Need a higher limit card - bad credit

[danzig47]

You mentioned that the primary issue is travel for work. Perhaps check if you can get a corporate card through work. I am thinking in particular of the Amex Green Corporate if your company has an Amex relationship. 

Otherwise, you're probablly stuck with a secured card. 

[FlaDude]

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@Skyjacked97zj wrote:

I need to find out what my fico scores actually are, repossession 18 months ago and a charged off personal loan 24 months ago are the big derogatory ones. No late payments or anything else.  

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You can set up a free myFICO account and a free Experian account to see your Eq and Ex FICO 8 scores. They also both have paid programs to see TU and other FICO versions, but getting the two scores is probably useful enough for now. While the Vantage 3 scores provided by CK are generally not considered useful, if your TU score from CK is similar to your Eq score, then the the TU FICO score is probably in the same neighborhood as the Eq FICO score.

[Jeffster1]

Of the 3 secured cards I mentioned...BofA, TDBank and USBank, TD will probably be the easiest approval and BofA the most difficult.

I don't know about Discover. I understand Citi is very difficult when it comes to graduation. 

[markhs777]

Anyone in your family that can make you an AU that has a high limit card?

[FicoMike0]

You've gotten some good advice. Let me summarize 

1. Sign up with my fico and Experian, get some fico8 scores.

2. Post all the ugly details, give the wizards something to work with.

3. If you can get into nfcu, do it. With better scores, they'll be your friend.

4. I'd go in to chase, ask what they can do. Maybe nothing, can't hurt to ask. 

5. As far as a secured card, a high limit that will graduate seems like an immediate solution. A $5000 deposit is only worth $250 a year.

6. Amex is good for travel, good for high limits. They do pre-approval. The platinum isn't super hard to get, but it's $695 a year. Maybe get employer to pay fee?

[Zoostation1]

@Jeffster1Discover can graduate fairly quickly, often in 7-8 months.  I think they limit to a max of $2500 for a secured though IIRC so it may not be great for the OP.  They also seem to be slower to graduate when you get closer to their max deposit.  I started with a $400 deposit and it went to $1800 unsecured in 7.5mo.

[ChargedUp]

Skyla CU. Anyone can join via Consumer Council.

Secured Visa up to $25K

https://www.skylacu.com/credit-cards/platinum-secured

[Horseshoez]

Just one data point on the TD secured card; I opened mine with a $5,000 limit after my Chapter 13 was discharged and it graduated at exactly six-months; my security deposit, essentially a very low yield savings account, was unlocked the same day.

[Jeffster1]

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@Zoostation1 wrote:

@Jeffster1Discover can graduate fairly quickly, often in 7-8 months.  I think they limit to a max of $2500 for a secured though IIRC so it may not be great for the OP.  They also seem to be slower to graduate when you get closer to their max deposit.  I started with a $400 deposit and it went to $1800 unsecured in 7.5mo.

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I applied for my 3  previous secured cards.....BofA CCR, TDBank and USBank within a couple months of my DC in January 2021.  For some reason I cannot recall, I never considered Discover. Good info for anybody in the market.

[Skyjacked97zj]

Thank you all for the advice. I have learned a lot from all of you. I have came to a solution, for the mean time. 

I moved some money and opened a Navy Fed savings account, am not going the secured card route but I wanted to establish a relationship in the future. I'm sure I will use them for something in the future. 

I never thought about being an authorized user before, but now I have a Venture X to solve my problems. It's a bandaid but it's going to work for the short term. Long term plan is to work on my own credit issues and Amex Platinum when my scores are right. 

I still plan on using the heck out of my C1 Quicksilver One and seeing what I can make out of that. I'll keep everyone posted. 

Thanks again.