Need advise on getting higher score

Anonymous · ‎10-21-2020

I just received my first fico score from experian (708) after my first 6 months of having a self lender loan and a first progress secured card ($200)

any suggestions on what I can do to get my score up more and qualify for unsecured cards ? I just tried the Amex pre-qualified but no offers.. should I become a AU on somebody's account with long history or just keep paying off these cards ? My goal is to be able to lease a new car probably after the holidays/lease some small business equipment and get a unsecured card to have on hand just in case of emergency.

Face_Value · ‎10-21-2020

I saw my first score in July after I had my auto loan for 6 months. I checked the prequal page at Discover. They gave me my first unsecured card. It is said they like thin clean files.

Iusedtolurk · ‎10-25-2020

@Anonymous wrote:
I just received my first fico score from experian (708) after my first 6 months of having a self lender loan and a first progress secured card ($200)

any suggestions on what I can do to get my score up more and qualify for unsecured cards ? I just tried the Amex pre-qualified but no offers.. should I become a AU on somebody's account with long history or just keep paying off these cards ? My goal is to be able to lease a new car probably after the holidays/lease some small business equipment and get a unsecured card to have on hand just in case of emergency.

Sometimes you have to Pay the Piper when you new or rebuilding your credit and it takes time and not so great credit cards to get in the door.

Amex is a little higher up and requires a little more from new customers for approvals.

Check out some pre-quals for Capital One and also Credit One.

I started with Capital One secured, 3 months later got a Credit One, at 6 months of having Cap1 I did another pre-qual and they gave me a Quicksilver 1. These started me on my journey and they have both been with no problems.

Scores were low 500s when I started around 2 years ago and I have put around 180-200 points on my scores across the bureaus.

HeavenOhio · ‎10-25-2020

Congratulations on getting started, @Anonymous.

Don't worry about your score. It's typical for someone with your level of credit "experience." You just need to give it some time.

Now that your secured card is six months old, I'd check Discover's pre-quals. My bet is that they'll offer you an unsecured card.

DON'T go with Credit One. They're bad news… their cards are meant for people who have poor histories and can't get much else.

Anonymous · ‎10-26-2020

@Anonymous yeah I was going to say the same thing avoid credit one! And I'll also echo the Discover sentiment.

you need to add at least 2 more cards ASAP, unsecured if possible, and if not, definitely ones that will graduate. Other than that, you just need time.

You should add them as soon as possible but you do not want trash cards. Try the Discover and review the thread in post 7 of the Scoring Primer regarding soft pull cards and secured cards.

Anonymous · ‎10-27-2020

On a file that young, time is really the biggest constraint to big score gains. Scooping up a couple of unsecured cards (like Discover and Cap One) would be a good move for now, then just literally sit on your hands for 12 months (or until you need the auto loan) and your scores will be super solid mid-750's or higher.

Anonymous · ‎11-10-2020

I actually had a discover secured card but for some reason they cancelled it cause supposedly they couldn't verify me with the IRS. Also I tried cap one pre-approval but wasn't offered anything.

my self account ordered me a secured card through them should I take it from them and sit on it ?

Anonymous · ‎11-10-2020

I see no reason for you to pick up another secured card. With your history already having a secured card you should be able to qualify for lower limit unsecured cards with lenders like Discover and Capital One. I would call Discover and challenge the unable to verify message, see what the issue was and hopefully someone can rectify it.

Also earlier in the thread it sounded like you said you were paying off "cards" but then only mentioned having 1 card, the $200 limit secured one, so I was a bit confused as to what you meant.

Do you only have those 2 accounts on your credit report?

Anonymous · ‎11-10-2020

@Anonymous i only have 2 accounts on my report. 1 first progress secured card and self loan. I had a discover secured card for like 4 months but they cancelled the card due to not verifying me with the IRS.

I tried Cap One preapproval but no offers. Only reason I mentioned another secured cause Self was offering me one under the money I already gave them for the regular loan.

what about Credit One ?

Anonymous · ‎11-10-2020

Stay away from Credit One, they are bad news.

So when Discover cancelled your card they removed that account completely from your CR? I would think the account would still be there with 4 months or whatever of history.

Pre approvals aren't always necessary. You could theoretically apply for a Cap One platinum and be approved for it. If you aren't comfortable doing that, why not go with a Cap One secured card and convert it to unsecured in the near future?

I would also figure out what the deal was with Discover, as they're one of the easiest to get an approval from with a thin file. You definitely don't want to run into the same issue again though, so contact them and try to resolve whatever went wrong the first time.