Non predatory Credit Cards for Rebuilding.

NimbusIII · ‎02-11-2020

After reading a few posts today I thought I would offer up to people looking to rebuild a source for a few cards that are worth pursuing as you look to rebuild. There is a distinct difference between "Predatory" and "Rebuild" lenders. Predatory lenders cards have fees for just about everything, they will also try and entice you with credit line increase in the form of cash advance checks on your accounts. Interest rates can also be considerably higher, but you are also rebuilding and that is to be somewhat expected. Interest also only becomes and issue if you carry a regular balance. A "rebuild card" is a card with no fee(s) but available to to people with less than standard credit scores, they typically have low credit limits and grow over time much like a secured card. Here are a few options for those looking to rebuild:

https://www.ollocard.com/ - a great start, No fees across the board, this includes late fees!

https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/platinum/ - also has a Prepaid version if you don't qualify (no not recommend if you burned Cap1)

https://www.petalcard.com/ - No fees, better yet NO Credit score needed to get in the door.

https://www.deserve.com/ - Has pre-qualification tool (don't take unnecessary Hard Inquiries)

https://www.nasafcu.com/personal/credit-cards/credit-card-features/visa-classic - solid card with good credit union backing designed for rebuilding credit

weather you are recovering from mistakes, just starting out, or trying to reestablish from a BK there are better choices to be made.

“The man who says he can, and the man who says he can not… Are both correct.”

gdale6 · ‎02-13-2020

Thank you for posting this info.

wantitgone · ‎02-13-2020

Just for some DPs. I have the Ollo card, which is great, but the Nasa card denied me and they cited BK as the reason, so not sure they can be recommended for rebuilding post-bk.

FICO 8 on 5/31/19 ~~ EQ: 608, TU: 545, EX: 585
BK 7 DC 7/9/19
FICO 8 on 01/31/2023 ~~ EQ: 693, TU: 677, EX: 678

NFCU CLOC $1,000

Apple Card 4,500
Williams Sonoma $1,250
NFCU CashRewards $2,500
NFCU Flagship $12,100
Navy Federal Platinum $25,000
PenFed Pathfinder $12,500
Kemba CU Platinum $3,500
Amazon Store Card (Synchrony) $1500
Paypal Credit $850
Capital One QS $2,000
Capital One Spark $2,000
Overstock Store Card $2,150

AAoA: EQ - 7y9mo, TU - 7y8mo, EX - 5yr7mo (as of 01/31/2023); INQ are 2 EQ, 6 TU, and 5 EX.

New Auto Loan with NFCU (May 2022): 32k for 3.49%/60 months

My DPs: as of January 2023, I am full-time employed, 55k/year, 2 federal consolidated loans plus 3 new student loans, had perfect payment history with 0 derogs until 90 day lates prior to filing BK in March 2019.

Anonymous · ‎02-13-2020

Ollo card seems to be by invite only?
thanks for sharing! Will look into the other cards

Anonymous · ‎02-13-2020

@Anonymous wrote:
Ollo card seems to be by invite only?
thanks for sharing! Will look into the other cards

Not that i would ever say that looking at Credit Karma is good for anything but accounts and posting dates for cards, they did have a pre-approved notice on there, only reason i knew it existed. Might be worth a look if you need another card to rebuild.

Anonymous · ‎02-13-2020

Most CUs are BK friendly. If you are only getting predatory credit card offers, it's a good idea to start calling local CUs and explaining your situation.

NimbusIII · ‎02-14-2020

@wantitgone wrote:
Just for some DPs. I have the Ollo card, which is great, but the Nasa card denied me and they cited BK as the reason, so not sure they can be recommended for rebuilding post-bk.

I see your BK is relatively new. I believe you have to be between 6 months to a year from discharge for NASA.

“The man who says he can, and the man who says he can not… Are both correct.”

NimbusIII · ‎02-14-2020

@Anonymous wrote:
Ollo card seems to be by invite only?
thanks for sharing! Will look into the other cards

It is sort of invite only. The app form can be found in credit karma and experian under the cards tab. Part of there model is they are seeking people who are looking to improve their situation.

“The man who says he can, and the man who says he can not… Are both correct.”

Anonymous · ‎02-14-2020

This is great!
tho sometimes only predatory cards will let you in (eg BK7). The least predatory seemed like Indigo, Blaze MC, Merrick, and Mission Lane... they seemed like the lowest AFs and unlike some Credit One cards, they have grace periods before charging interest.

Just a note on Petal, which constantly shows up for me in Mint and Credit Sesame, and from whom I get weekly Apply Now e-mails, if you ever applied and were denied (like I did last August 4 months post BK 7 DC), you can never get back in. You get to the end of the application process with an error... click on the FAQs Why Did I Get This Error, and they tell you that if you applied in the past, you cannot apply again, and that they are working on fixing this. I even contacted them to verify this. Not sure this is the rule with all cards (Cap1 is sux months).

Red1Blue · ‎02-14-2020

Three cards I would like to add to this list are these 3 secured cards

1. Affinity Federal Credit Union ( New Jersey). No credit Check. No AF. 11.9% interest. This might graduate

2. State Department Federal Credit Union. They pull credit report but they do not count the score towards the approval. No AF. 13.9%

3. OpenSky. They do not pull or do credit check. Average interest rate and $35 AF which is not bad. No other hidden fees. No fuss card.