I began building a credit history at the beginning of the year with sub-prime issuers like Providian/Aria. I also received at the same time a NextCard. How long should I keep these account open before I apply for prime lenders? I am looking at AMEX and Bank of America.
RE: Building credit with sub-p It depends on what else is on your credit report. If there is no negatives, about 6months. But remember to keep the inquiries to a minimal. If you have negatives(lates, chargeoffs, repos,etc) you are in for a longer wait.
RE: Building credit with sub-p What if you have no negatives, but lots of inquiries over the year (10+ on TransUnion)?
RE: Building credit with sub-p The number of inquiries is only important for the short term. When in doubt apply. If you are turned down, get the credit report and try to clean it up, wait 6 months, try to reduce your outstanding debt or increase your income and try again. Profit from the experience. http://www.creditsense.com
RE: Building credit with sub-p When you say rebuilding, I am assuming you have had negatives on your report. They may or may not still be on your reports. You have had 2 cards reporting for almost 6-7 months now. I can tell you that AMEX likes 2 years of history when you apply for the Green card. If you feel you are strong enough score wise, apply for their Optmia Platinum. You have more of chance "dealing" with them regarding this type of account. Good Luck, BarryN
Sujestion on building credit Your posting did not mention if you had prior bad credit on your report or if your building from scratch. If it's from scratch do what I've done for a few people. apply for a Discover Card which you should get with your Next & Aria accounts (Which I use to build credit), Discover should give you $5-$10K and possibly pre approve you to a $15K limit to transfer. (If you can, transfer an amount close to the credit limit to another card, then transfer it back again. this shows on the bureau you've used the credit and paid it back!) Once your strong Discover Card reports to the Credit Bureau wait about 1-2 months and apply for a Blue Optima card from Amex, you will get it. Secondly if Amex doesn't grant a strong credit limit then wait 90 days and seek a credit limit close to that of your Discover card, you should get it. I've done all of the above, and it works!
Why Discover always good to pe I have four yrs credit history and no derogatory on my credit file.I applied Discover to transfer some balance from other accounts and got declined.I do have high credit card balance about 13000,but I still have 20000 credit line available which mean I didn't max out.
RE: Why Discover always good t They probably thing you have enough credit or too much credit for your income level. Deal from strength, exercise your credit. http://www.creditsense.com
RE: Why Discover always good t Most likely they possibly also feel that your debt ratio is too high. I'm sure that if you were down to a small balance you would get approved. Why not call them next time and ask them!
RE: Suggestion on building cre Even with Discover, a limit of 5, 10, or 15 thousand is not going to be automatic. It would depend on your income.
RE: Building credit with sub-p I tend to be somewhat conservative on these things, and I try to have some patience. If you are recovering from damaged credit, then it will take longer than if you are just starting fresh. If recovering, I suggest waiting until you have at *least* two or three years of on-time payments. If starting fresh, I suggest at *least* 18 months. Use your cards frequently, and make high-percentage payments. Pay in full most of the time, but occasionally carry a low balance (like 10% or so) for a couple of months. When you start applying for prime cards, just do one or two at a time. If you are turned down, examine the reasons (e.g. "insufficient length of credit history"), and wait a few months before trying again. I suggest starting with Discover Platinum. When you get your first "prime" card, if you have several sub-primes, consider closing one of two of them, to make room in your total-limits-to-income ratio for better deals. Good Luck. -- CardReport.Com - Credit Tools, News, And Reference http://www.cardreport.com/ Everything You Need To Know About Credit And Debt --
RE: Building Actually he wrote "building," not "rebuilding." The two situations are quite different, especially where the Discover platinum card is concerned.
RE: Building credit with sub-p I agree with you 100%. ANYONE BUILDING credit from scratch can start off with 1-2 Sub Prime cards. Get 2-3 gas & store cards about 8-10 months latter, and then get a great prime card like Discover within 13-14 Months and then laugh all the way to a great credit report!
