Orchard Bank/HSBC - Do they report to all 3 bureaus?

[buffetbuster]

I received an offer in the mail from HSBC/Orchard Bank and was wondering if they report to all 3 bureaus. From the way my "pre-selected" letter reads, it appears the limit will be $300 to start. If they do report to all 3, I'm going to use this as the start of my credit rebuild process and apply for it and put a small balance on it per month, maybe 1 tank of gas a month and pay the card in full per month.

[panda]

Yes they do report to all three. We started with them, husband at 300, me at 500. We then got the capital one card with a limit that started out at 1000 for each of us and then bumped up to 1500 after 6 months of on time payments, they also report to all three.

[tobee43]

reall panda?? we just closed 2 accounts after 2 years since they didn't report to any of the reporting agencies??? we questioned them about it and they claim they do, however, i had both our current reports in front of me, and not a once did they report anything so i closed the accounts.

[panda]

Yep Tobee, I monitor all of them every month on creditkarma, and my husbands on his equifax monitoring that he has. I just pulled all of them this last week off of transunion and experian and they were reporting on all of them as well. But you have to use them once in awhile to get the reporting going on them, in particular the Orchard card does not report well if it is not used now and then, and if you never use it I could see where it would never report. I know with us I did not use the Orchard card in the beginning and the first two months it did not report, once I charged something on it then it started reporting consistently. Capital one has always reported for both of us since we received them.
I started doing a tank of gas on them each month, so there is never much to have to pay off every month, but it does keep them revolving and showing usage.

Of course, standard disclosure, this is just me, so anyone else your mileage may vary.

[tobee43]

Yep Tobee, I monitor all of them every month on creditkarma, and my husbands on his equifax monitoring that he has. I just pulled all of them this last week off of transunion and experian and they were reporting on all of them as well. But you have to use them once in awhile to get the reporting going on them, in particular the Orchard card does not report well if it is not used now and then, and if you never use it I could see where it would never report. I know with us I did not use the Orchard card in the beginning and the first two months it did not report, once I charged something on it then it started reporting consistently. Capital one has always reported for both of us since we received them.
I started doing a tank of gas on them each month, so there is never much to have to pay off every month, but it does keep them revolving and showing usage.

Of course, standard disclosure, this is just me, so anyone else your mileage may vary.

yes panda, that was the very thing that got me. we did in fact use the cards purposely so that they would be reported. i think we had them at least a year before i called and asked why they were not reporting. they told oh, they do, well...where is BOTH of our information? nothing, she didn't know why they were not reporting. maybe because we paid them both off monthly is what i think???

i don't know. also this was the only card that cost a bit to keep and the lines were small, now we have other cards for emergency ONLY, but do use them every two months or so to keep them active.

[panda]

I agree, I don't like the cost of them either. We recently purchased a car through our credit union, and our credit manager there said to come back in after three payments and he would set us up with a visa card, with a decent credit limit. I was really shocked at how helpful they were at this credit union, but they were happy to help us as we had not bk'ed them. I will be dumping the Orchard cards as soon as we get this one.

Please note, I was, and am, truly grateful for Orchard for giving us a credit card, as they were who we started re-building with, but I do not want to pay the fees on this card every year either.

[tobee43]

I agree, I don't like the cost of them either. We recently purchased a car through our credit union, and our credit manager there said to come back in after three payments and he would set us up with a visa card, with a decent credit limit. I was really shocked at how helpful they were at this credit union, but they were happy to help us as we had not bk'ed them. I will be dumping the Orchard cards as soon as we get this one.

Please note, I was, and am, truly grateful for Orchard for giving us a credit card, as they were who we started re-building with, but I do not want to pay the fees on this card every year either.

you're right, orchard was one of the very first to extend a hand and is bk friendly to those trying to get a card after bk.

that's great news that the credit union will give you a better card!!!

[budgetgal]

They started sending me offers right after discharge. I have waited and each card is slightly better. The latest is 0% interest for the first year. Of course, I don't plan to keep a balance on it. It also looks like it is the $300 limit one. I believe the annual fee is lower on the latest one too. $39 instead of $59. I do want to make sure they report to all three credit bureaus. That is the only reason I will be getting it. Will be watching this thread....I may go ahead and apply next week.

[Flamingo]

I received an offer in the mail from HSBC/Orchard Bank and was wondering if they report to all 3 bureaus. From the way my "pre-selected" letter reads, it appears the limit will be $300 to start. If they do report to all 3, I'm going to use this as the start of my credit rebuild process and apply for it and put a small balance on it per month, maybe 1 tank of gas a month and pay the card in full per month.

During our Chapter 13 I applied for and obtained an Orchard Bank Mastercard. I was approved initially for a $300 limiit and I used the card now and then to help build credit - HSBC reported to all three credit agencies and it still shows on all three of my credit reports. Orchard Bank is very BK friendly and if one obtains a card with them and is prudent with their credit for several years, they do help to rebuild credit. However, watch all the offers that are toissed at you when you obtain the card - I as heavily baraged with insurance offers and other items which could take a chunk each month out of your card limit. Don't accept any of the offers, charge now and then and you will be fine. Always pay on time or, if paying in payments, send more than the listed monthly payment.

The yearly fee on the card was $39, 14.99%. I've always paid off any charges in full and never carried a balance.