Stuck in the 570’s

[Anonymous]

So I'm currently rebuilding my credit from mistakes when I was younger. I've paid off all my collection accounts and they have been deleted from all reports. I have no credit cards. I have an auto loan opened 2018 in good standing now. But I had (3) 30 day late payments since 2018. Currently owe 14k. And I have a student loan opened in 2010 no late payments in the last 4 years.

With all that said my credit scores at stuck around 570's for all 3 and a low Fico of 525. I've checked the different credit card companies to see if I qualify for their cards but no such luck thus far.

Update: I was just approved for Capital 1 secured card $99 deposit for $200 credit line.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

[RSX]

The Secured card will definitely help you - use it regularly and keep paying it off - even if you run it up 3-4 times a month

your lates from 2018 will hold you back, but not in the 500's

having the first CC should see a score increase in the next couple if months

good luck on the credit score build!

[Anonymous]

Will it make a difference if I pay off the balance before the statement is issued?

[RSX]

i would make sure it always reports $10 or less - or zero since you only have 1 card right now

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on your first CC! The secured card should help your credit. My suggestion would be..

1. Use your card regularly.

2. Make multiple payments (if you can).

3. Let a small balance report each month when statement cuts and pay it off before due date.

Best of luck 

[Anonymous]

More time will always help to get past the baddies. Having the car loan is good because it's an installment loan. it helps to have some revolving accounts so you can show history of good payments and mature use of available credit. People on here know the math a lot better than me, but I think having around 3 revolvers and employing the AZEO method will help a lot. I also believe building your credit up so you can have some better quality cards and not all subprime cards helps. I would suggest seeing if you can establish a relationship with NFCU. Discover can be a good rebuilder when you get into the low 600s. Capital One will allow you to slowly but surely PC to better cards with better benefits and credit limits. Lurk on these forums and soak up the knowledge that these folks provide. But, of course, remember that you need to be very mature with credit. Having lots of available credit should not be seen as an invitation to spend money you can't afford to spend? Don't spend so much that you have to carry balances on your cards as they grow. The AZEO method will help keep your debt under control and helps your credit score if you commit to it. 

[AllZero]

Congratulations on your approval!

[M_Smart007]

@Anonymous 

Welcome To myFICO Forums and

[Anonymous]

Congrats on the CapOne card OP. First off - no more lates, for any reason. The only way to achieve and keep good scores is to pay every account on time every month no matter what. Never, ever miss or be late on a payment - that's the cardinal rule. Even being a day late is not acceptable - it won't affect your FICO scores because it isn't reportable, but at minimum it'll put you in the doghouse with that lender for a couple of years (penalty interest rate, ZERO chance of increases), and at worst they shut you down even if you have a balance. With current world events and the beatings many banks are taking, this is even more important.

I'd suggest adding an OpenSky card now as well, and then nothing more for 6-12 months. OpenSky has no credit check, everyone is approved when you submit your security deposit.  Let these two cards age together to start giving you a foundation for age of oldest accounts.

Get that to go with your CapOne card, use them as you see fit, and have one report a zero balance (PIF each month) while the other reports a $10 balance as mentioned upthread. Don't spend what you can't pay, and by maintaining these cards and your loan with on time payments and low reported card usage, in six months you'll see notable improvement. At that point try Discover. If they say yes, take it and don't app again for a minimum of a year. If they say no, keep up what you're doing and try again every three months. Disco is well worth waiting for - even their secured card earns rewards and can unsecure in as little as seven months, accompanied by your security deposit being returned and often a CLI (many with a $200 secured card have seen increases to $2000 upon graduation).

And that's really about it. With your loan and three cards, continue these practices and your scores will continue to rise. You'll be in prime card territory before you know it.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I'm currently rebuilding my credit from mistakes when I was younger. I've paid off all my collection accounts and they have been deleted from all reports. I have no credit cards. I have an auto loan opened 2018 in good standing now. But I had (3) 30 day late payments since 2018. Currently owe 14k. And I have a student loan opened in 2010 no late payments in the last 4 years.

With all that said my credit scores at stuck around 570's for all 3 and a low Fico of 525. I've checked the different credit card companies to see if I qualify for their cards but no such luck thus far.

Update: I was just approved for Capital 1 secured card $99 deposit for $200 credit line.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

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If you don't have any other installment loans other than student loans, that will help you tremendously. The top two I would recommend is KikOff and Credit Strong (Subscribe 1000 specifically).

I'm not a huge fan of the Capital One Secured Card as it no longer graduates (but no judgement as it was my first card in my rebuild). Check my signature for my three favorite secured cards, specifically SDFCU. You need a membership to join the American Consumer Council ($15 for lifetime). The downside is it's a HP to join SDFCU, but the secured card itself requires no pull for to apply. You can steadily increase your deposit (thus your CL) over time and it graduates in around 10-13 months. Or, if you get into the 580's, they start approving folks at that score for their unsecured cards.

Either way, it blows OpenSky out of the water.

I also agree with the NFCU option if you qualify. But I recommend going straight into their unsecured options.

Hope this helps.

So to recap, if it were me, I would recommend the following:

If you qualify for NFCU, I would suggest this route.

1) Capital One Secured (April)

2) KikOff (May)

3) Credit Strong (June)

4) NFCU Card 1 (July)*

5) NFCU Card 2 (October)*

6) NFCU Card 3 (January)*

7) Chase Card (April)**

* = Look up NFCU 91/3 rule

** = Look up Chase 5/24 rule

4) Citi Secured (July)

5) USB H-D Secured (October)

6) SDFCU (January)

7) Chase (April)

Finally, the last recommended step is a Discover card in July of 2021. Then you garden for a year.

Best of luck!