is it possible to obtain credit cards after bk

[jturk]

i was recently discharged in my ch7 bk & am wondering if its possible to obtain any kind of credit cards after bk with a balance of about 2,000? thanks for your help

[Mi Bankruptcy]

I doubt you will get one right out of BK for 2k. The highest I have seen in 1200.00 from other forum members. Mine was $500.00. They just bumped it up to 750.00. I have 4 credit lines ( home, 2Cars, student loans) prior to applying. None of which I have ever been late or missed a payment.

[MrSmithster]

i doubt you will find one with a $2K limit(unless secured). more like $300-$500 is normal. then again, for me, i dont want any card with a limit over $300 for a while. im still learning to live just on what i make. if i need it, i save. i cant see getting back in debt already, makes no sense. i cant see paying these scam banks one cent in interest ever again. if you have a generous relative, you can borrow, say $2k. tell them you will put the money in a 1 yr CD at some bank. then you take out a credit line using the CD as collateral. this way you get a $2k limit and you can give your relative the interest you earn from the CD, usually after 1 year(of paying off every month), they will revert card to unsecured.

[BassBoy]

Nice plan MrSmithster, however there are those of us who would like to be a homeowner again, but wihtout any rebuilding, it can be difficult to obtain a mortgage without a credit history. But what you would like to do is just fine as well.

jturk,
Getting a CC for $2000, or even $1000 is unlikely after a BK. As the others have said, the average is about $300 to $500, with increases along the way if you use the CC wisely. And keep in mind the lending regulations, so you don't get shocked if you're denied or get approved with a really low limit.

[missemo]

My first card was Orchard Bank and it was a $1500 limit...This was a month after. My credit up until job loss was excellent. Not sure if this is why my limit was generous. A month after that I applied for Credit One also $1500. Good Luck to all.

[MrSmithster]

live and learn-the hard way

i think i blew it with mine. i got a bestbuy rewards card with a $300 limit. i had charged a $190 item and paid it 1 week later online. the next day my bank showed amount "cleared". when i viewed my rewards online acct i saw that it showed a payment but still showed the $190 with an available bal of $110. i called to see what was up. they said since i was fresh out of BK they were going to place a 2 week hold on my payments for at least 6 months!!! i flipped out. i asked what the billing cycle was, 28 days. so i get a 28 day billing cycle with half of that taken by the hold. i said no way. they said how about a $450 limit, i said just cancel it. i was so pissed. but now in looking around i see most other charge a monthly service fee or some such ripoff charge, which rewards didn't. then again, i just keep 2 bank accts, 1 for my rent, elec, cable, phone, ins. the other for everything else. both have visa card/atm so i dont miss having cards. i just wish i could build up credit without it costing me anything. i guess i will just wait it out. im in no hurry myself. with the economy/employment the way it is, im not looking to buy anything on credit anytime soon. even a house can wait. i sleep so much better no ZERO debt and paying as i go.

[jadams]

Usually HSBC doesn't do the payment hold if you push it from your bank (i.e. use your Bank's bill pay) -- paying through HSBC's site or by phone with HSBC is normally the only times they'll hold it.

Also, if you bark at them on the phone they can conference in your bank and will remove the hold when your bank tells them the transaction has cleared.

I got a hold the one time I used their site. I've made many payments since using my bank's bill pay. They still post next day, but no holds...

[aces67]

It will take a while to get a 2K limit. $300 to $500 dollars is more reasonable.

[CCsAreEvil]

Can you explain more about the "hold"? Do they actually not take the funds out of your checking account for 2 weeks or do they immediately take the $190 from your checking account but not actually post the payment on your CC (so you have the $190 available again) for 2 weeks?

[jadams]

The money comes out right away. you'll get credited for making the payment and won't go late, but they don't release available credit for the duration of the hold.

If you charged $300 and the payment was due on 1/1. Pay $300 to post on 1/1. You will not go late or have to pay interest, they will consider the payment received on 1/1. But it will be 14 days or whatever until your available credit goes back up $300 and you can make purchases.

The stupid part is, in my experience, HSBC doesn't understand math. Their system has a flaw -- but I tried to explain it to several reps and supervisors and they don't see it.

If you charged $150 on your $300 card - you have $150 available credit. Make a $150 payment on their site (if you're a customer they hold payments from).

Logic would say you still should have $150 available credit (the hold amount should cancel out the payment, leaving it as if you didn't make a payment).

HSBC puts the payment on hold, then puts another $150 "Payment Hold" transaction on your account in the pending section.

So you'll have $0 available credit until the holds come off.

All the right stuff is on the account, but the problem is a "pending credit" doesn't increase your available credit until it posts, but a "pending charge" decreases it immediately.

$150 available
+ $150 payment - stays in pending section - no change to available credit
- $150 payment hold - immediate reduction in available credit

end result $0 available.

They kept insisting to me they were only holding the amount of the payment because there was only one $150 payment hold on the account. They didn't understand that the way the computer considers pending transactions makes that effectively a $300 hold.

[CCsAreEvil]

All the right stuff is on the account, but the problem is a "pending credit" doesn't increase your available credit until it posts, but a "pending charge" decreases it immediately.

$150 available
+ $150 payment - stays in pending section - no change to available credit
- $150 payment hold - immediate reduction in available credit

end result $0 available.

This makes no sense at all. Assuming same $300 CL, say you had a $200 balance and on your next bill, you make a payment for $200. So, by this logic, before the payment, you had $100 credit available. But since they are doing a "payment hold" of $200, this would put you at $0 credit available because they tag on a $200 "payment hold" in essence putting you (in a virtual sense?) at a $400 credit balance?

[jennordhavn]

I have never had the problem of a payment hold for that long. The first month or two that my accounts were open with Cap 1 and Orchard they did hold the available credit for a week, but only in the amount of the payment, not double. After two months, I haven't had any cards hold the available credit, except once on my DH's Hooters card, which they held for a week when we paid the entire balance.

[danaf]

I got once from NFCU for 5k pretty quickly out of bk. I was surprised. But I didn't bk anything of theirs and have been a long-time member. Their card has helped me rebuild.

[jennordhavn]

Forgot to say since my discharge in March 09 I have Credit One, Kay's, Jared, Cap 1, Orchard, and HSBC Best Buy Reward Zone MC. My limits starting were $200, $2000, $2000, $500, $300 and $300. Currently they are $325, $2000, $2000, $750, $300 and $300.

[CCCrazy]

Forgot to say since my discharge in March 09 I have Credit One, Kay's, Jared, Cap 1, Orchard, and HSBC Best Buy Reward Zone MC. My limits starting were $200, $2000, $2000, $500, $300 and $300. Currently they are $325, $2000, $2000, $750, $300 and $300.

How long did you wait between applying for your Orchard and HSBC Best Buy? I would like to get a regular HSBC card but I only got the Orchard in November so I have to wait a bit before applying to HSBC - or so I hear.