credit

[Journey721]

Hello everyone! I have a question after filling chapter 7 last year every thing was finalized in October of 2020 so it’s almost 4 months no CC active at the moment on my end only a tire plus acc for truck repairs that’s all I wondered how difficult or easy Is to acquire Credid in a store like Best Buy ? Can anyone help with answer thanks

[shipo]

Welcome to the site Journey721, unfortunately the answer to your questions is like much else in life, "It depends".

If you have a credit score in say, the mid-600s, getting a store card is a definite maybe. I exited a Chapter 13 a little over a year ago and effectively cheated and applied for a Secured Credit Card; doing so dramatically increases the odds of being approved. Unfortunately I didn't do my homework properly before I applied and needed to close my first secured card less than two months after opening it due to an unusably low limit of only $1,000. So, here are a couple pieces of advice:

1. If a credit limit of $1,000 or under is sufficient for your needs, then CapitalOne is a pretty good place to start; they typically require a security deposit which is $151 less than the credit limit you want, or, said another way, for a credit limit of $1,000, the security deposit is $849. The deposit is refundable in the form of a credit to your card if/when the card is unsecured, and is refundable in the form of a check within 90 days of the closure of the account; obviously I took this path.
2. If you need a credit limit of more than $1,000, there are various banks offering secured cards with limits upwards of $10,000 (Wells Fargo), and others up to $5,000 (Bank of America, TDBank, and numerous others, Credit Unions included). Unlike CapitalOne, all of the banks I looked at "secured" the card via a locked interest bearing savings account which is simply unlocked when they unsecure your card after you maintain your account in good order for a certain amount of time, typically six months.

In my case, after shopping around I opened a secured card with TDBank for $5,000, paid it off every month, and had it unsecured after six months; they also prorated the "annual fee", which was only $29. One of the secondary benefits of these bank cards is they accrue "cash back" bonuses of a penny for every dollar you spend; by the time my TDBank Cash card was converted to an unsecured card I had already accrued about $150 in cash bonuses.

Keep us posted on how you make out.

[Journey721]

Hi I like to tank you for all the questions I pose it helps a lot
I will follow you advice and proceed with caution at the moment a card with $2000 will suffice since I can pay off the debt quickly since I don’t have any major debt hanging over me anymore ( Amex) love the card but it got out of control my fault I guess but I must tread lightly ( wife will be PO 🙂👍

[holamola]

Welcome to the site Journey721, unfortunately the answer to your questions is like much else in life, "It depends".

If you have a credit score in say, the mid-600s, getting a store card is a definite maybe. I exited a Chapter 13 a little over a year ago and effectively cheated and applied for a Secured Credit Card; doing so dramatically increases the odds of being approved. Unfortunately I didn't do my homework properly before I applied and needed to close my first secured card less than two months after opening it due to an unusably low limit of only $1,000. So, here are a couple pieces of advice:

1. If a credit limit of $1,000 or under is sufficient for your needs, then CapitalOne is a pretty good place to start; they typically require a security deposit which is $151 less than the credit limit you want, or, said another way, for a credit limit of $1,000, the security deposit is $849. The deposit is refundable in the form of a credit to your card if/when the card is unsecured, and is refundable in the form of a check within 90 days of the closure of the account; obviously I took this path.
2. If you need a credit limit of more than $1,000, there are various banks offering secured cards with limits upwards of $10,000 (Wells Fargo), and others up to $5,000 (Bank of America, TDBank, and numerous others, Credit Unions included). Unlike CapitalOne, all of the banks I looked at "secured" the card via a locked interest bearing savings account which is simply unlocked when they unsecure your card after you maintain your account in good order for a certain amount of time, typically six months.

In my case, after shopping around I opened a secured card with TDBank for $5,000, paid it off every month, and had it unsecured after six months; they also prorated the "annual fee", which was only $29. One of the secondary benefits of these bank cards is they accrue "cash back" bonuses of a penny for every dollar you spend; by the time my TDBank Cash card was converted to an unsecured card I had already accrued about $150 in cash bonuses.

Keep us posted on how you make out.

Hi
How long do you wait after the BK to start building your credit? you seem knowledgeable in this regard

[shipo]

Hi
How long do you wait after the BK to start building your credit? you seem knowledgeable in this regard

The most sound advice I can give in this regard is to check your credit reports, and as soon as they show "Discharged" for your bankruptcy, often ranging from a few weeks to a month or two, you can apply for a secured credit card. That said, secured cards are not created equal; CapitalOne seems to be the easiest to get, but also one of the most restrictive in terms of credit limit and graduation to an unsecured status. Many major banks offer secured cards as well as does Discover card.

An update to the post of mine you quoted above, apparently Wells Fargo no longer has a secured card offering.

Keep us posted on how you make out.

[holamola]

shipo thank you!