I want a credit card....but my credit sucks

Thats_So_Gay · #1 05-26-2007, 04:19 PM

Ok I'm 25 and have [censored] credit apparantly.
My score is 554 out of 830.

I don't appear to have any outstanding debts, but the main problem seems to be I had a couple of late payments and thing sgo into collections which were paid off--but I've never had a credit card or any type of loan etc. So I don't really have any history of credit to begin with.

It is really lame not having a credit card so i can buy a laptop and pay it off over 3 or 4 months instead of having to save up over 4 months and then buy it.

What can I do to quickly improve my score enough so that when I apply for a visa/mastercard/amx etc...I'm not rejected on the spot?

I've heard getting like a prepaid CC, where u put money down as a deposit at your bank BofA etc, as one way to quickly build some credit.

any ideas?

thanks
TSG

IggyWH · #2 05-26-2007, 04:24 PM

Even with crap credit, you shoukdn't have a problem getting a credit card. You just aren't going to get a great rate to start off with.

Get a card, use it for small charges for a little while and pay it off right away. After you build a little credit history, call up the CC company and ask for a rate reduction & limit increase.

If they won't give it to you, go somewhere else.

mbillie1 · #3 05-26-2007, 04:24 PM

If you can get a co-sign you can get a credit-builder loan from your bank. That would improve your credit relatively quickly, especially since you don't have a significant credit history.

Thats_So_Gay · #4 05-26-2007, 04:26 PM

[ QUOTE ]
If you can get a co-sign you can get a credit-builder loan from your bank. That would improve your credit relatively quickly, especially since you don't have a significant credit history.

[/ QUOTE ]

is it actually called a credit building loan?
So basically i take out a loan and pay it off plus eat a little interest in order to improve my credit? I figure my dad would probably co-sign for me.

Iggy..I've applied to 4 or 5 different CC's and always get rejected.

mbillie1 · #5 05-26-2007, 04:29 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you can get a co-sign you can get a credit-builder loan from your bank. That would improve your credit relatively quickly, especially since you don't have a significant credit history.

[/ QUOTE ]

is it actually called a credit building loan?
So basically i take out a loan and pay it off plus eat a little interest in order to improve my credit? I figure my dad would probably co-sign for me.

Iggy..I've applied to 4 or 5 different CC's and always get rejected.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have SEFCU as my credit union/bank in NYS, yeah they called it a "credit-builder" loan when I took it out. It took 2 years to pay off, but my credit (I was in the same boat as you - bad credit score, but very little to base it off of) improved within 3-4 months and I started getting better and better credit card offers. As long as you stay on top of things that should work fine, I would go talk to the bank with your dad though first just to make sure they have something like that.

IggyWH · #6 05-26-2007, 05:04 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Iggy..I've applied to 4 or 5 different CC's and always get rejected.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's sort of what mbillie1 was getting at, but find a brick and mortar credit union and open a savings account with them. Then, apply for a credit card through them.

Misfire · #7 05-26-2007, 06:29 PM

If your credit sucks, maybe it's a sign you shouldn't be borrowing money... [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

kerowo · #8 05-26-2007, 07:03 PM

If you can't get a regular credit card you could always try and get consumer credit through a store, but that is going to be crazy high interest rates.

yasher · #9 05-26-2007, 07:41 PM

Try the Credit Boards Forum. Good info on rebuilding credit, the best available secured credit cards, etc. Secured credit cards are a great way for someone with bad credit to improve credit, and often after a year of responsible use, can be rolled over into an unsecured card. Just make sure whatever card you get reports to the credit bureaus. More good info on creditboards.

BradleyT · #10 05-27-2007, 12:28 AM

Yeah creditboards is good.

One of the fastest ways is to become an authorized user on a relatives card. So your mom or dad adds you as an authorized user on one of their cards and now you gain all of thier history of that card. Obviously make sure they have a good payment record with that card and have had it a while. If they're leary about doing that just tell them you'll deliver the card to them and they can cut it up so you can never use it.

However please understand that if the main user of the account is ever late it will hurt your credit. So you must make sure it's someone you trust 110% who has a good credit history and has the ability to maintain their good credit rating. Also make sure they don't have a high balance to available credit ratio on the card. You don't want to be added on a card they have maxed out.

The paid charge offs will hurt you until about 5 years after you paid them off (and they'll stay on your report about 7.5 years). Once they're 5+ years old they don't negatively affect you as much as they do now. At that point you could try and dispute them since the company probably won't have your records on file anymore and the chance of getting them removed is pretty high. A paid charge off impacts you almost as badly as not paying your debt at all because A) you didn't pay your bill and B) the lender ended up getting probably 20-50% of what they were really owed and it's a sign that you cannot pay your bills on time.