I know it is a no no to apply get a new credit card, but currently I only have a Chevron account, and a Chrysler loan current on my credit with along with a 3 year old Merrick Bank C/O. My question is I want to get a secured Visa(that doesn't show up as secured)and was wondering how long before that account would become an asset instead of a point reducer, since the account is new???Thanks in advance...
Almost all banks now report secured cards as secured; there used to be a list floating around here that was outdated (from 1997, 1998 or so) that purportedly show issuers who report secured cards as unsecured. But, from personal experience, I found none. Your mileage may vary, however. If you keep your regular charges no more than 15% of your secured card limit, you should see the benefits outweigh the negative effects of a brand new trade line (lowering of average age, a FICO point reducer), in about 3-4 months. But this is just a speculation. Only FICO knows for sure. Instead of a secured credit card, I recommend a 1-year savings or CD-secured installment loan. You put in, say $1500 into a savings or a CD, and borrow a percentage of that money (say 80%) back as an installment loan, payable in full in 1 year. Recommend that the amount you borrow back be at least $1000. The advantage is that, since FICO places much lower emphasis on installment loans, you have a positive tradeline showing up on your report without dinging your score by much. Also, at a later time if you want to unsecure your previously secured card, you may be risking a hard inquiry again. No such thing with installment loan. Plus, if you want a secured visa cards, some of the top banks (Fleet, Wachovia, Citi for example) want to pull your report anyway, and you risk a hard inquiry. I've gone through this exercise when trying to build up a decent credit history for my wife. To me, that defeats the whole purpose of trying to open a secured card. Eventually, I found a local community bank, and my credit union, willing to give a secured card without having to pull a credit report, after I convinced them that letting me borrow my own money does not put them at risk, and thus no need for a credit report. My wife has 1 secured visa plus 2 installment loans currently on her report; the loans expire June 2004. We will pull her scores then, and based on what we see, we may apply for unsecured cards from top issuers or postpone it for another year. Best of luck in your quest to boost your FICO
www.apbank.com. one inquiry, secured card and reports to all 3 as unsecured, low annual fee. nine months later 25% cli unsecured with no INQ. 18 months totally unsecured and regular CLI. Great card and worth 1 hard.
