Need a 3rd Card for Rebuild - Which One?

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone,

I’m in the process of rebuilding and I’ve read everywhere that 3 cards would assist in the process. I currently have Disco Secured ($200), Citi Secured ($200), and AU on Disco Secured ($200). I currently have 5 baddies, 4 late payments, FICO currently EX 614, TU 598, EQ 573 thanks to those new cards.

I’ve read that people with similar scores as mine were able to get approved for the QS1 or CapOne Platinum. However, I have a baddie with PRA from CapOne back in 2012 for $387 so idk if they’ll have me.

Open to any suggestions. Thanks for the help.

[Anonymous]

Im new to rebuilding so I'm no expert but I'm wondering what work you've done on the 5 baddies? That is where I would focus my attention. ☺

[Anonymous]

Great question. I started with 12 baddies actually when I started the rebuild (1/19/2018). So I disputed some and paid some. Now I’m down to my last 5, two of which are medical that will take care of themselves once paid off.

[kcos194]

I apped for Cap One Platinum in September and was approved at $300 SL. At the time I had an account at PRA from them, plus 3 other collections that I just settled this past March. Even before I settled with PRA I got an increase in Februrary to $500. I actually had gone over my limit by $4 once, and carried a balance of like 200 something back in the fall accidentally. Since January, util has been below 10%, and just last week I got converted to a QS. Added my DW as an AU too. 

My scores now are similar to yours, so they were for sure worse when I apped. YMMV for sure, but it could definitely be worth the gamble. They do pull all 3 CRA's though, just as a heads up. 

Good luck, I'm interested to see which one you go with. 

[Anonymous]

I had a charge off with capital One when I was approved for a $300 unsecured card. They can be very forgiving, give them a try.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I’m very tempted do just go ahead and app for them. I’m not planning on buying a house, car, or anything major for about 5 years so that’ll be plenty of time for the inq to fall of anyway. I’ll update everyone as soon as I app.

[Anonymous]

Congrats on fixing the baddies. 🎉
And good luck applying for your 3rd card.

[Anonymous]

Since you already have gotten your foot in the door with Discover and Citi with the secured cards I might stay away from capital one until your scores are higher.  They have a tendancy to put an individual card into a bucket.  So if you get approved for a $300 card it might not ever grow that much.  If you do get one keep in mind you might end up closing it later when you get better cards.

[Anonymous]

Your results certainly may vary but, I have a Capital One card with $600 included in my BK from 2011 and I was approved for the Capital One QS1 card about 4 months ago with a $300 CL.  I just received a $100 CL increase a few days ago after my 3rd statement posted....I requested it.

I also have a 4 month old $24,000 auto loan from Capital One.

So, in my case, they did not hold a grudge.  Honestly, I didn't even want to included them in the BK, but I had to.

I've been paying well and my credit is slowly turning around.  Currently EQ is 579 and TU is 580.  It was up to around 615, but came down a little recently due to closing my oldest car loan (5 years) and opening the new one.  I'm sure in about 6 months I'll be in the 620's or very close.  At least, I think I will be.

Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

That’s awesome that you were able to get the QS1 and the car loan. Congratulations to you for that! Based on my readings of everyone’s experiences they seem very forgiving. Best of luck to your in reaching your goals quickly.

Question for you and anyone else who has experience: did you do the prequal on the site first before applying? Every time I try it, it says it can’t recommend any cards, that’s what’s making me hesitant to apply.