If you obtain the secured card, which I'm quite sure it will be with a high annual fee and low line of secured funds, it will help under the followi
To never let a statement balance exceed 28.9% report to bureaus. Pay your bill without fail on time, before due date each month, and set up an auto pay as insurance against forgetfulness.
You only want a "start" on the card, not long term. You want to move on as your credit improves to Bank Cards with no annual fees, and rewards, being cash back, good lines of credit and rewards you with credit line increases on your good pay history.
I will say, please, please be very patient on this journey. It will be awhile before you see the scores really improve well. By all means, yes, yes, call the collection agencies you plan on paying in full, plead your case of mishandling earlier credit problems, not understanding and you want to rectify the situation and do what is right by paying what is due, and plead for pay for deletes (it will remove the account as if you never had it).
Some you might have luck with, others you won't. You will just have to pay and let them show 0 balance and they will eventually age off your credit file.
Your auto loan, you have 2 months on time payment. Keep it up, each month-here on out. After a year of flawless pay, you goodwill letter to try to get them to start to consideration of removing some of the early late pays, as this will also hinder your scores the full term of loan even after it's paid and closed. There is a thread about goodwill saturation technique on the forums.
As your scores begin to move up, then try pre-qual with major banks, Capital One, and Discover are two that come to mind. It might be secured at beginning, but it gets your foot in with the banks, and eventually will graduate to unsecured. At this time, you want to close the "starter card" if it's subprime, Credit One, etc, with excessive annual fees, no rewards and never extends credit lines.
Patience, patience.
