I want to raise my scores, but not quite sure which method is best for me. My scores are Equifax 667, Experian 621, and TransUnion 626. My situation is this - I have ten thousand dollars to work with. Should I get a CD at my bank (Wachovia) then use the CD as collateral toward a loan? or maybe split it up half CD collateral loan other half secured credit card? -OR- should I just put it all in a secured credit card (I just joined Pentagon CU, secured card reports unsecured) -OR- maybe split the money into 3 ways.... I only have one derogatory (Providian) and it is very new. I don't have very much credit at all - I have Two Captial One cards ($700.00) ($600.00) and a Household ($400.00) and a installment loan from Friedman's Jeweler's ($2000.00) and the new Providian charge off! that's really it. I think I need more credit or higher limits or something? I have not applied for new credit in about a year...
http://www.bankofamerica.com/creditcards/index.cfm?template=cc_secured I think BankofAm. is an excellent bank to get a secured card with. You can deposit 250-10000 dollars. Upon good payment history with the secured card, Bank of America will unsecure the card sending you money back with INTEREST and then you will have a backdoor to Bank of America. I currently have an unsecured card with them at 4.25 variable on transfer balance and many Cneters recieve HUGE credit limit increases. However, I have mixed results when asking will the secured account report as "secured" on the cr. report. Hope this info helps! BTW, some cnters have stated that Chase is an excellent card to have secured, which will enable you to establish credit with them in a year or so. Also, Washington Mutual has a secured card through Citibank, which would establish a relationship with Citi.
I'm just asking for a suggestion? Some say revolving credit works wonders on your score, others say installments...
Also, some banks do not like to issue a secure card with derogratory information (like chargeoffs, bk, recent lates, etc).
can too many secured cards/accounts hurt you? Would it make sense to do this????? $2000.00 Bank of America (secured) $2000.00 Chase (secured) $2000.00 Washington Mutual (secured)
I've never been in this situation, but I think maybe try two revolving (secured credit cards) and one installment. That way you have a mix and your building a history on both fronts. I think having 2 cc is better than just 1.
Tackle the negative first. This should have the greatest impact on your score. Use the money to negotiate removing the negative. The rates on cd's are not that great right now so I would not get a cd. You already have cc's so you have a mix. Also, you may want to increase the limits on the cards you have so that it reflects that you have available credit/high credit lines and that your utilization is low.
