I currently have a Capital One card with a $2000 limit that I took a flyer on in May 2003 when my credit was a complete shambles. While it started out at $400, it was quickly raised to the current limit after a few months of good payments. Now, with my scores approximately 60+ points higher(in the low 600's) and with 6+ months of on time payments I receive an offer from Orchard Bank for a maximum limit of $1500, and an annual fee of $59. While I don't really need the card, I am tempted to get it to add to my total available credit in order to lower my usage %. I additionally think I would benefit from another positive line on my credit report. The question I have is: Is this offer worth accepting at this juncture in my credit rehab journey? I appreciate any response anyone may care to offer.
copy cat... you must have read my post without leaving a message.... My advice .... is get credit cards till you have at least 20k in available credit. This way you never have to worry about getting above 40% utilization After you collect a few see what you can do to get a decent credit limit increase.... never get the 300 dollar limit cards... it is a NEGATIVE. (I just found this out by getting 4 of them, they dinged me for not having a high revolving CC balance on the cards) Your goal should be to get 4 or 5 cards with a 5k limit. You really don't need 20k since your biggest jump is after the 15k mark from what I have seen. take it as you will... I am a 3 or 4 month old noob,
I got an offer from Orchard and didn't like the terms - annual fee, no thanks. I've got that w/Cap1 and have to call to get it waived. A few months later I got an offer from Household (same as Orchard) that was better - $5k upper limit and no annual fee. I just got the card and found out I can't get the 14.9% interest lowered for a while, if at all, so it's going to be a sock drawer card until it gets a decent APR. Still, the $5k CL helps my profile. As I announced in another thread, I'm the King of Crap Cards - $22k CL on Household, DMB, Cap1 and Aspire.
Just got card in the mail. Approved for $1500 limit. Thanks for the responses to this thread, and for the knowledge that I used in to make it to this point. Lairdude
I had an Orchard card let it go to get a household card. The people at Orchard actually treated me better and gave me better increases. I let the Household go, I didn't like the way I was treated. Added a couple more capital one cards. I have combined them, leaving me with two Cap ones. You might try another Cap One card if you still need to add to the mix. I was happy with Orchard, people always said household (same bank) was an upgrade. I had the Orchard card up to $750, household wanted me to pay for increases and wouldn't waive the annual fee. My $300 Cap One is now at $6,800 4 years old. My $1,500 Cap One is at $3,200 after 7 months. I make extra payments, carry a balance and call for better terms. My new hobby is trying to pay down the balances.
