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Secured credit card

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athan12
Contributor

Secured credit card

I have a student credit card right and it's been past due for a very long time, but I just paid off all of my debts last week, so basically I'm just starting to rebuild my credit again.

 

I'm planning to get a secured credit to build up my credit making me have 2 credit cards. I was just wondering what company to apply for a secured credit card. My score is at 570 right now. Which credit cards flags a secured credit card and which ones dont?

Starting score as of 12/2012: EQ 570
Current score as of 02/2013: EQ 619


Current scores as of 06/2014:
EQ: 640
TU: 650
EX: 655

GOAL: 700
Message 1 of 23
22 REPLIES 22
daybreakgonesXe
Valued Contributor

Re: Secured credit card


@athan12 wrote:

I have a student credit card right and it's been past due for a very long time, but I just paid off all of my debts last week, so basically I'm just starting to rebuild my credit again.

 

I'm planning to get a secured credit to build up my credit making me have 2 credit cards. I was just wondering what company to apply for a secured credit card. My score is at 570 right now. Which credit cards flags a secured credit card and which ones dont?


Capital One doesn't list their secured card as a secured card...most other places do, like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, credit unions, etc....it won't affect your FICO or most card applications, but things requiring further review of your credit report may cause a red flag and make some creditors uneasy...

 

Bank of America and Wells Fargo and certain CUs are better because they will unsecure your card down the road and give you your deposit back...Capital One is good in that they may grant you a credit limit increase without any additional deposits, but will never unsecure the card!

 

Are you still a student? Maybe you can try another student card, but since your score is so low due to past due accounts, you may get denied :/

Message 2 of 23
athan12
Contributor

Re: Secured credit card

I'm not a student anymore.. Smiley Sad not yet.

 

I'm using a Bank of America student credit card right now. Does having a student credit card gets you less credit score than having an unsecrued credit card? Also, does having a secured credit card gets you less credit score than an unsecured credit card?

 

So basically if I'm planning to work my way up to an unsecured credit card, I should go with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, or Credit Union? What are the other companies that you suggest other than these three companies? Because I know I have a bad record with Bank of America due to my bills due on my student credit card.

 

Thank you for your fast reply @daybreakgonesXe. I'm pretty new to this forum and just started rebuilding my credit score. Smiley Happy

Starting score as of 12/2012: EQ 570
Current score as of 02/2013: EQ 619


Current scores as of 06/2014:
EQ: 640
TU: 650
EX: 655

GOAL: 700
Message 3 of 23
daybreakgonesXe
Valued Contributor

Re: Secured credit card


@athan12 wrote:

I'm not a student anymore.. Smiley Sad not yet.

 

I'm using a Bank of America student credit card right now. Does having a student credit card gets you less credit score than having an unsecrued credit card? Also, does having a secured credit card gets you less credit score than an unsecured credit card?

 

So basically if I'm planning to work my way up to an unsecured credit card, I should go with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, or Credit Union? What are the other companies that you suggest other than these three companies? Because I know I have a bad record with Bank of America due to my bills due on my student credit card.

 

@Thank you for your fast reply @daybreakgonesXe. I'm pretty new to this forum and just started rebuilding my credit score. Smiley Happy


An unsecured, secured, and student credit card all are judged equally in the FICO scoring model Smiley Happy So neither of them will give you a "less" score compared to the other!

 

And I forgot what other issuers give secured cards...NFCU and USAA usually do if you get denied for one of their products, not sure if this still holds true...Hopefully another member will be able to give a little bit more information on what other banks/CUs have secured cards!!

 

And no problem!! You should try posting this post in the rebuilding section as well! I'm sure a lot of people there have experience with different secured cards, and which issuers will be your best bet Smiley Happy Good luck to you and your quest to a better credit score!!!

Message 4 of 23
athan12
Contributor

Re: Secured credit card

Is there a chance I'm getting denied for applying a secured credit card? I know this is kinda funny question Smiley Happy or do I have to apply for an unsecured credit card and get denied before I can apply for a secured credit card?

Starting score as of 12/2012: EQ 570
Current score as of 02/2013: EQ 619


Current scores as of 06/2014:
EQ: 640
TU: 650
EX: 655

GOAL: 700
Message 5 of 23
daybreakgonesXe
Valued Contributor

Re: Secured credit card


@athan12 wrote:

Is there a chance I'm getting denied for applying a secured credit card? I know this is kinda funny question Smiley Happy or do I have to apply for an unsecured credit card and get denied before I can apply for a secured credit card?


There is a slight chance of being denied for a secured card...usually due to a baddie against the bank or just a really really bad credit file...you don't seem to fit that category though, except for BofA, like you mentioned!

 

What I meant was for certain companies, like NFCU and USAA, they don't have a public secured card. In order to receive it, you have to be denied for an unsecured card, and OFFERED a secured card instead. So it's not two applications!

Message 6 of 23
athan12
Contributor

Re: Secured credit card

So if I apply for an unsecured NFCU credit card and get denied but get offered for a secured credit card. Will it show as an inquiry on my report and hurt my credit score?

Starting score as of 12/2012: EQ 570
Current score as of 02/2013: EQ 619


Current scores as of 06/2014:
EQ: 640
TU: 650
EX: 655

GOAL: 700
Message 7 of 23
daybreakgonesXe
Valued Contributor

Re: Secured credit card


@athan12 wrote:

So if I apply for an unsecured NFCU credit card and get denied but get offered for a secured credit card. Will it show as an inquiry on my report and hurt my credit score?


The inquiry will hit your credit and cause your score to dip only by a few points. Applying for a secured card will also result in an inquiry as well, so either way you're taking a slight hit for a new tradeline! In the long run though it'll cause your score to increase, if used responsibly.

Message 8 of 23
daybreakgonesXe
Valued Contributor

Re: Secured credit card

Just remembered! I heard Open Sky Secured card won't result in an inquiry. Also another secured option.

Message 9 of 23
bichonmom
Senior Contributor

Re: Secured credit card


@athan12 wrote:

I have a student credit card right and it's been past due for a very long time, but I just paid off all of my debts last week, so basically I'm just starting to rebuild my credit again.

 

I'm planning to get a secured credit to build up my credit making me have 2 credit cards. I was just wondering what company to apply for a secured credit card. My score is at 570 right now. Which credit cards flags a secured credit card and which ones dont?


You should try to GW your lates. If it's only one CC, then GW them. Can you come up with an explanation as to why you hadn't been paying? Try searching on here under Goodwill or GW, or post in the rebuilder thread. Generally, you need some kind of a good reason to explain why you didn't pay. And sometimes it takes persistance.

 

You do need to be approved for a secured card. And I don't know how that would help you right now. You still have your student card, right? Just start using that a little bit and PIF every month. That will likely also help your GW situation since they'll see that you're using your credit responsibly now.

 

BTW, USAA will only counter for a secured card to FULL members, which means either you are in the military or you have a family member who is or was a member of USAA. Having family in the military who aren't a USAA member does NOT qualify you for full m'ship. They would need to join USAA first. And USAA is a pretty conservative lender. Yes, they give generous CLs, but they are not lenient by any means.

 

 

 

 

EQ FICO 750 | TU FICO 761 (Walmart) | EX FAKO 767 | Goal: 800+

Edits, funky spacing and spelling due to my iPad not getting along with the forum editor!

Message 10 of 23
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