caligirlonherway1 wrote: Is there a reason why most of the experts on this website recommend Orchard secured cc instead of a bank of america, or a wells fargo????
B of A is a great card to have. Lets say you open the account with a $1,000 line, you can add money and increase your line up to $10,000. Say every month you pay your minimum and add a few hundred to your line, in 9 months you would have a $3,700 line. Well how it works is after 9 months of timely payment history your B of A card now becomes unsecured, you get your $3,700 back or what ever unused percentage and your credit line doubles to $7,400! Sounds pretty good to me! This is where having patience and some money in the bank is necessary. I am not sure about Wells Fargo but I do not believe that with Orchard Bank you can Continuously keep adding money or if your line doubles and becomes unsecured. Another CCC that offers a secured card with about the same process as B of A is Capitol One. It is my understanding that their rates may even be lower than B of A. If you are thinking in terms of raising your credit scores, you WILL see an instant increase. Here is a tip: keeping your credit card below 50% maxed(30% is optimal) is the best way for you to establish better credit and higher credit card offers. Here is how you manipulate the secured card(like I said you need to have a little money in the bank and PATIENCE): open the card with $1,000 secured line, pay your MONTHLY bills with the card up to $500 no more, $300 would be best. Then next month pay it way down and then pay your bills again. With a $500 balance your minimum monthly payment would be about $30 only pay MMP and add extra money to the limit, this lowers your 50% max and raises your limit. Do not over extend yourself by using the card for things you don't already pay for every month. Think of this card in terms of building a stronger credit profile, and imagine where you will be in 9 months.
Starting Score: 583 EQ, 612 EX, 569 TU