Need input on my rebuild plan using both Cap1 and NFCU secured

[rubicon]

So i recently rec'd a Cap 1 platinum secured, I was nervous about not getting approved for the unsecured card and then I rec'd a navy federal secured card. Neither of these have started reported and these will be the only cards that will be on my credit profile once they do begin to report. My goals are to refinance my car loan through navy federal and transition into secured and then prime cards.

Here is an overview of my credit profile

note - all my FICO scores are from CreditCheckTotal and my student loans are 10 years old and my car loan is 2 years old

Experian: 597 FICO , 0 baddies, 1 inquiry and roughly 79% of my payments to my car loan plus 2 student loans have been on time

Equifax: 555 FICO  (this is a month old and i have had one baddie deletion and im waiting for a score refresh) 6 baddies (3 of which may already be gone by now as I have PFD), 1 inquiry, roughly 79% of my payments to car loan & 2 student loans have been on time

Transunion: 545 FICO (this is a month old and i have had 2 baddie deletions so im also waiting for a score refresh), 4 baddies (one may already be gone from PFD), 3 inquiries, roughly 79$ of my payments to car loan & 2 student loans have been on time

This is where i need some input from you guys

I plan to follow the standard advice of keep one card with a zero reporting balance and the other around 9% or below the credit limit BUT should I focus on carrying the balance on my NFCU card of Cap 1? I'm hoping for a 30 point bump from each of these cards when they finally report (is that a good guess or too high.low?) and that would put me in the 605-657 range across each credit bureau's FICO. WIth that said...should I

1. Try to go for an unsecured Capital 1 card?

2. Try to go for a NFCU card?

The path i imagine in my mind is to get an unsecured card and then go for a small loan (maybe $300) at NFCU, pay that off and then try to refinance my $10k auto loan through NFCU.

Where I want to end up credit card wise short to mid term is with both a Capital One QS and Navy fed unsecured so I can start the process of building up a nice credit limit on each card.

Looking forward to everyone's feedback, feel free to insert additional suggestions or remove some of my "plan" as you see fit.

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Have you tried the pre-qual for Cap one? Their pre-approvals are known to be fairly reliable.

Also, when you got the secured card from NFCU, did they provide you your internal score that ranges from 100 to 450? It might give some insight as to their approval. Mine was 266 and got a low, but expected SL.

[cmony787]

I have seen plenty of approvals for Cap 1 platinum with scores in the 500 and baddies listed on the credit card approval board. I would check the prequel site as Noxqs indicated and go from there. There are great threads on how to build your Capital One portfolio and credit line, make sure you read those posts.

It's great that you are in with NFCU. For your overall goal, the only thing I would add is make sure you have 3 revolving trade lines and the 1 small loan you indicated.

Good luck knocking out the rest of those baddies. Plus start a GE campaign for all those lates you have. They will matter less over time, but the cleaner your file gets, the more impact they will have.

[RonM21]

Check the pre-qual sites as mentioned. When letting balances report, it really doesn't matter which card you choose. I prefer to mix it up a bit so each lender can see that I can pay it off. Also, you mentioned 30 point bump for each card reporting? I don't think that will be the case. In fact, it's likely to see a drop in scores because of the new accounts.

[rubicon]

Even with little to no balance? I've seen some people say they have seen as much as an 100 point increase from a new account showing up on their report 

[rubicon]

I did not try the cap one pre-qual but I will. Also, I did not get my NFCU internal score but how did you get yours? Do I have to ask them for it?

[Anonymous]

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@rubicon wrote:
I did not try the cap one pre-qual but I will. Also, I did not get my NFCU internal score but how did you get yours? Do I have to ask them for it?

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It was a letter titled "Your Credit Report and the Price You Pay for Credit." I'm not sure if they send them out on secured cards as I received it as an explanation of sorts for my SL. It had the internal score on the back.

[rubicon]

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@RM21 wrote:
Check the pre-qual sites as mentioned. When letting balances report, it really doesn't matter which card you choose. I prefer to mix it up a bit so each lender can see that I can pay it off. Also, you mentioned 30 point bump for each card reporting? I don't think that will be the case. In fact, it's likely to see a drop in scores because of the new accounts.

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Just an update - Capital One reported on my Experian today and I received a 50 point increase. Note this is the ONLY credit card now reporting. My navy federal credit union card will start reporting next month..CANT WAIT
 

[gdale6]

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@rubicon wrote:

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@RM21 wrote:
Check the pre-qual sites as mentioned. When letting balances report, it really doesn't matter which card you choose. I prefer to mix it up a bit so each lender can see that I can pay it off. Also, you mentioned 30 point bump for each card reporting? I don't think that will be the case. In fact, it's likely to see a drop in scores because of the new accounts.

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Just an update - Capital One reported on my Experian today and I received a 50 point increase. Note this is the ONLY credit card now reporting. My navy federal credit union card will start reporting next month..CANT WAIT
 

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Sweet