Just called the 800 number to check the status of my application today...I WAS APPROVED! How cool is that? The limit is unsecured for $500 but I'm grateful for that. I already have a secured Visa through First Premier but those twits refuse to give me any sort of credit limit increase- it's been 11 months of ontime payments (payments that are at least 3-4 times the minimum). Oh well-their loss! FP offered to let me apply for another secured card- I of course laughed. Hopefully, I'll be approved for the Cap One secured card as well. Sarah
Congrats! What are your scores and do you know what which reports they pulled? I was just looking into Orchard recently and may apply.
They pulled Experian- twice but only one of them is a hard. The "soft" inquiry is due to the fact that when you apply online, they first do a pursory glance at your CR to see whether you should apply for the secured or unsecured card. My score is 557 right now. Altogether, it took 15 days to get an answer from them- I was starting to get nervous but you can call 1-877-707-3605 to check the status of your application. Good luck! Sarah
Oh sweet! I should get the orchard then I have a 602 on Experian. Will I get it ? I got one collection and two charge off's. Exp is my cleanest report.
I couldn't get a Orcahrd with a 689. B/c of no previous revolving history. They offered me a secured card. Nope.
I got approved by Orchard a few days ago. They approved me instantly online, but didn't tell me what my credit limit was. I called yesterday to find out they gave me a $1000 credit line. They pulled my EXP - 1 soft, 1 hard. This is the first card since my BK7, which included a $34k 125% second mortgage with Beneficial. I was thrilled. My wife also just got her first card with Capital One for $1000 cl. They pulled EQ and TU. Things are starting to look up.
I have 13 negs on Experian 1 BK Chap 7 1 paid judgment 6 collection accts 1 chargeoff from 1998 (paid) 4 student loans (2 Sallie, 1 US dept of Ed, 1 private) BUT, I do have 8 positives that are all from 1999-2002. My most recent neg is from 2000 so I think maybe my recent positive credit history is helping a lot. Also, I did establish credit with First Premier Bank for a year so I'm thinking Orchard looked at that and gave me a chance. Sarah
How odd is that. Orchard bank declined me a couple days ago. I have only 1 negative from a paid charged off cc from 1999. I also have 22 positive accounts. Go figure.
OH WELL! I got denied! I have a 602 score; one collection; 1 paid chargeoff; and 2 chargeoffs. The good news is they only pulled a soft. It appears they pull a soft to get your score, if you get approved, then they pull a hard. Either way I got RECOMMENDED for the secured card. I'd rather wait. I've learned to live off cash for the past 4 or 5 years so it won't change things. I do need to establish a revolving tradeline though according to these credit improvement sites as I don't have any current good ones. At least I didn't loos points for an inquiry. Thank you Orchard.
Strange indeed. I was denied with a 624 a few months ago and I had a Ch13 BK and 1 paid defaulted student loan 120 days late. First Premier approved me though, but the cl stinks.
That is really weird that they're denying people with better credit than I have. Do you have any open revolving accounts right now? Or maybe too many? Who knows what qualifications they use. I was recently denied a Chevron card after my sister was approved with a MUCH worse credit report than I have. I still think the one factor that probably made the most difference with my application is I had already "proved" myself with a secured card for the past year.
Hehe. "Woohoo!" And "Orchard Bank" aren't things I'd use in the same sentence unless it was "Woohoo! I am finally getting rid of my Orchard Bank Card!" LOL. Get a few Capital One Cards. Use them and request CLIs every 6 months. You'll get a lot more mileage and have a lot less stress than dealing with Orchard. I think the only bank I dislike more than Orchard is First Premier. Although I have both cards at Zero balance now and am just keeping them open a little longer.
Believe me, with my credit history, I'm happy that ANYONE is extending credit to me. You have to admit Orchard is a step up from CCB-I was afraid they would have to be my next step if Orchard declined. I did apply for a Cap One secured around the same time I applied for the Orchard Bank card- haven't heard back from them either way as of yet. I'll probably be denied by Cap One though Can you give me a heads up about what exactly it was that Orchard did that upset you so? I'm not really planning on using the card-I just want the tradeline. But, if they have some policy or practices that are potentially damaging I'd like to know.
I use to have an Orchard Bank Mastercard but closed it due to them not waiving the annual fee. I had the card for one full year. The annual fee at the time was $79 and later on I started to get no annual fee cards as my credit improved so I had no more use for the Orchard card. In my personal experience with Orchard I never had any problems with them. I also got credit line increases every 3 months without me asking them. Hope this helps.
Listen, I can totally empathise with your feelings. I had to deal with stupid banks these last 2.5 years myself as I rebuilt and repaired my credit. And the repair part is still being done. So I relate to the feeling that you're happy to get anything. I just think even in that situation there are better cards to get. Orchard is one my wife got. And after seeing her progress with it, I decided to never get one. Anyway, to answer your questions; What specifically don't I like about Orchard? * They charge a HUGE fee for small credit line increases. And there's no way around it. You either gotta pay the fee or don't receive a CLI. Like $50 for a $200 increase. That sucks. You might get lucky and get an initial CLI of $500. But after that, you can just look forward to $200 increases. And EVERY ONE will cost you $50. * They're constantly bombarding us with stupid offers and sales pitches that cost $50 but they are generous enough to also throw in a $50 CLI to cover the cost of their useless service they're trying to pitch. * Their website is difficult to use, bombards us with those stupid offers again, and just antiquated. At least compared to some credit card companies who have just amazing web sites; Citibank, Cap. One, Providian, etc. * They are stingy with CLIs and won't ever let you adjust your APR. Don't be so pessimistic about Cap. One. I bet you'll get one. These days, it seems they'll throw a $200 or $300 card at just about anyone who wants one. Then, they'll send you another offer in a few weeks and if you respond, you'll get another card! But their policies are much better and lenient. Knowing what I know now I'd rather have a $200 Cap. One card than a $1000 Orchard Bank card any day. Because that Cap. One card will have a higher limit than the Orchard card after a year anyway. And they're just a better company to deal with. The only drawback you'll hear about Cap. One is that they don't report the High Credit Limit on your report. And that kind of sucks because it makes it hard to factor into your used credit percentage. But still, I love them.
Hum, they never charged me for a credit line increase. I guess they charge certain accounts or if you request an increase.
