Will a 2nd card or a store card help my score?

[BrandonSS]

Hey everyone, I currently have only 1 revolving account.  I got my Capital One card in September when my scores were in the very low 600s.  I havent applied to anything else yet as I've been waiting for my vacated judgment to be deleted from my reports, hopefully bumping up my current scores (see sig). 

I'm guessing I should wait for the PR to come off, but should I apply for a store card?  I've gotten some random preapprovals and thought about it just to add to my mix and credit limit... but I dont want it to affect my score negatively right now.  If I got a second card, I would keep a $0 balance on one and still leave only a 1-9% on the other.

My Capital One card only has a limit of $300   but thats expected since my scores were 600-610 at the time. It is on the "Credit Steps" program and this Sunday will be the 3rd statement cut from my account.  I'm not expecting a CLI until the 6th statment, but would be nice to see one after this one. 

Any advise is always appreciated!

[ficonightmare]

I would wait for the PR to come off before applying for anything new.

I'd also wait for one main reason. Most of us that need to rebuild (myself included), need to learn to manage our debt. Having too many cards that you need to juggle often causes more problems than it's worth.

Not that two cards is too many, but I'd probably wait to see if the CL on this one would increase. From what I've read here, many CC's look at your CL and won't go higher than what you currently have.

Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in.

[haulingthescoreup]

Yes, you should wait until the PR is off all three reports.

Yes, you should have an additional CC. There seems to be little or no score penalty for adding cards #2 and 3, because the scoring formula "likes" to see multiple revolving tradelines.

But in this order --PR gone, then add a card or two.

Unless a particular store card is from a store where you shop all the time, and it gives killer deals to cardholders, store cards per se don't seem particularly helpful, unless you qualify for one with typically high CL's (Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe's --stores with expensive toys.) We used to think that they might help credit mix to add a store card to a collection of bank cards, but if anything, I think it's the other way around: if all you have is store cards, it will help to add a bank card.

While you're waiting, think about what you actually want in a CC. High (or potentially high) CL's, rewards in specific areas, BT offers, general all-around rewards, airline miles, whatever. Make a list, save it, and keep researching.

Once the PR is off, see where your scores are and THEN go applying for something that you know will actually be useful over the long run. Give that one another six months of reporting, and then you should be set for any additional cards.

But don't apply for anything until your reports are as shined up as they can get. If you wait, you'll increase your chances of approval, higher CL's, better terms, and so forth.

eta: ficonightmare beat me to it! And that's a good point about the CL. For your second card, I'd start researching local credit unions. They typically give better CL's than do banks, and that might get you over the hump. If you find one, still wait until the PR is gone.

[BrandonSS]

That was another point of adding a store card.   I was "pre-approved" for a $1000 card from VCF.  We are looking at purchasing a new kitchen table (we have the cash to do so) but I wondered about adding a $1000 limit to my CR, if that would benefit me.  Other than that I have no real use for the card.  We might buy a shelf or two if needed but there are no benefits of the card other than 0% financing, which we dont really need at this time since we just bought furniture (except the new table). 

The PR is off my Experian, so it is about as clean as it will get for now.  It has some lates in 2005-2006 that are dinging my score (60, 90s) but unfortunately, my loan officer will not Goodwill them even though I have had 12 paid off auto loans through them since 2003. Same with the EQ and TU (sans 1 mystery med collection on EQ from 2004 that I'm working to get removed) once the PR is finally deleted.

The things that destroyed my credit was lack of a thick credit file, cosigning for a friend in college that went bad (live and learn), and in 2005 i was laid off and had too many toys and not enough savings to keep up with the 6 months I was without a job before starting a position with the place I am currently.  I just never thought to clean up my credit because I wasnt using any CC's and didnt think my score was that bad... whoops! haha

I've also heard that Capital One Rewards cards, such as mine, wont see a large CLI... Ever.  So that is something to factor in i suppose.

[haulingthescoreup]

Well, you could gamble and app for a card that only pulls EX, but since you only have one open revolving TL, the chances are good that additional reports would be pulled as well. How long do you think it might be before EQ and TU get in line?

I Googled VCF, and it looks like they're through WFNNB. If they actually gave you $1K, it might help; I dunno. Otherwise, it doesn't sound like anything all that useful.

I'd forgotten that you were considering a mortgage eventually. What's your timetable on that again? Because ideally, you don't want any new accounts within 6 months, although there was another thread elsewhere by someone with only one card, and her (I think it was by a "her") mortgage LO advised getting another card.

[BrandonSS]

Yeah I will likely wait for at least the PR to be removed.  I have been waiting so far, so wont hurt for a few more days/weeks.  (hopefully they hurry up! )

Yeah that is correct, it would be through WFNNB.  However I'm sure its only usable at VCF or sister companies... maybe?  No clue.  But other than adding a $1000 to my CL on my reports, there is no point to having it unless we opt to buy more stuff in the future.

Mortgage wouldnt start until next July at the earliest i assume.  Our lease for this townhouse is up July 10, 2011.  I will mention though I am blessed by having a family member that owns a mortgage company, so i will obviously be going through him

I haven't bought a car since 2006 so I'm ready to buy another now.. current daily driver (2004 Buick) has 158k!!!  

So my timeline is more than just the home:

Now-soon: New used car probably

Now-New Years: purchase and probably finance some of an engagement ring

Then nothing until July: may start a Mortgage depending on how things play out.

I think I would like to make the order, apply for Jeweler credit before buying a car, this way my utilization isn't high if the store card shows as revolving, thus dragging down my score and getting me a crappy interest rate on a car.  Buy a car, then go back and get the ring.

[ficonightmare]

If it's strictly a store card that you can't use anywhere, is it really worth it if you won't use it?

HTSUP had a gret idea, maybe apply at a CU? Or even do a secured card where you can control your own CL.