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Hello, first post on this wonderful forum. Glad there is a place like this for me to turn to.
I have one credit card currently (Capital One Platinum $750 CL that has not been increased in years). Upon review of my free Equifax score today (my credit score is 657), after reviewing what key factors "affected my score", it looks like the biggest problems I have are:
1) The credit line on revolving accounts (Only having 1 revolver/CC with only a $750 CL to my name)
2) No mortgage yet [Im 25 years old, and want to save for a down payment till like 27-28 years old range)
3) "Percentage of department store accounts or charge cards to all of accounts in credit file"....?
I make around $50K a year (gross), have about $20K left in student loans (have been paying on time for last 1.5 years at $300+/month; but had 4-5 60Day late charges payments on some student loans when I first graduated back in 2010...I assume these are what are really hurting my score, as well as having such small revolver amout)
My question for you all:
What CC can I apply for that will increase my revolver CL but will also have a great chance of being approved? I'm shooting to up my CL on my revolvers to be about $4000, and I am currently only at $750.
Side note, coincidently, I received a "you are selected to apply for AMEX Green Card today" mail today. Do charge cards count as revolvers? Basically want to apply for a card that will up my revolver balance to $3500+ from $750 i have now. Sorry for rambling and thanks in advance.
No charge cards are not revolvers, charge cards must be paid in full every month. Revolvers you can carry a balance from month to month. the green from amex is a charge, along with the gold, zync, and platinum.
@Anonymous wrote:Hello, first post on this wonderful forum. Glad there is a place like this for me to turn to.
I have one credit card currently (Capital One Platinum $750 CL that has not been increased in years). Upon review of my free Equifax score today (my credit score is 657), after reviewing what key factors "affected my score", it looks like the biggest problems I have are:
1) The credit line on revolving accounts (Only having 1 revolver/CC with only a $750 CL to my name)
2) No mortgage yet [Im 25 years old, and want to save for a down payment till like 27-28 years old range)
3) "Percentage of department store accounts or charge cards to all of accounts in credit file"....?
I make around $50K a year (gross), have about $20K left in student loans (have been paying on time for last 1.5 years at $300+/month; but had 4-5 60Day late charges payments on some student loans when I first graduated back in 2010...I assume these are what are really hurting my score, as well as having such small revolver amout)
My question for you all:
What CC can I apply for that will increase my revolver CL but will also have a great chance of being approved? I'm shooting to up my CL on my revolvers to be about $4000, and I am currently only at $750.
Side note, coincidently, I received a "you are selected to apply for AMEX Green Card today" mail today. Do charge cards count as revolvers? Basically want to apply for a card that will up my revolver balance to $3500+ from $750 i have now. Sorry for rambling and thanks in advance.
Your Eq score is right on the lower range of approval for discover more which is a decent entry level prime card. Most people say discover is conservative with cl's but that hasn't really been my experience.
Credit unions are also generally fairly good with granting high limits. NFCU in particular comes to mind as extremely generous with starting cl's provided you meet the eligibility requirements to join *Edit-There's an NFCU eligibility thread near the top of the boards now. I would provide the link but I'm on a tablet which makes doing so nearly impossible
AMEX pulls from EX usually, and if its close to your posted EQ score its not high enough to get an AMEX revolver. You may be forced to get CapOne card they pull from all 3 three credit reporting agencies and have a annual fee but smaller than most, and aren't CLI friendly after they give your first at about 6 months.
Of all the subprime cards capone are the best deal rewards vs anual fee and limit, they just don't grow with you, after you get 6-12 months with a second card you may be ready for a chase or citi backed card. Applying now may get you a low limit card that will grow slowly. If you put in the time with a subprime card for 6 months to a year you will get a much higher limit when you move onto Chase and Citi cards and higher limits breed higher limits.
@Anonymous wrote:No charge cards are not revolvers, charge cards must be paid in full every month. Revolvers you can carry a balance from month to month. the green from amex is a charge, along with the gold, zync, and platinum.
this is Somewhat wrong. In terms of fico scoring, Amex charge card count towards broadening your credit as you need that with only one revolver. 3 cards are ideal and Amex charge card counts. However in terms of util calculation part of fico, it would behoove you to have 2 or more credit cards with set limit.
I would recommend an AMEX Zync, but it like the green is a charge card. It WILL help your FICO score though. NPSL cards vary on how they help your score...
Refer to this for NPSL (No preset spending limit) cards : http://www.cardhub.com/edu/no-preset-spending-limit-2010/
I would recommend a Discover more or Chase Freedom (You probably won't get a high CL with Chase). You can also see about getting a CC through your bank, because it is generally easier to get. US Bank gives me the lowest APR of the bunch I have (of 16.99% which I think is still too high) and approved me on the spot.
An Amex Zync is a great card to get your foot in the door with Amex. And with the backdating, there is no better time than NOW to app for it so you have the year secured for your credit portfolio future. The Zync is fairly easy to get, and if you prove to Amex you are responsibily with it, you can app for the BCE card down the road and should have no issue with approval if you keep your history clean.
You mentioned you were shooting for 4,000CL's, that is probably not going to be something that is going to happen this time around given your 20k in student debt. Remember, your credit history is exactly that, history. So it is going to take time to build. You, like me, are young and have time to work and build stellar portfolio's over time, but you are in the "proving" grounds for most prime companies that hand out high CL's. Amex Zync is a great proving ground for Amex revolvers which is why I highly recommend it!
I've managed to secure some prime cards using my Amex Zync for two years (with great payment history of course) as I now carry an Amex PRG, Amex BCE (still waiting for my card to come in so I know my CL but I am guessing it is at least 2k them knowing my monthly spend on my charge cards), and a Chase Freedom (at 1k which I will work on them to build up over time as well). Freedom typically matches your highest revolver acct, since I didnt have BCE yet, they just gave me 1k. But, after I get my BCE for 61 weeks and try for a CLI, after I do get that CLI, Chase will be next to hopefully match it. See, it is going to take a while to get to the 4k CL, but with determination and responsibility, it will definitely be possible. Good luck with it!