Recommended next CC after a Secured Card

[Dennis885]

To make thing short, two years ago I had 3 cards maxed out (or close), was living paycheck to paycheck, no budget, not saving money, etc.  I decided to use a debt settlement company and in ~ 2 years reached settlements with all 3 card companies (Chase, Discover, First Financial Bank USA).  During the process my score obviously took a major hit, but has come back to the 690-700 FICO range.

I opened a secured credit card (Capital One) in Decmeber of 2018 which has a $500 limit, that's the only credit card I currently have.  I use it 1-2 times per month for gas and pay the balance each month.  My question is, what would a be a good next card to get to start increasing my available credit?  I'm assuming Chase and Discover most likley won't let me back in so soon, so maybe Capital One or Citi?  I did have a Citi Card in the past it shows "Cancelled by Creditor" but did have 100% on time payments while open.

I currently have 1 hard inquiry on my report (from the Cap One Secured), but I do plan on getting a new vehicle soon (finance or lease), so I would most likely apply for another card after securing the vehicle.   

Finally a really stupid question.....if I open a new card but do not use it, will they still report to the credit bureaus as "on time" each month, or will it not report anything?  Not a big deal, I can always rotate cards for gas or groceries, just something I've always wondered.

[Anonymous]

Do you have military affiliation in your family? If so, Navy Federal should be your next stop. I would pick the cashRewards for the 1.5% cash back on all purchases. That can also get you in the door for a decent auto loan too.

If not, I would check prequal for AMEX and Discover. Discover can actually be very forgiving and prequal is solid for both issuers.

I am a big fan of Capital One, a sentiment not shared by many around here, but they do pull all three bureaus so I would check their prequal and make sure you hit travel rewards. If you see Venture (not Venture One), you have a good chance of getting $5K or higher on any of their cards. Run the prequal again and choose cash back and the regular QuickSilver and Savor/SavorOne should be there. Just avoid Platinum and QuickSilverOne, those are notoriously bucketed starter cards.

I would probably leave Chase and Citi alone for awhile.

Congrats on your rebuild!

[Dennis885]

Thanks for the advice, I didn't realize these prequalifies were so readily availble without a hard credit pull.  I did Captial One and Amex, still weary of trying Discover so soon.  I put my results below, thoughts?

Cap One:

Quicksilver Rewards

Savor Rewards

SavorOne Rewards

Venture Rewards.

AMEX:

Amex Gold

Blue Cash Everyday

Gold Delta SkyMiles

Amex Everyday

By "bucketed" you mean low credit limit, hard to get higher, correct?

[Anonymous]

Yep that’s what bucketed means. 

Based on your prequal results, you don’t have to worry about that with Capital One. I would go for the Savor or SavorOne (depends on if you want 4% on dining and entertainment and a $95 AF after the first year or 0% for 15 months with 3% and no AF) with Capital One and the Cash Magnet with AMEX (AMEX only picks three cards and suggests them, if you’re prequalified for an AMEX revolver, you can get any). 

The reason for this is because the Savor/SavorOne does duty as dining, fast food, entertainment, and groceries while the Cash Magnet is a 1.5% cash back on every purchase card that’s got all of the AMEX benefits like extended warranty and purchase protection. 

[rgate88]

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@Dennis885 wrote:

Thanks for the advice, I didn't realize these prequalifies were so readily availble without a hard credit pull.  I did Captial One and Amex, still weary of trying Discover so soon.  I put my results below, thoughts?

Cap One:

Quicksilver Rewards

Savor Rewards

SavorOne Rewards

Venture Rewards.

AMEX:

Amex Gold

Blue Cash Everyday

Gold Delta SkyMiles

Amex Everyday

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It really depends on how you plan to spend your money going forward and what you want in rewards. If you want travel, either the Venture or AmEx ED would be good ways to go. If you plan to hit lots of transactions, the ED would be good with the 20% bonus. That's why I got it personally. If you eat out a lot, Savor would probably be the way to go. Just need to evaluate your personal spending habits, and determine what ecosystem you want to be in. 

[Remedios]

If your file is not clean, I'd go with Cap One. 

Once you're clean as a whistle, Amex is a good option if their cards align with your spending. 

While they will approve with negatives present, they also like to engage in continuous punishment for a while (long time for some).  

[SouthJamaica]

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@Dennis885 wrote:

To make thing short, two years ago I had 3 cards maxed out (or close), was living paycheck to paycheck, no budget, not saving money, etc.  I decided to use a debt settlement company and in ~ 2 years reached settlements with all 3 card companies (Chase, Discover, First Financial Bank USA).  During the process my score obviously took a major hit, but has come back to the 690-700 FICO range.

I opened a secured credit card (Capital One) in Decmeber of 2018 which has a $500 limit, that's the only credit card I currently have.  I use it 1-2 times per month for gas and pay the balance each month.  My question is, what would a be a good next card to get to start increasing my available credit?  I'm assuming Chase and Discover most likley won't let me back in so soon, so maybe Capital One or Citi?  I did have a Citi Card in the past it shows "Cancelled by Creditor" but did have 100% on time payments while open.

I currently have 1 hard inquiry on my report (from the Cap One Secured), but I do plan on getting a new vehicle soon (finance or lease), so I would most likely apply for another card after securing the vehicle.   

Finally a really stupid question.....if I open a new card but do not use it, will they still report to the credit bureaus as "on time" each month, or will it not report anything?  Not a big deal, I can always rotate cards for gas or groceries, just something I've always wondered.

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My advice would be to go a credit union.

[Dennis885]

I wanted to follow up and thank you guys for your input on everything. 

I'm happy to say that in the past week I was approved for the auto lease with Honda AND a Captial One Quicksilver with a $5k limit.  I went for the lease first as this was more important to me.  I had to settle for teir 2 as a result of the negatives on my report, but the payment wasn't much higher and is still very managable.  

With the lease locked up I don't anticipate needing any other credit for the next 3 years.  Since hard inquiries fall off after 2 years, I figured now would be the time to apply for a few credit cards to improve my profile, add postivie lines, increase credit limits, etc.  A few minutes ago I applied for the Captial One Quicksilver and was approved right away with a $5,000 limit!

It feels great to know that in 3 years I'll be in much better shape than I was 3 year ago.   Thanks again for you input on this post!