Wells Fargo Secured Card

Anonymous · ‎08-14-2014

Has anyone had any success getting approved for a Wells Fargo secured card without being a customer already? I know they will automatically review and unsecure any card in good standing after 12 months and I only want a card that will do that. Currently I only have Boa rewards visa with a 1k limit , a Barclays Reward, and a secured US Bank card which they will not unsecure before 12 months if that.

I was lead into Wells Fargo today because of a call claiming I owed a debt to Wells Fargo when I have never banked with them in my life. Somhow the call I got turned out to be some sort of scam and they tried to get me to pay a bogus amount over the phone. Anyway while getting this resolved and verifying I have never had any accounts with them ever the banker tried to get me to open an account and said that they approve their customers before they approve noncustomers for any of their products. I wanted a secured card and she said if I opened an account they would approve it and take the deposit from my account. She said once I was approved and got the card I could just close the account if I didn't want to bank with them.

Has anyone had any experience with getting the secured card without being a customer? I actually have a decent credit score with no lates or collections I am not even sure if I need a secured card, but I am afraid of doing an unsecured app and being denied.

heyarrnold · ‎08-14-2014

It looks like you have two unsecured CC's. Have you checked the pre-quals of banks such as Chase, Amex etc? With two unsecured CC's, I would not get this card.

chalupaman · ‎08-14-2014

@Anonymous wrote:
Has anyone had any success getting approved for a Wells Fargo secured card without being a customer already? I know they will automatically review and unsecure any card in good standing after 12 months and I only want a card that will do that. Currently I only have Boa rewards visa with a 1k limit , a Barclays Reward, and a secured US Bank card which they will not unsecure before 12 months if that.

I was lead into Wells Fargo today because of a call claiming I owed a debt to Wells Fargo when I have never banked with them in my life. Somhow the call I got turned out to be some sort of scam and they tried to get me to pay a bogus amount over the phone. Anyway while getting this resolved and verifying I have never had any accounts with them ever the banker tried to get me to open an account and said that they approve their customers before they approve noncustomers for any of their products. I wanted a secured card and she said if I opened an account they would approve it and take the deposit from my account. She said once I was approved and got the card I could just close the account if I didn't want to bank with them.

Has anyone had any experience with getting the secured card without being a customer? I actually have a decent credit score with no lates or collections I am not even sure if I need a secured card, but I am afraid of doing an unsecured app and being denied.

I'm curious as to why you want a secured card when you already have some good cards in your collection. Couldn't you consider seeing if you any prequalified offers from other lenders and going from there?

Tradelines: Macy’s - $18k, Penfed Power Cash Rewards - $10k, Ethan Allen (TD Bank) - $5.7k, Kay Jewelers - $5.5k, Appliances Connection - $5.3k, Jared - $5.25k, Best Buy (Citi) - $5k, Dell Preferred Account - $3.5k, Samsung - $3.2k, Firestone CFNA - $3.2k, Capital One Platinum - $3k, Mercury MC - $2.25k, Williams Sonoma - $2.1k, Wayfair (Fortiva) - $2k, Amazon Store Card - $1.8k, Apple Card - $1.7k, NFCU cashRewards - $1.5k, CareCredit - $1.5k, B&H Photo - $1.5k, Adorama - $1.25k, Ebay MC - $1k, Sam’s Club MC - $1k, American Eagle - $1k, Ollo MC - $600, Mission Lane Visa - $500, NY & Company - $500, Walgreens - $500, Home Depot - $500, Target RED Card - $500, CapOne Secured MC 0 AF - $500, Penfed Overdraft LOC - $500

Current FICOS: Mid 640s-50s on all reports, Ch 7 BK D/C Aug 2019
Starting scores: EX - 534, EQ - 574, TU - 516 | Total TLs: $91k approx | Total Utilization: 17%, getting this back down

Anonymous · ‎08-14-2014

None of the other cards had anything for me when I did the prequalify except Citi I believe, but the thing with that is it was generic. I asked someone who I know is going through BK right now and they entered their info and got the same prequalified card that was selected for me. I also applied for Discover and they denied me and didn't offered their secured IT card either. The only other mail offers I have got were from really crappy banks with very high annual and monthly fees.

@heyarrnold wrote:
It looks like you have two unsecured CC's. Have you checked the pre-quals of banks such as Chase, Amex etc? With two unsecured CC's, I would not get this card.

Anonymous · ‎08-14-2014

Maybe I'm going about it all wrong. I assumed since I didn't qualify for Citi, Chase or Discover that maybe the next best thing was a major bank that offered secured. But after reading your replies I'm seeing that I should probably wait until I get a bit more confidence to apply for better cards or maybe apply for one and see what happens.

@chalupaman wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Has anyone had any success getting approved for a Wells Fargo secured card without being a customer already? I know they will automatically review and unsecure any card in good standing after 12 months and I only want a card that will do that. Currently I only have Boa rewards visa with a 1k limit , a Barclays Reward, and a secured US Bank card which they will not unsecure before 12 months if that.

I was lead into Wells Fargo today because of a call claiming I owed a debt to Wells Fargo when I have never banked with them in my life. Somhow the call I got turned out to be some sort of scam and they tried to get me to pay a bogus amount over the phone. Anyway while getting this resolved and verifying I have never had any accounts with them ever the banker tried to get me to open an account and said that they approve their customers before they approve noncustomers for any of their products. I wanted a secured card and she said if I opened an account they would approve it and take the deposit from my account. She said once I was approved and got the card I could just close the account if I didn't want to bank with them.

Has anyone had any experience with getting the secured card without being a customer? I actually have a decent credit score with no lates or collections I am not even sure if I need a secured card, but I am afraid of doing an unsecured app and being denied.
I'm curious as to why you want a secured card when you already have some good cards in your collection. Couldn't you consider seeing if you any prequalified offers from other lenders and going from there?

heyarrnold · ‎08-14-2014

@Anonymous wrote:
None of the other cards had anything for me when I did the prequalify except Citi I believe, but the thing with that is it was generic. I asked someone who I know is going through BK right now and they entered their info and got the same prequalified card that was selected for me. I also applied for Discover and they denied me and didn't offered their secured IT card either. The only other mail offers I have got were from really crappy banks with very high annual and monthly fees.
@heyarrnold wrote:
It looks like you have two unsecured CC's. Have you checked the pre-quals of banks such as Chase, Amex etc? With two unsecured CC's, I would not get this card.

Well, what does your credit profile look like if you do not mind me asking?

I personally had the Wells Fargo secured card. However, I closed it after 6 months. And there have been multiple threads on this forum on how this card is a hit or miss with unsecuring.

chalupaman · ‎08-14-2014

I have an unsecured college card with Wells Fargo and it's okay. The rewards aren't that special though compared to other cards but it was one of the first cards that I ever wanted at the time. I don't really use it as often as I do with my Discover, Amex, and even Capital One cards though.

Tradelines: Macy’s - $18k, Penfed Power Cash Rewards - $10k, Ethan Allen (TD Bank) - $5.7k, Kay Jewelers - $5.5k, Appliances Connection - $5.3k, Jared - $5.25k, Best Buy (Citi) - $5k, Dell Preferred Account - $3.5k, Samsung - $3.2k, Firestone CFNA - $3.2k, Capital One Platinum - $3k, Mercury MC - $2.25k, Williams Sonoma - $2.1k, Wayfair (Fortiva) - $2k, Amazon Store Card - $1.8k, Apple Card - $1.7k, NFCU cashRewards - $1.5k, CareCredit - $1.5k, B&H Photo - $1.5k, Adorama - $1.25k, Ebay MC - $1k, Sam’s Club MC - $1k, American Eagle - $1k, Ollo MC - $600, Mission Lane Visa - $500, NY & Company - $500, Walgreens - $500, Home Depot - $500, Target RED Card - $500, CapOne Secured MC 0 AF - $500, Penfed Overdraft LOC - $500

Current FICOS: Mid 640s-50s on all reports, Ch 7 BK D/C Aug 2019
Starting scores: EX - 534, EQ - 574, TU - 516 | Total TLs: $91k approx | Total Utilization: 17%, getting this back down

Anonymous · ‎08-14-2014

My TU is 670, EX 646 and EQ 595. The EQ report is the only one that does not report my student loan payments properly it is an ongoing battle with them. I have no late payments or collections except past student loans payments which are now current. I also have store cards Amazon $700, Sam's Club 1k and VS $500

@heyarrnold wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
None of the other cards had anything for me when I did the prequalify except Citi I believe, but the thing with that is it was generic. I asked someone who I know is going through BK right now and they entered their info and got the same prequalified card that was selected for me. I also applied for Discover and they denied me and didn't offered their secured IT card either. The only other mail offers I have got were from really crappy banks with very high annual and monthly fees.
@heyarrnold wrote:
It looks like you have two unsecured CC's. Have you checked the pre-quals of banks such as Chase, Amex etc? With two unsecured CC's, I would not get this card.

Well, what does your credit profile look like if you do not mind me asking?

I personally had the Wells Fargo secured card. However, I closed it after 6 months. And there have been multiple threads on this forum on how this card is a hit or miss with unsecuring.

chalupaman · ‎08-14-2014

I think I'd try to get your EX score up and keeping working on having EQ correct your credit report with them as well. Perhaps maybe up to the 670s-690s and then applying for a card where the lender pulls from EX specifically.

Tradelines: Macy’s - $18k, Penfed Power Cash Rewards - $10k, Ethan Allen (TD Bank) - $5.7k, Kay Jewelers - $5.5k, Appliances Connection - $5.3k, Jared - $5.25k, Best Buy (Citi) - $5k, Dell Preferred Account - $3.5k, Samsung - $3.2k, Firestone CFNA - $3.2k, Capital One Platinum - $3k, Mercury MC - $2.25k, Williams Sonoma - $2.1k, Wayfair (Fortiva) - $2k, Amazon Store Card - $1.8k, Apple Card - $1.7k, NFCU cashRewards - $1.5k, CareCredit - $1.5k, B&H Photo - $1.5k, Adorama - $1.25k, Ebay MC - $1k, Sam’s Club MC - $1k, American Eagle - $1k, Ollo MC - $600, Mission Lane Visa - $500, NY & Company - $500, Walgreens - $500, Home Depot - $500, Target RED Card - $500, CapOne Secured MC 0 AF - $500, Penfed Overdraft LOC - $500

Current FICOS: Mid 640s-50s on all reports, Ch 7 BK D/C Aug 2019
Starting scores: EX - 534, EQ - 574, TU - 516 | Total TLs: $91k approx | Total Utilization: 17%, getting this back down

heyarrnold · ‎08-14-2014

@Anonymous wrote:
My TU is 670, EX 646 and EQ 595. The EQ report is the only one that does not report my student loan payments properly it is an ongoing battle with them. I have no late payments or collections except past student loans payments which are now current. I also have store cards Amazon $700, Sam's Club 1k and VS $500
@heyarrnold wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
None of the other cards had anything for me when I did the prequalify except Citi I believe, but the thing with that is it was generic. I asked someone who I know is going through BK right now and they entered their info and got the same prequalified card that was selected for me. I also applied for Discover and they denied me and didn't offered their secured IT card either. The only other mail offers I have got were from really crappy banks with very high annual and monthly fees.
@heyarrnold wrote:
It looks like you have two unsecured CC's. Have you checked the pre-quals of banks such as Chase, Amex etc? With two unsecured CC's, I would not get this card.

Well, what does your credit profile look like if you do not mind me asking?

I personally had the Wells Fargo secured card. However, I closed it after 6 months. And there have been multiple threads on this forum on how this card is a hit or miss with unsecuring.

Your report is clean and you have usecured cards.

I would honestly garden for a bit and apply for a better card than the Wells Fargo Secured CC. Even if it graduates, all you end up getting is a card with a 1% cash back reward system.

And if you feel like applying now, go through all the pre quals once again and see what is offered to you. But if you want a secured CC, go for BOA. There have been a lot of success stories of people unsecuring before their year anniversary.