Denied by Secured Cards - Seriously?

[rebuildingcr]

Hi, I have been lurking on the threads here for almost a year and a half and love reading all that members have to offer each other. We filed last year (August) and got our CH7 discharged in December. During the BK we gave up our 2nd car (kept the paid off one), our house (upside down thanks to the wonderful AZ housing market), and many credit cards (all the "bad" credit ones Cap1, HSBC, Orchard and also Chase and Wells Fargo).

We moved out of state and were successfully able to find a property management company to rent to us, however, the first house we rented we had to move out of because the owener decided to sell. Our current house we were just told has been put on the market, but we can rent month to month until they sell. We know that one day we would like to purchase a house again (especially if the market is so iffy we have to keep moving every 6-12 months) and were planning to do so about 3 years post discharge and save a minimum of 20% for a down payment. As part of this plan to purchase we know that in addition to a down payment we will need to rebuild our credit. So that is why I am here.

My husband is not working, but I do work and have been with the same company for 8 years. I make enough to support the family, and have a 655 FICO score, already up from the 520 I had shortly after filing. I know that the score is not great, but has improved over the months since I do have student loans that I pay on every month.

I decided recently to apply for a secured card since I want to begin to build up my credit to purchase a second car (used, no more than $6000) and then eventually a house. I really have no interest in obtaining credit besides helping me with these major purchases and the car is really to help with the credit building. I can just buy one for cash, but figured a small loan paid off early would be more beneficial to me.

Well, so now that I have gone on about my history, here is the issue / question. I recently applied for the B of A secured card (always had a good history with B of A) and was declined because of my BK. I applied a month later for the Applied secured card and was also declined because of my BK. I did not realize that it was even possible to be declined a secured card! Has anyone else had a similar experience? How can I go about rebuilding my credit to eventually purchase a house, if I cannot even get approved for a secured card?

[jadams]

Bank of America is well known for being very picky with their secured card.

Try HSBC/Orchard -- you should be able to do the "pre-qualify" on their website and see if it gives you an ok without getting a hard inquiry. Even if you included them in your Bankruptcy they're usually good about a $300 starter card or a lower limit secured.

National City seems to be very good about secured cards. Also try a local Credit Union. Most CU's have a secured card.

I would suggest a credit union so you can build a history with them and eventually go there for a mortgage.

[rebuildingcr]

Thank you for the info

Thanks jadams. I will check out Orchard although Orchard and HSBC were both cards in my BK and Beneficial/Household was my mortgage company so I really don't think anything in that family will touch me at this point. I looked up National, but they are now PNC and they do not offer a secured card, at least not for my zip code. Same with the local credit unions, they do not offer secured cards, but I may still open a savings account with them, just to establish a relationship. Perhaps that is the best way to go if I can't get credit.

[jadams]

I forgot to mention you can't apply for the National City Secured Online, in fact I don't think there is any information online.

You need to call and ask for one to be mailed or go to a branch.

Try a national credit union that's easy to join like DCU. If you aren't otherwise on the list for where you live or work, you can pay $10-15 to join one of the Eligible Organizations, get your membership - and then you need not renew in following years.

DCU's secured card is 8.9%, no annual fee, no membership fee, no application fee, etc.