Should I apply for credit?

[MrNoCreditMan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@MrNoCreditMan wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
I found myself in a similar boat minus about 50 points. The good people here steered me toward Credit One Bank. (Secured cards seem to be a good option but I did not want to secure a card) so I chose subprime annual fee cards. I have a Credit One Bank and Houshold Bank card. They are both subprime and both have annual fees. But they are easy to get I had a 609 when I got Credit One Bank and in the 620's when I got houshold bank. I also got approved today for a Best Buy Reward Zone Mastercard and was sitting at 623. So these are options depending on how you go.

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Thanks okstatefan. How have your experience been with Credit One Bank so far? What was your starting credit line when you applied?

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So far so good. I also checked out creditcards.com and you are right its ridiculous. I would never recommend those cards. The credit one has only the AF which I can live with. HOWEVER beware they charge you for online or phone payments so to avoid the fee I mail my check in so it takes a couple of days. I have heard others say if they use their banks online bill pay they dont get a fee but I havent tried so I cant say for sure. It started at $200 CL. Now I have also liked my Household Bank card because I got a $320 limit to start, and there is no fee for paying online. Credit One charges the AF monthly to your account and Household hits you with it upfront. So thats the difference to me in the two. I now prefer Household but am still going to use and garden credit one. I will let them all three get to maturity and hopefully at least some CLI's then start looking into prime NO AF cards. But these are the cards I have to play with. On a positive note I have already noticed great strides in my credit scores since opening and using these accounts so...

Good Luck on whatever you choose.

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Excellent. What's the official site for Credit one? 

[MrNoCreditMan]

Never mind, the power of google is in my hands, lol.

[AndySoCal]

I did not mean the use of creditcards.com as a recommendation as one poster thought. I agreee some of the fees charged are high depending on which credit history was picked, I merely was suggesteing it as a tool to see what was availible.  You know your credit history and could make a decision if any of products there would fit your needs. I think you will find Credit One Bank card fees similiar in nature to what you saw on creditcards.com.  One other suggestion look at Capitol One card for limited credit history. Capitol One also tells you what kind credit history is needed to qualify. Also the credit union suggestion is also a very good idea.

[MrNoCreditMan]

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@AndySoCal wrote:
I did not mean the use of creditcards.com as a recommendation as one poster thought. I agreee some of the fees charged are high depending on which credit history was picked, I merely was suggesteing it as a tool to see what was availible.  You know your credit history and could make a decision if any of products there would fit your needs. I think you will find Credit One Bank card fees similiar in nature to what you saw on creditcards.com.  One other suggestion look at Capitol One card for limited credit history. Capitol One also tells you what kind credit history is needed to qualify. Also the credit union suggestion is also a very good idea.

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Andy, I know you were only trying to help and I appreciate it. Capitol One is one of the credit cards I had a, um, bad relationship with. So I don't think I'll be looking their direction. 

[MrNoCreditMan]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Hi, MrNoCreditMan (soon to change), welcome to the forums!

Do you have credit unions in your area? With a 660 FICO EQ score, I would definitely pull out the Yellow Pages and start checking them out. Credit unions are not-for-profit membership organizations, where the members pool their funds, and they are often very willing to work with those who have shown that they have gotten control of their credit usage.

With a recent FICO Equifax score and report, you can try printing it out (make several copies) and visit local CU's, talking with a loan officer. Show them the report, tell them that it's a Beacon 5.0 (the industry name for the FICO Equifax score), explain your situation, and ask if they think that they might be able to help you out. They might offer a secured card. If so, ask whether it "graduates" to unsecured after X number of months, and whether it will keep the original opening date.

If you decide to apply, they will have to pull another report, of course. They can't just work off your myFICO report But with luck, they could make an educated guess from what they are seeing. At the same time, you can get a feel for each institution and decide with whom you'd like to work. Another handy thing about CU's is that they are often an excellent source for auto loans, so when the time comes to replace your car, you will already have an established relationship.

Not all areas have credit unions, especially big cities. Perhaps banks have blocked their presence; I don't know. But in my small-to-medium size city, we have a different one on every block, and they are fighting one another for business. Many CU's will let you qualify for membership simply by living or working in the county in which they're located. Ours even include if you worship in their multi-county area, so you can see that membership qualifications can be pretty liberal.

Congrats on turning the corner and getting on top of your credit! 660 is not a shabby score at all, especially for those coming back from problems. I had a 651 EQ when I started on the forums two years ago, and I had been at 590 several months before that. With effort, time, and patience, it really does get better.

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I have a question Hauling. If I present to a credit union the most up to date and valid credit reports (that I will have with me from the bureaus), would that eliminate the chance of getting an inquiry? 

[haulingthescoreup]

No, they will still pull a hard report if you actually apply. They HAVE to --it's part of the deal that lenders have with the credit bureaus. You're trying to get a CC --> you are seeking credit --> this must be reported.

The handy thing about showing a recent report during your preliminary visits is that you can do some weeding-out of those who might reject you right out of the gate. That will reduce unnecessary inqs.

[MrNoCreditMan]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
No, they will still pull a hard report if you actually apply. They HAVE to --it's part of the deal that lenders have with the credit bureaus. You're trying to get a CC --> you are seeking credit --> this must be reported.

The handy thing about showing a recent report during your preliminary visits is that you can do some weeding-out of those who might reject you right out of the gate. That will reduce unnecessary inqs.

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Thanks again Hauling!

[MrNoCreditMan]

I can't get a break. I applied for a $29,000 new auto loan thru my credit union. Especially after reading the Auto Loan approval thread, where there were some approvals for many who had scores well below my own. My current FICO score is 664. I was denied due to "excessive obligation in income" and my FICO score pulled from Eq. Can anyone tell me what excessive obligation in income means? I have no trade line at this time, yet myFICO suggest I open up an account. How can I if more than likely, I'll get denied credit? Was the amount of the auto loan too high? I feel like it's a no win situation. This took the wind out of my sail as I was hoping to start the new year fresh. 

[Lel]

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MrNoCreditMan wrote:

I can't get a break. I applied for a $29,000 new auto loan thru my credit union. Especially after reading the Auto Loan approval thread, where there were some approvals for many who had scores well below my own. My current FICO score is 664. I was denied due to "excessive obligation in income" and my FICO score pulled from Eq. Can anyone tell me what excessive obligation in income means? I have no trade line at this time, yet myFICO suggest I open up an account. How can I if more than likely, I'll get denied credit? Was the amount of the auto loan too high? I feel like it's a no win situation. This took the wind out of my sail as I was hoping to start the new year fresh. 

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There's more to an auto loan approval than just your credit score.  You need to have the income to support a certain auto loan amount.  If your monthly income is not sufficient to support an auto loan of that amount, then you can still be denied.  A $29,000 auto loan at 6% interest for 5 years would be over $500 a month, for example.  To this you'd have to add the cost of insurance plus all your other monthly expenses, such as food and rent.  What is your monthly income?

[Anonymous]

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@Lel wrote:

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@MrNoCreditMan wrote:

I can't get a break. I applied for a $29,000 new auto loan thru my credit union. Especially after reading the Auto Loan approval thread, where there were some approvals for many who had scores well below my own. My current FICO score is 664. I was denied due to "excessive obligation in income" and my FICO score pulled from Eq. Can anyone tell me what excessive obligation in income means? I have no trade line at this time, yet myFICO suggest I open up an account. How can I if more than likely, I'll get denied credit? Was the amount of the auto loan too high? I feel like it's a no win situation. This took the wind out of my sail as I was hoping to start the new year fresh. 

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There's more to an auto loan approval than just your credit score.  You need to have the income to support a certain auto loan amount.  If your monthly income is not sufficient to support an auto loan of that amount, then you can still be denied.  A $29,000 auto loan at 6% interest for 5 years would be over $500 a month, for example.  To this you'd have to add the cost of insurance plus all your other monthly expenses, such as food and rent.  What is your monthly income?

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+1

More than likely the cost of the car you applied for plus your other monthly obligations add up to more of your disposable income than they are comfortable with. Someone could have a 800 FICO score making $50000 a year and if they applied for a $100K auto loan they would have a hard time getting approved with insurance, mortgage, etc. I would suggest crunching the numbers and opting for a cheaper new car or even better a cheaper dependable pre-owned vehicle. You can get a good 2006-2008 used vehicle for a lot less than the 09 model because someone else took the depreciation hit and should be able to find one that doesnt have an excessive amount of miles and will last years to come. You will be more likely to be approved then. As mentioned I dont think your FICO is the problem you just wanted to much car.