Question PayPal Credit after Chap 7

[ArlisT]

Hello, everyone.

I was just wondering what are my chances of PayPal approving me for a credit card. My discharge from Chap 7 bankruptcy was 11/17. No late pays since my court date after filing, and I have rebuilt my credit rating since then pretty close to what it was pre-BK. Around 660 with Experian and 705 with Transunion/Equifax, but I did owe a few hundred dollars to PayPal Credit when I went bankrupt. I know some credit cards are lenient about that - for instance, I was able to get another Capital One Platinum Card - but other credit cards are less forgiving, as for instance Citibank. I don't want another credit inquiry if there's no chance, so I thought I'd ask here and maybe someone on this forum would know.

Thanks

[justbroke]

So long as you don't have a lot of inquiries, they'd likely approve you. The question is, why do you need PayPal Credit? There are likely several credit unions and small banks that would give you a regular credit card with FICO scores above 660.

My goal would be to get a nice solid credit line with a bank (Mastercard, VISA, Amex). Try the per-qualification application from Discover, American Express (they say the Delta Skymiles Gold is the "easiest"), and maybe Chase.

[ArlisT]

I have a Discover Card and a Capital One Platinum Card, which are sufficient as credit cards go. The Cap One I pay in full every month, if I've used it, and avoid interest charges. The Discover has a relatively low interest rate compared to my pre-BK cards, so if it's something big and I'll be carrying a blance for a while, I use the Discover. But PayPal Credit offers 6 or 12 months 0% interest, depending on the amount of the purchase. I never got 0% interest, even introductory, on either of my current cards cards, or any card before my bankruptcy, either. Seems like it would be handy.

I do have several inquiries due to my trial and error method of getting a credit card after the discharge. Several declines before I got that Cap One card, and several more before I was approved by Discover. Chase and Citi, forget it. I had balances with both of them when I went bankrupt, and they just never forgive, I'm told. Anyway, they denied me this time around. I don't want to add to these inquiries, so I don't want to apply for PayPal credit if their policy is the same as Citi and Chase.

[justbroke]

I think that PayPal is bankruptcy-friendly as I think their "credit" account is backed by Synchrony bank. The only problem with carrying a balance on store cards is they do tend to be a factor in the FICO-score modeling and you're somewhat penalized for carrying balances on those types of "consumer" finance accounts. If you're not score-building, then it's fine, but in the end do you really need PayPal Credit?

Additionally, and I'm preaching to the choir, avoid financing things unless you really need to finance something. The real problem with PayPal Credit is that they expect that most will miss the 6 or 12-month deadline and all the back interest, which accrued, will come down like a hail storm. Because it is revolving, they also anticipate that you'll keep revolving debt with them. (I have a PayPal Credit account myself, but only use it for small purchases on sites I don't trust... which is most... using PayPal for checkout.)

If you're asking about the PayPal MasterCard, those are more difficult to get. You apply for PayPal "credit" and they may just give you a PayPal Credit account; not the MasterCard. The same thing happens with many store cards where they switch to their "store" version of their credit account if the applicant doesn't meet the underwriting requirements.

If you really want a PayPal MasterCard, i would wait until my scores were solidly above 720 across the board. But, at that score, you could probably go into USAA, NFCU, PenFed or another large credit union and get a decent credit card with a decent credit limit.

I guess that I'm simply saying to weigh your options. In the end, trying to get a credit card for "prime" credit, your scores should be at least 720 across the board, and probably more like 740 to get the best terms.

[ArlisT]

Thanks.