Graduate: no
Waive AF: don't know, I've heard of similar CC issuers doing that to prevent you from closing the account
Secured cards I know of that graduate:
Discover - can graduate starting after the 7th statement. Meantime, it works exactly like the unsecured card in terms of cash back, and you can product-change it for any variant of Discover. This is the best nationally available secured card, in many MyFICOers' opinions including mine. However, it is a little harder to qualify for than some secured cards.
Citi Diamond - supposedly normally graduates after 18 months, but anecdotally, it can be anywhere from 12-30 months with no clear patterns to tell you what makes it go faster or slower. No rewards. Graduates to a Diamond Preferred, which can be product-changed to a Double Cash.
TD Bank - they have a secured version of their 3/2/1 rewards card that can graduate after 7 statements. To open it, you must live in a state with a TD Bank and you must go to a branch to open a savings account with at least $500, which will be your security deposit. Graduates to the standard 3/2/1 rewards card.
I think Bank of America has one or more secured cards that can graduate. I've read here (but have no personal experience in this) that if you apply for their 3/2/1 rewards card and don't quite qualify, they may offer you the secured version, which can graduate.
Many credit unions and smaller banks may also offer secured cards that graduate. I may be forgetting another one or two national brand cards that graduate. Most secured cards do not graduate. You will sometimes encounter outdated information that Capital One's secured card graduates. It does not (although it's otherwise a pretty good secured card with a good app to manage it).
I got my Citi secured card in April. It was the very first card I got this time around. But, I didn't want to wait 18+ months for it to graduate, so I closed it in September.
I got my Discover secured card in May on my third attempt. It graduated in December. I'm at about $80 cash back so far.
I thought about driving two hours to a TD Bank to get that secured card, but by then, I had enough credit cards, and decided it wasn't worth it. If I could do it over, I'd have gotten the TD Bank card at the start of the process and skipped some of my other starter cards (peruse my "closed but still on reports" list in my signature).
If you are a member of a local credit union, or are able to join one (sometimes you can join based on simply living there, or through a family member), they may have some good options. I wish I could join Navy Federal, but I'd need to ask my brother, his wife, and her father for a favor and I don't see it happening. Perhaps you have a simpler path to Navy Federal.
Otherwise, if you are in a state with TD Bank, I'd suggest that secured card as a starting point. Else, I'd consider Citi (if you think you can wait 18 months for it to graduate) or else, whatever the least predatory card you get get (perhaps Capital One secured, perhaps Open Sky no credit check). Once you get a little traction, which in my case took about one month, I would get a Discover secured.
I would not load up on predatory cards, or in general, cards with annual fees and no rewards. I'd keep my powder dry for better options a few months down the road.
Hope this helps.
Excellent advise from above!
I would definitely try to get the Discover secured or something else before trying Merrick. It really just depends on how bad your profile is. One thing Merrick does have is the Double Your Line Visa, which offers a pre-approval options with no hard pull. Maybe try that and see if you get pre-approved?
@Red1Blue wrote:I already have a Merrick Visa card reaching 8 month mark. After doing reading I understand after 12 months Merrick does not release the Depoist but it will increase the credit limit with out adding the additional deposit to that account. I am not sure if that applies to my card or not. They do have another product called as Double your limit Card and not sure how that relates to my card. I am going to call Merrick today and find out if I might be able to get double the limit after 12 months. That is not bad.
On the side note, I have settled my CO account with DIscover and I keep getting rejected for their secure card. I am going to call Discover today and see if they might approve secured card if I pay off the remaining balance. Not sure. Capital One I have 3 accounts in CO status and making the settlement now. I do not think Cap One would give me a secured card. Amex, I am paying off their previous CO in full and hopefully I should get their Optima card soon.
Right now I have very good secured cards from Affinity CU and SDFCU. One of them might gradaute. I got approved for US Bank Harley card and I understand that would graudate after 12 months. Any way, I am on a good start and hopefully should be back on my feet soon with very good credit scores.
My comment about the Double Your Line Visa was because I think you might be able to qualify for that card, depending on your report. As you have mentioned, you have 3 secured cards right now. You definitely do not need any more secured cards. 3 credit cards are enough to achieve a good credit score. If you are managing the secured cards well and your scores are still not going up, then you may need to spend some time addressing the negative items on your report. Opening more cards or raising your limits may not do anything to help you while the negative items remain and possibly are continuing to update every month. There may be inaccuracies that need to be disputed or opportunities to pay for delete that might be able to help you get your reports clean(er) and raise your scores.
@Red1Blue wrote:I already have a Merrick Visa card reaching 8 month mark. After doing reading I understand after 12 months Merrick does not release the Depoist but it will increase the credit limit with out adding the additional deposit to that account. I am not sure if that applies to my card or not. They do have another product called as Double your limit Card and not sure how that relates to my card. I am going to call Merrick today and find out if I might be able to get double the limit after 12 months. That is not bad.
On the side note, I have settled my CO account with DIscover and I keep getting rejected for their secure card. I am going to call Discover today and see if they might approve secured card if I pay off the remaining balance. Not sure. Capital One I have 3 accounts in CO status and making the settlement now. I do not think Cap One would give me a secured card. Amex, I am paying off their previous CO in full and hopefully I should get their Optima card soon.
Right now I have very good secured cards from Affinity CU and SDFCU. One of them might gradaute. I got approved for US Bank Harley card and I understand that would graudate after 12 months. Any way, I am on a good start and hopefully should be back on my feet soon with very good credit scores.
Hey @Red1Blue Curious... did your card ever graduate? If not, did they offer you a CLI without you having to add an additional deposit? I'm debating applying for the card but the double your limit is no longer available so it would be a straight secured card app. Would love to hear your experience.
