First Premier and Orchard

[RichieNY]

Well I am re-building my credit...

I currently have FP and Crown Jewlers, my scores jumped up to about 590

Would it be beneficial for me to get an orchard? or should I save my money and not bother? 

thanks

[Anonymous]

You want something reporting to each credit report.  Crown Jewelers is great to have when rebuilding but they do not report to EQ.  Orchard and 1st premier will, if you are going to go that route make sure you pay the balnce in full before the cards report, and at some point in time let atlease one of the cards report at least 1 to 5 % of utilization to show that you are managing your credit.  I must say that 1st premier is terrible with the fees and I don't think that orchard is much better.  Did you try to go for the BOA secured card?  I can't remeber what score you need but they are an excellent rebuilder card and they will eventually grow with you.  Orchard and 1st premier will not grow with you.

[iltph]

I would avoid Orchard at all costs if possible. No matter what your credit score is it will never graduate to an unsecured card and they will never waive the $35 AF. This is the only card that I got 1 year ago (besides Crown Jewelers) and I'm going to cancel it this month before the fee is due.

I wish I would have gotten a card that I would want to keep for a long time. I would try to get a Bank of America SC, which will graduate after 9 months. If you cant' get that try Capital One.

[shalane85]

I have an orchard card and in my opinion they are better than premier. Try for an unsecured orchard card if you need it but they aren't too good about raising the credit limit. Depending on whats on your credit report you Cap 1 has a card that is good for rebuilding credit. And I like Cap 1 because if you pay your card on time for 3 months they automatically raise your limit.

[Anonymous]

I would go for a secured CC with BOA before anyone else. The others have a lot of fees.

[iLiveCredit]

I have the FP Gold, the FP Platinum, and the HSBC Orchard Bank (secured) card. The HSBC card has worked WONDERS for my score. I (almost) had the lowest score on the scale less than a year ago and now I'm in the high 500's - low 600's—huge leap from the 400's. I definitely recommend the HSBC Orchard Bank secured card, as NO ONE will give you the credit limit you desire if your credit report is ugly—w/ an secured card you can set your own limit. Keep in mind, that yes, the secured card from BoA is an alternative.

Message Edited by iLiveCredit on 06-22-2009 04:20 PM

Message Edited by iLiveCredit on 06-22-2009 04:33 PM

[Anonymous]

FP is terrible in my opinion, over 200 dollars for the first year to have the card? no way!

Orchard is way better, they Gave me a 300 Limit UNSecured card with a EXP FAKO Score of 569 and about 10 Inquiries in the previous 2 months before i applied. I paid a 19 APP Fee and 8 Dollars a month AF. and once your credit is good enough that you can throw away the card, they will give you a better card with less or no fees from what i've heard rather than lose you as a customer.

As for Secured cards go, i would choose Wells Fargo, they will Upgrade you to unsecured after 1 year, most likely give you a CLI as long as you dont go over your limit and have no lates in that first year, also they approved me with 2 Collections, a few charge offs and 7 Inquiries on my TU with a FICO TU of 533. i went to BOA and they denied me for the Secured Card on account of too many inquiries.

Im also pretty new at credit rebuilding so dont put too much into what i advise, but thats my 2 cents nonetheless.

[Anonymous]

I have both.  Up until a month ago Orchard was my favorite card. 

I have had numerous fraudulent charges on my card and Orchard has allowed them to stay even though the paperwork trail shows that the card belongs to someone else, only the last 4 digits are the same as mine.

I have fought with them for 2 months and they will not budge in removing them.