Is WaMu BK friendly? Anyone recommend others?

[dp1969]

OK, we are about 4 months out on our discharge and looking to apply for a credit card. I've read all the success stories of people applying for unsecured cc's and are nervous about applying. We are getting offers from WaMu and thought I read that they were BK friendly...never had a cc from them before. Read something about a Hooters card and checked the website...looked promising (don't care about the name). We were hoping for trying (with a chance) for unsecured cc's but if secured are recommended, then so be it.

Kicker is we haven't checked our credit score yet. In January (before filing) I used the "free annual" check to see why we couldn't get approved for a refi on the house (hence leading up to the BK). Now, we have to pay and I was told use http://www.myfico.com/12. Anyone use this?

Should I check the scores first or can I just apply?

[magyar123]

There are several outfits - like Orchardbank and Householdbank that will approve you almost right out of bankruptcy. Each starts you out with low limits, charge annual fees and have predatory/loanshark level interest rates, and are reeeaaal slow in increasing limits.

[yoyoma51]

We did Capital One about three months after discharge. $3000 limit Platinum MC, no fees, 20% interest but we don't carry a balance.

We did work really hard cleaning up our credit reports before we applied, however.

Our credit union also gave us a $1000 MC.

[BassBoy]

WaMu will extend credit after a BK. I have a WaMu CC ($1000 limit) and for the most part, they have been fine to work with. Although I don't carry much of a balance, so I haven't had to deal with any issues. I applied for a WaMu card about 8 months after my BK, but prior to that I had a small limit, annual fee based card, so I had done a little rebuilding. All I can say is, you can apply for the card and see what happens. Everyone's situation is different and everyone's credit profile is different, so some applicants may get approved, while others do not.

[dp1969]

We decided to give it a try.

Went on Orchard Bank and each of us got approved for $500 with a $35/annual fee and 14.95%. Then we applied at WaMu. My husband was approved for $1800, no fee and 0% until Feb 2009. Then it goes to a variable but we are not planning on carrying a balance. I had the same conditions but got approved for $2000. So, Yes, everyone is different. These are the only cc's we are going to apply for. My husband still has a Visa from the credit union that we did not include in the BK.

[BassBoy]

Super!!!!!

MOST EXCELLENT!

We decided to give it a try.

Went on Orchard Bank and each of us got approved for $500 with a $35/annual fee and 14.95%. Then we applied at WaMu. My husband was approved for $1800, no fee and 0% until Feb 2009. Then it goes to a variable but we are not planning on carrying a balance. I had the same conditions but got approved for $2000. So, Yes, everyone is different. These are the only cc's we are going to apply for. My husband still has a Visa from the credit union that we did not include in the BK.

[Stilltheone]

We looked into a Wamu, but couldn't apply online.

My husband and I each got 2 new lines of credit:

DH:

Hooters: $500 limit
Orchard Bank: $750 limit

Me:

Orchard Bank: $750 limit
Capital One: $1000 limit at 8.65%!!!! ---Almost fainted when I read that.

I agree with BassBoy. Everyone's different and some may be approved, while others are not.

Good luck!

[PoorGrammyinBK7]

We decided to give it a try.
My husband still has a Visa from the credit union that we did not include in the BK.

That gives me HOPE! We have 2 zero balance VISAs with credit unions - sooo hope they survive! We've had them for over 25 years with good credit and our BK is not really about credit cards.

[dp1969]

That gives me HOPE! We have 2 zero balance VISAs with credit unions - sooo hope they survive! We've had them for over 25 years with good credit and our BK is not really about credit cards.

You should be just fine with the Visa's. We purposely paid our Visa off before filing as we have checking/savings accounts, car loan and family members that work there. We didn't want to cut those ties.

[HopeFaith]

Do you have to get a pre-approval offer to apply for WaMu? The website says you can only apply if you are an existing customer.

[dp1969]

Do you have to get a pre-approval offer to apply for WaMu? The website says you can only apply if you are an existing customer.

We've gotten several pre-approved letters in the mail (from WaMu). I've always thrown them away until I applied. In fact, I just got the mail today and another offer.

I wonder if the "approval number" could be used by anyone? Seems very generic and after entering it, it then asks for all your information. Never comes up with "Hello, (enter your name)"...just a blank form letter to plug your information in.

Have you thought about going in to a WaMu branch?

[BassBoy]

Yes, I do believe that you need an "invite" (mail offer) to apply or be an existing customer.

Do you have to get a pre-approval offer to apply for WaMu? The website says you can only apply if you are an existing customer.

[Logan]

It appears that Orchard and Capital One are no brainers out of BK. I was approved immediately for Orchard and after a few months I received a Capital One card. I canceled my Orchard Bank card because they charge an annual fee and I applied to WAMU yesterday. No decision online so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

good luck to everyone

[PaKettle]

Orchard just gave me $750 though if you apply on line, be VERY careful.
At the end of the approval process there is a check box at the bottom asking you if you want "Expedited Shipping" or some such wording of your card. In my haste and excitement I accidentally checked this box and then found out they'd charge me something like $35 to ship the card to me quickly, in 2 days via FedEx.
I called IMMEDIATELY to tell them I did not want that and some Indian told me "I'll see what I can do but I can't say for sure." Two days later I got it, the quick shipping was not cancelled, and I was charged the $35. Made me mad. It was my own fault, BUT there was something sneaky about the way they put that checkbox there, I normally do not make such mistakes.

Anyway... BestBuy also gave us a MasterCard for $500. I thought it was just an in-store card, but it's not, it's a regular Master Card. GM must be bankruptcy friendly (I think it's also HSBC, the same umbrella co. as Orchard) because they let our GM card which I didn't owe anything on, to ride through the bankruptcy, only they lowered the limit from $2k down to $300! ;-)

I hear WAMU is bk friendly. I think I'll try to get my wife one now.

[dp1969]

Orchard just gave me $750 though if you apply on line, be VERY careful.
At the end of the approval process there is a check box at the bottom asking you if you want "Expedited Shipping" or some such wording of your card. In my haste and excitement I accidentally checked this box and then found out they'd charge me something like $35 to ship the card to me quickly, in 2 days via FedEx.
I called IMMEDIATELY to tell them I did not want that and some Indian told me "I'll see what I can do but I can't say for sure." Two days later I got it, the quick shipping was not cancelled, and I was charged the $35. Made me mad. It was my own fault, BUT there was something sneaky about the way they put that checkbox there, I normally do not make such mistakes.

Anyway... BestBuy also gave us a MasterCard for $500. I thought it was just an in-store card, but it's not, it's a regular Master Card. GM must be bankruptcy friendly (I think it's also HSBC, the same umbrella co. as Orchard) because they let our GM card which I didn't owe anything on, to ride through the bankruptcy, only they lowered the limit from $2k down to $300! ;-)

I hear WAMU is bk friendly. I think I'll try to get my wife one now.

Pa,

I believe I caught that box at the bottom...haven't seen the charge.

I do think that I'm going to cancel that card. The $60 annual fee is steep. I wonder if I do, will it affect my score? I mean, I never used it. I'm assuming I have an inquiry hit on my credit report so that knock it a point or so, right?