Secured Credit Card Questions

[bott6698]

Hello, I have gotten an application for a National City Secured Credit Card.

1. Would I be better off getting $250 on a Nat City Card and $250 on an orchard Card or just getting a Nat City Card for $500?

2. APR is 19.49% If I pay off the balance each month do I have to pay any interest?

3. If I get a $500 card for example should I only buy $150 worth of stuff to keep utilization to 30%?

I heard secured cards are the best way to rebuild credit besides of course taking care of collection accounts to be PFD etc, so I would like to get one but don't know the best strategy of doing it.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide here

[Anonymous]

1)Some people complain that it is sometimes difficult to turn a secured card to unsecured. I say open one account, let it work for you for awhile then try an get an unsecured card. (I'm not the master on all this though, others might have a different approach.)

2)No. There is usually a grace period of 25-30 days after your billing statement to allow you to pay the balance before interest kicks in.

3)You want your Util between 1-9%. 5% seems to be the magic number though.

[bott6698]

Cool thanks for the info. So I am better off just trying a $250 card from Nat City to get things started then and then after I establish a history possible unsecured cards will be available to me. I have no credit cards now and my credit last time I checked was below 500 So I really hope this will help. Cool about the interest not kicking in thanks for your answer there. I didn't know utilization should be that low. So if I get a $250 card I shouldn't use no more than say $12.50 lol. That seems kind of low to keep using the card but hey your the expert so thanks I will try that.

[Anonymous]

I recently "purchased" 2 secured VISA cards. However, they both new and have not started to report yet. I'm looking to not only be in the 700 Club but to have a minimum score of at least 760!

good luck,

LaSha'

[Anonymous]

lol@me being an expert

Have fun with that 12 bucks

[Anonymous]

Tho I have never had one lots of people on here say that the BoA secured card is a good one to go with.  I've heard that after a year of good history they will switch you over to unsecured.  Go to the BoA website https://preapproved.bankofamerica.com/cc/SelfInquiry.aspx and see what you are pre approved for, it is a soft pull on your CR.

We use BoA and have always had good CS with them.  Plus they are good abt giving CLI.  Good Luck Vicki

[Anonymous]

I don't know about National City but I was 100% satisfied with my BOA secured card.  They graduated me to unsecured after 1 year however many other posters have been graduated in less time. 

Each individual situation is obviously unique but if I had to do it all over again I would definately get the BOA secured card. JMHO.......

[DUISlayer]

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greyhound2007 wrote:

Tho I have never had one lots of people on here say that the BoA secured card is a good one to go with.  I've heard that after a year of good history they will switch you over to unsecured.  Go to the BoA website https://preapproved.bankofamerica.com/cc/SelfInquiry.aspx and see what you are pre approved for, it is a soft pull on your CR.

We use BoA and have always had good CS with them.  Plus they are good abt giving CLI.  Good Luck Vicki

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I've had my BoA $500/99 secured card since May 06, and have been pretty satisfied with it. I do have a question though. If I change over to an unsecured card, will it turn over to a new account? This is a concern, since my BoA is my longest opened account, and transferring to a new card will destroy my credit length.

[Anonymous]

I did not have any problems with BOA when they graduated me to unsecured.  I changed products to their WorldPoints cc including acct nbr change.  The change was seamless and all history transferred.

Of course I was nervous and called them a couple of times to ensure that it didn't report as a new account and that all history was shown.

[Geordi]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't know about National City but I was 100% satisfied with my BOA secured card. They graduated me to unsecured after 1 year however many other posters have been graduated in less time.

Each individual situation is obviously unique but if I had to do it all over again I would definately get the BOA secured card. JMHO.......

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If you don't mind me asking, what was your amount of secured credit with the BOA Secured Card.

And what was your CL when you graduated?

I only ask because me one year anniversary will be in May.