Need help deciding on CC - Thin Credit

[Anonymous]

I apologize in advance if I've placed this in the wrong forum or if there is a standard way to ask these kind of questions.

731 FICO - viewed through my bank

729 TU - viewed through CreditKarma

715 EQ - viewed through CreditKarma

My DTI ratio is 16%

I have not had a CC in the past 8 years, I have adequate savings, relatively high income, and live within my means.  I want to get a card to 'build' my credit and I recently applied for CHASE freedom 1.5% cash back card and was denied.  The  Number one on list of reasons for denial was no current credit card.  Their card acquistion score scored me significantly lower than my credit scores. This was the only inquiry in 1.5 years.  I have student loan and auto loan with perfect payment history both approximately 3 years old.  The balances on these is manageable and included in my DTI.   I had a $60 on collections from 2013 which i paid off approximately 6 months ago. 

I really would like a cash back card but am worried I will be denied for same reason above.  So I  am left with two options:

1.  Apply for a cash back card from another company, or possibly through my institution (I would like to avoid this as I don't want to consolidate more there) - Does my current banking relationship affect approval odds.  My last credit card was through them as well.  I figure if I am denied I can then apply for a more basic card.

2.  Apply for a basic 'platinum' card and hopefully upgrade it to a 1.5% cash back card (for example moving from capital one platinum to capital one quicksilver)?

I am looking for advice on which route to go down.  I am worried about too many inquiries on my credit report if i apply for another cash back card and then have to apply for a basic card?   Thank you for your help.

[pipeguy]

Check out the prequalify page on Discover and Capital One, both tend to approve "starter cards" (don't go sub-prime like CreditOne), at the very least you can go "secured" through a credit union or Discover. Note that Chase tends to not be a usual "first card" lender. 

[Batsamandrobin]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I apologize in advance if I've placed this in the wrong forum or if there is a standard way to ask these kind of questions.

731 FICO - viewed through my bank

729 TU - viewed through CreditKarma

715 EQ - viewed through CreditKarma

My DTI ratio is 16%

I have not had a CC in the past 8 years, I have adequate savings, relatively high income, and live within my means.  I want to get a card to 'build' my credit and I recently applied for CHASE freedom 1.5% cash back card and was denied.  The  Number one on list of reasons for denial was no current credit card.  Their card acquistion score scored me significantly lower than my credit scores. This was the only inquiry in 1.5 years.  I have student loan and auto loan with perfect payment history both approximately 3 years old.  The balances on these is manageable and included in my DTI.   I had a $60 on collections from 2013 which i paid off approximately 6 months ago. 

I really would like a cash back card but am worried I will be denied for same reason above.  So I  am left with two options:

1.  Apply for a cash back card from another company, or possibly through my institution (I would like to avoid this as I don't want to consolidate more there) - Does my current banking relationship affect approval odds.  My last credit card was through them as well.  I figure if I am denied I can then apply for a more basic card.

2.  Apply for a basic 'platinum' card and hopefully upgrade it to a 1.5% cash back card (for example moving from capital one platinum to capital one quicksilver)?

I am looking for advice on which route to go down.  I am worried about too many inquiries on my credit report if i apply for another cash back card and then have to apply for a basic card?   Thank you for your help.

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I know you don't want to apply for a card with your institution, but with a thin file it might help. Some banks really value a standing "relationship" and weigh that factor when reviewing credit applications. When I got my U.S. Bank Cash+, for example, I had a file that was almost identical to yours and I was able to get approved with a $5,000 starting limit. I applied in-brach with a banker and had been banking with U.S. Bank for about 3 years. 

As others have said, Discover and Capital One are also good options. Based on what you're looking for, I thinking Discover would be a better fit since the It provides some cash back benefits. Whatever you decide, good luck and let us know how it goes!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the replys,  I went through and did the prequalify on Discover's site and then applied and was approved for Discover it!  Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Discover is by far one of the best cards for people with some but not a lot of credit history. I got denied a few times as a student, but eventually I was pre-approved after having a Cap1 Platinum for ~5 months.

Has good cash back offers, and the customer service and fraud protection are about on par with Amex. When I got mine, I got it from the mail and went out on a trip the same day, forgetting to activate it. I called Discover from a gas station in the middle of Ohio after the card got denied (as soon as it got denied at the pump it clicked that in the midst of the excitement I had forgotten to activate it), also informed them that the card had a typo on the name. Took maybe 5 minutes total to get the card activated and to get a replacement card requested (without me even asking, I just told the guy my name is X and in the card it appears as X minus a letter).