Should I apply for 1 or 2 credit cards to start building my credit score? What else should I do?

[Thomas_Thumb]

My daughter, now 28, did the 2 card approach her senior year in college with $10k part-time income. She had no problem getting a Discover IT and a card from WF where she has a checking account. Key point at the time was to avoid annual fees and get keeper cards with 5 figure CL potential.

The WF card has been a good back-up with ok cash back. She also liked the convenience of having both a checking account and bankcard with WF. She always practices PIF so APRs were not a factor in the decision process.

If you might carry a balance from time to time, shop for a low APR card from a credit union. Some card issuers may offer 0% APR for 12 months as a sign up incentive but have stiff APRs thereafter. Not a fan of Cap One but, that's just me.

Side note: some banks and airlines (such as Alaska Air) offer AMEX cobranded credit cards.

[GZG]

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@Traveler24 wrote:

Thank you for sharing this. I'll definitely use this tool from Amex. If it shows I won't get approved then I'll apply for the discover card and a second card. Regarding the second card, do you suggest I get the td bank credit card (this is the bank I have a checking account with) or do you suggest I get capital one ?

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TD has a good 2% card if you plan on staying with them, there's no guarantees of approval however 

[Traveler24]

Thank you for this suggestion. I think this td card will be harder than the 

TD Cash Credit Card.

I think the td cash credit card will be easier to get but I could be wrong. Do you know if you can upgrade from one to another or no? Would you suggest getting the capital one card instead of a td bank credit card which i bank with 

[Heatt99]

When starting your journey, try to grow your profile as fast and steady as possible. 

Go for pre-approvals or secured cards that will unsecure.

Go for 2 cards. It will benefit you with more on time payments at their 1 year mark. I particularly like to grow cards together ( 2 or more)

Discover, Discover and Discover. Great secured or unsecured card.

Capital One is good when beginning. Then move on to cards that suit your spend.

GL

[iowe]

My experience having both Discover and Cap One cards for several years now. 

Discover is an excellent choice. It isn't hard to grow the limit on it if you treat the card right. If I were to start over again, Discover would be my first card. I haven't had much success with Cap One. For me, it's hard to grow the limit. 

They will, however, be willing to approve you for a credit card with a thinner file, in my observations. 

Amex is great, probably as good as Discover. I'm not sure what the stats are of people getting approved for their Blue Cash Everyday card, but that would be another great one that can grow to a five figure limit pretty quickly, if you can get in with Amex. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@Traveler24 wrote:

Thank you for responding. I appreciate it.

I will 100% get a discover card. I bank with TD bank. I wanted to ask, in your opinion are there benefits to me getting a credit card from td bank where I have my checking account vs getting the second credit card from capital one or a credit Union?

thank you again and I look forward to reading your thoughts. I really appreciate you guiding me through this and sharing your thoughts . Idk if you're receiving my reply but this is for you @Thomas_Thumb 

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I don't think there's any benefit to getting a card from TD Bank.  They won't take into account your banking with them. And their credit card offerings are not great.  A credit union would be a better choice in my opinion.

[Horseshoez]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Traveler24 wrote:

Thank you for responding. I appreciate it.

I will 100% get a discover card. I bank with TD bank. I wanted to ask, in your opinion are there benefits to me getting a credit card from td bank where I have my checking account vs getting the second credit card from capital one or a credit Union?

thank you again and I look forward to reading your thoughts. I really appreciate you guiding me through this and sharing your thoughts . Idk if you're receiving my reply but this is for you @Thomas_Thumb 

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I don't think there's any benefit to getting a card from TD Bank.  They won't take into account your banking with them. And their credit card offerings are not great.  A credit union would be a better choice in my opinion.

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Hmmm, I have to disagree, TD definitely took into account I was banking with them when they granted me my TDCash card right after my Chapter 13 was discharged.  I received the card in July of 2020 and have since received two auto-CLIs bringing my CL up to $11,300; while I cannot be absolutely sure the CLIs were due to my banking relationship with them, I'm reasonably certain that played into the limit bumps.

There are a few other benefits for obtaining one of TD's cards if you bank with them:

• The ease for making transfer payments
• Getting a replacement card, mine got chewed up by my son's dog, I walked into my local branch and five minutes later I had a new card in my wallet, less than an hour after the dog chewed up the original

[stw715]

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@Traveler24 wrote:

Hi everyone,

I'm 26 years old living in New York and currently have a credit score of 674. I don't have any debt except student loans of 10k. There is nothing else on my credit history. I never applied to any credit cards. I have 0 hard pulls. I've only used debit cards (only 1) since I was 18 and currently have a stable job making 55k a year. My credit score has been 674 for the past years (it doesn't move at all). I want to start building my credit score up and eventually get to 750-800 area. I want to get a credit card but I'm not sure which one I should get (I don't want to get denied). Is it better to get only 1 now or get 2 right away so the hard pull doesn't negatively affect me the second time I apply for the second credit card. If I want to build my credit score up the "right way" do you recommend I only apply for 1 card or for 2? 

My 2 future goals 2-4 years from now is having at least 2 Amex cards and collect membership rewards points using mostly Amex cards and maybe a chase card. My second goal is having about 30-60k+ in available credit in total between all the credit cards I would have by then. Those are my 2 ultimate goals.

If you have any suggestions about what card I should apply for and what else I should do please let me know. I appreciate all the feedback and thank you in advance for everything. 

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Don't you already have AmEx BCP and CapOne's Venture One? And a Discover charge-off?

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Where-to-start-Can-t-get-above-680/m-p/65072...

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Traveler24 wrote:

Thank you for responding. I appreciate it.

I will 100% get a discover card. I bank with TD bank. I wanted to ask, in your opinion are there benefits to me getting a credit card from td bank where I have my checking account vs getting the second credit card from capital one or a credit Union?

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I don't think there's any benefit to getting a card from TD Bank.  They won't take into account your banking with them. And their credit card offerings are not great.  A credit union would be a better.

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Hmmm, I have to disagree, TD definitely took into account I was banking with them when they granted me my TDCash card right after my Chapter 13 was discharged.  I received the card in July of 2020 and have since received two auto-CLIs bringing my CL up to $11,300; while I cannot be absolutely sure the CLIs were due to my banking relationship with them, I'm reasonably certain that played into the limit bumps.

There are a few other benefits for obtaining one of TD's cards if you bank with them:

• The ease for making transfer payments
• Getting a replacement card, mine got chewed up by my son's dog, I walked into my local branch and five minutes later I had a new card in my wallet, less than an hour after the dog chewed up the original

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Ha! - sounds like a dog ate my homework story. Does that really happen?

[Horseshoez]

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Traveler24 wrote:

Thank you for responding. I appreciate it.

I will 100% get a discover card. I bank with TD bank. I wanted to ask, in your opinion are there benefits to me getting a credit card from td bank where I have my checking account vs getting the second credit card from capital one or a credit Union?

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I don't think there's any benefit to getting a card from TD Bank.  They won't take into account your banking with them. And their credit card offerings are not great.  A credit union would be a better.

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Hmmm, I have to disagree, TD definitely took into account I was banking with them when they granted me my TDCash card right after my Chapter 13 was discharged.  I received the card in July of 2020 and have since received two auto-CLIs bringing my CL up to $11,300; while I cannot be absolutely sure the CLIs were due to my banking relationship with them, I'm reasonably certain that played into the limit bumps.

There are a few other benefits for obtaining one of TD's cards if you bank with them:

• The ease for making transfer payments
• Getting a replacement card, mine got chewed up by my son's dog, I walked into my local branch and five minutes later I had a new card in my wallet, less than an hour after the dog chewed up the original

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Ha! - sounds like a dog ate my homework story. Does that really happen?

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LOL, if you've ever spent any time around a Labrador Retriever you'd understand; they have a tendency to chew stuff, and his dog loves things which are brittle and can give her some "crunch".