Which credit cards to apply for to build credit

Anonymous · ‎07-27-2011

I already have a secured card with capital one for $200 and have had it for 2 months now. I want to build my credit by adding more cards and keeping the balances at about 20% total. I was told the more cards (with higher credit limits and low balances on each) the better it is for my credit. So which one or two should I apply for? I dont want to have too many INQ on my credit so I need to chose the right ones to apply for. I just established credit (2 months and no fico score yet). It would be of great help if anyone can get me sent in the right direction.

Would applying for walmart be good or target?

I live in NYC and have pc richards here as well.

Wolf3 · ‎07-27-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
I already have a secured card with capital one for $200 and have had it for 2 months now. I want to build my credit by adding more cards and keeping the balances at about 20% total. I was told the more cards (with higher credit limits and low balances on each) the better it is for my credit. So which one or two should I apply for? I dont want to have too many INQ on my credit so I need to chose the right ones to apply for. I just established credit (2 months and no fico score yet). It would be of great help if anyone can get me sent in the right direction.

Would applying for walmart be good or target?

I live in NYC and have pc richards here as well.

IMO, the best thing you can do is develop some history with the Capital One secured card. If you have the funds, add some money to the deposit and get a higher CL.(The bigger the better, but don't put in money you can't afford to keep on deposit). Use the card a lot and PIF every month. There is no point worrying about the balances, now since you can't get a FICO score anyway. Better to show Capitat One that you are a good customer who can afford to pay their bills every month.

In about 6 months, I would make sure your balance reporting is small to maximize your score. Then add 1 or 2 store cards of places where you shop. You need to use these things and show a history of payment.

After you had you had the secured card for a year or longer. It is time to add a major unsecured card or 2. Capital One would be good to apply for.

I think it is better to have a few good cards, as opposed to a bunch of low limit cards.

If you have a lot a extra money, you can get a second secured card now, it will probably help a little.

vish1 · ‎07-27-2011

+1

I will also say adding walmart at this point will be a good idea. They give a good CLI after a few months and that will help the OPs util % by a lot.

This IMHO is the easiest way to get some available CL to help util for beginners especially with cards with low limits.

In addition, in the long run this will help AAoA and after 1 year of cap1, OP should be able to get a couple good cards easily.

Anonymous · ‎07-27-2011

I applied for walmart

here is the message i got

Thank you for your interest in a Walmart Credit Card.

You will receive a decision by mail in the next 7–10 days. Please make a note of your application's reference number for your records:

Wolf3 · ‎07-27-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
I applied for walmart

here is the message i got

Thank you for your interest in a Walmart Credit Card.
You will receive a decision by mail in the next 7–10 days. Please make a note of your application's reference number for your records:

Hope it works, if not, wait until you have 6 months or more reporting and your chances will be better.

Anonymous · ‎07-27-2011

if this doesnt work, Im going to get a td bank secured card for $500 as they offered it to me for only $49. Then wait another 3-4 months. How many INQ per year is okay? 1 per month or 1 per 2 months when first starting credit?

Anonymous · ‎07-27-2011

I would suggest open 2-3 secured TLs and CL should be at least $1000 to avoid stucking in low limit hell. After having 6-7 months history, you could try some easier prime like amex zync and barclay.

Wolf3 · ‎07-27-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
if this doesnt work, Im going to get a td bank secured card for $500 as they offered it to me for only $49. Then wait another 3-4 months. How many INQ per year is okay? 1 per month or 1 per 2 months when first starting credit?

Excellent plan on the 2nd secured card.

Inquiries stay on your CR for 2 years, but they don't have much effect after 6 months to a year.

I like to plan my applications in advance. I do about 3 applications every 6 months or so.

Wolf3 · ‎07-27-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
I would suggest open 2-3 secured TLs and CL should be at least $1000 to avoid stucking in low limit hell. After having 6-7 months history, you could try some easier prime like amex zync and barclay.

IMO, 3 secured cards is overkill for building new crecit. I did it, but I was rebuilding with a lot of negatives.

Anonymous · ‎07-27-2011

I suggest open 3 TLs because at some point around 8-9 months from now she will need to go app spree for some good cards and when some of these new account starts report, aaoa will get less impact if she have 3 TLs than 1 TLs. New round of spree could delay if aaoa get impacted too much.