What's up guys. I'm new to this forum. I have just begun rebuilding my credit. So long story short, I opened a bunch of cards when I turned 18 and eventually they all got charged off within a year. Now 13 years later, after having no credit action whatsoever, I want to start building it for a auto loan I plan on applying for sometime next year.
My credit report has no history. I don't even have any scores on my experian and equifax reports. My transunion has a score of 524. I do have 1 collection on my report on my transunion and experian that is 6 years old and will drop off on 4/2023. That was from a family member I allowed to use my name for a capital one bank account which he screwed up. Last time I do that for anyone.
So I just applied to 3 secured cards; discover it, capital one platinum and Bank of America (which I have a checking account with). I got approved for the discover card instantly, capital one told me they are reviewing my info and will give me a decision within 7-10 days, and Bank of America flat out denied me.
I'm waiting on the denial letter from BoA to see their reasoning and I plan on calling to reconsider. I find it a bit ridiculous they deny a secured card application, especially with one of their banking customers. Hopefully capital one will approve me and the delay is simply ID verification.
I also got approved on a self credit builder account. So I will have a installment loan file on my credit report which will give me the credit mix many say is good to have.
So with all this said, will it be enough to build my credit with just the discover card and self installment builder if capital one denies me worst case and BoA doesn't budge off their decision? Or should I try getting a 2nd card elsewhere? And if Capital one does indeed approve me but BoA still doesn't. Should I just stick with the 2 cards and installment account? I already have 3 hard inquiries on my experian and only 1 on each of my transunion and equifax.
I appreciate the time anyone takes to read and respond to me. Any feedback would be great!
Wait for the recon results. Don't open anymore cards until then. If you are denied on the recon, I would consider adding another card or revovler. Have you tried any local CU's? You'll have to make up a lot of ground to get a fair rate on that auto loan. But establishing a relationship with a local CU's may be in your best interest moving forward.
Starting Score: 547EX
@moto4man wrote:Wait for the recon results. Don't open anymore cards until then. If you are denied on the recon, I would consider adding another card or revovler. Have you tried any local CU's? You'll have to make up a lot of ground to get a fair rate on that auto loan. But establishing a relationship with a local CU's may be in your best interest moving forward.
thank you for your response.
I live in NYC I never dealt with credit unions. Don't even know of any honestly. Only regular banks which are on every other block in the city.
So what number of accounts should I aim for at the least? Is 2 cards and the self credit builder enough or should I aim for 3 cards and builder account?
I won't be applying for an auto loan for at least another 12 months, until my collection account drops off. I should (hope) have enough time to build a good score. I'm more concerned with getting approved for a loan rather than getting the best rate. I plan on paying the car off early regardless in 1-2 years tops. I'm looking for a $30,000 loan.
Its best to have 3 cards and have 1 report. Theres plenty of secured cards out there. Dont go with the vulture cards. Merrick bank will double your CL after so many months. TD Bank is another. Check this thread out. Good Luck.
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Best-secured-credit-card/m-p/6351955#M647335
@MarkyB I understand man. Im from New Jersey the north side that is close to NYC. Theres all banks there like Citi, Chase, TD, BOA. I couldn't find a credit union near me they are more in rural areas of NY state in your case. I just joined Penfed by becoming a member online. Ideally you would want 3 cards and a small personal loan which would give you a solid foundation for now to build.
@FireMedic1 wrote:Its best to have 3 cards and have 1 report. Theres plenty of secured cards out there. Dont go with the vulture cards. Merrick bank will double your CL after so many months. TD Bank is another. Check this thread out. Good Luck.
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Best-secured-credit-card/m-p/6351955#M647335
Thank you! When you say have 1 report, are you referring to the cards? Only letting 1 card hold a balance thru the statement cycle while paying off the others before they get reported?
@NaimeseOGK wrote:@MarkyB I understand man. Im from New Jersey the north side that is close to NYC. Theres all banks there like Citi, Chase, TD, BOA. I couldn't find a credit union near me they are more in rural areas of NY state in your case. I just joined Penfed by becoming a member online. Ideally you would want 3 cards and a small personal loan which would give you a solid foundation for now to build.
Yeah I don't recall ever seeing or hearing about a CU around here. I'm not going to bother with it. I may end up applying for a Open Sky secured card if Bank of America doesn't approve my recon. I really don't want to open a card I don't see myself keeping but I may not have a choice. Open Sky is better than not having enough cards to build my score fast enough. And I don't want to risk more inquiries on my report applying for the TD and/or Citi secured cards when they may deny me like BoA did.
Hopefully capital one just needs me to send in documents as proof and will approve me. Just curious how the proof of income works? Do they simply need to see any proof of income or must you show them the whole annual amount on the application? Cuz less than half my annual income reported is in cash payments from private jobs so there's no paperwork on those funds obviously. I do have weekly pay stubs from my primary employment though.
Thank you!
@MarkyB wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:Its best to have 3 cards and have 1 report. Theres plenty of secured cards out there. Dont go with the vulture cards. Merrick bank will double your CL after so many months. TD Bank is another. Check this thread out. Good Luck.
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Best-secured-credit-card/m-p/6351955#M647335
Thank you! When you say have 1 report, are you referring to the cards? Only letting 1 card hold a balance thru the statement cycle while paying off the others before they get reported?
Yepper
Some good news, I got a letter from capital one today to call a specific number to verify my identity. I simply had to send them a photo of my drivers license and then I got approved right away for the secured platinum (I didn't bother applying for the secured quicksilver worrying I would get denied). $99 deposit with a $200 limit.
So that makes 2 cards open so far. I'm still waiting on Bank of America to let me know why I got denied.