Hi all, I feel really happy to have found this board. I feel that finally some of the mysteries of this whole credit thing will be unveiled to me. I have a very short credit history. One credit card for which I am an authorized user not the main user. The account was open last august and it;s open/never late. My equifax score is 647 and credit expert score is 634. I have been waiting for my score to go up as time goes by so I can apply for some other credit cards, since it seems that I need more than once account. I don't have any idea of what kind or cards I could get with scores like this and I am hoping to get some help here. I am hoping to get a card with a low intro APR for BT since my balance is very high on the main credit card. ( I used it to start a business) Is there anywhere where I can find information about what credit cards require what scores and stuff like that? Do they really only look at the FICO score? Since I am self employed there would be no way for them to verify my income. Everyone seems to be saying that you need a healthy mix of credit. What other kinds of credit get reported to the CRAs? I don't want to buy a car. I cant afford to get a house yet...(that;s what I am working on my credit for). So what else can I do to have other accounts except for credit cards? Enroll as a student and get a student loan? Anything else? Thanks a lot. I apologize if I asked too many questions, but I have had them for so long and no one to ask them to. thank you, Ioan
I am gonna chop up you post to what I can answer www.millcbs.com I think they look at your entire financial picture. Some people have derogatory information on their report, but have kinda decent scores. I wrote term papers in college and did web pages, so I considered myself a business owner. When I applied for my orignal AMEX, they asked me for copies of my tax returns, so I am guessing that is how they verify your income. Where I live, Discover is giving cards away to college students, blue at that, and they have booths set up at our local mall to encourage people to apply for cards. I mention this, because Discover seems to be alot of people's first card. I am not saying apply, but once you go to Millcbs, you will have a good picture of what you can get. I wish you luck on the house. Good luck.......
Go for a department store card like Kohls or Chadwicks of Boston (Chad reports to all three CB's). I was amazed but after one year with my own individual account in my name I qualifyed for a AT&T Universal card Platinum with 9.74% APR. Also get a cell phone and make sure they report.
Re: short credit hist. where to app Thanks, Millcbs looks like a very good resource. I wish they had a way to sort inquiries by score so that you can see the lowest FICO score that were accepted and by which credit company.
Re: short credit hist. where to app So department stores accept people with no or very short credit history ? Those 2 that you mentioned are not here in Portland, Oregon. Are cell phone companies required to report you ? Which of them actually do report you ? I applied for a Nextel plan and they wanted 500$ deposit. Apparently Sprint accepts people with less credit, but I don't know if they would report.
Re: short credit hist. where to app Any Department store will have rmore liberal requirements than a low interest bank card. The cell phone situation will vary but they will tell you if they report if you ask. They check CR's before they give you a cell so I am assuming they report as well.
Re: short credit hist. where to app Whenever I was self employed I would put down that I was an employee such as Manager.etc. Don't know if this is illegal or not but it worked for me.
try best buy and chevron if you have those in oregon. they both approved me with 6 months history but target declined me
Re: short credit hist. where to app It works to put MANAGER...for some reason if you put "OWNER"...even with >$50,000 income will be DENIED...and a "MANAGER" with >$50,000 will be APPROVED...WHO KNOWS WHY???
Re: short credit hist. where to app Thanks, that is really good information. So I should just put the name of my business as my employer and say I am a Manager? Thanks, Ioan
