bureaus.
- Did not use second card this month; card reported -$0- to the credit bureaus.
- Opened a third CC - another store card. $400 limit. Reported to the bureaus before I even got the card or any info on how to pay it off. Reported $82 to the bureaus
- Total Available Credit: $1100, reported total balances of $123. 11.18% overall UTI
I found out today that my Discover, which was due to graduate with this 09/04/18 statement, did in fact graduate! I will be receiving my $400 deposit back, and got a credit limit increase to $2000!
Discover's customer service is by far the best I have ever dealt with. I was never on hold more than a couple minutes, their representatives spoke clear english with no heavy accents, and they were extremely friendly and helpful. I am 100% convinced the reason my FICO score has grown by over 70 points this year so far is because of my decision to go with Discover. If you are debating and want to trust the opinion of a stranger on the internet, this is my advice. 
Wow! Thank you for the great story and congratulations on everything!
Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
GREAT WORK!! CONGRATS!!!👍
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