Dear Shipo: I finally have $3,000 put together (I got a paying consulting client last month here) and am ready to do the SSL for, if I am right, $3,001. I still have the nice guy's name who said that when I am ready to send him an email, he can set it up w/o a credit pull. The advice is to pay it down to $250 w/i a couple of months, right? After that, I should have another 2K put together and open a 5K secured card with them. Then, use it and wait until they decide it's unsecured, often in about one year. Is that the case? I also have Andrews and PedFed accounts open. I can't remember which one is possible +2 years after discharge (7.29.26 in my case). Can you refresh my memory and let me know if this is a good plan? I did get a Venture One card using the upgrade link (no bonus miles, of course), and they recently increased the limit from 3K by a whopping $300 after 6 months of using and on-time payments. I am eager to get an installment loan and some names on my report that are not bottom feeders (MissionLane, Merrick-1,500 with 3,000 after 7 on-time payments, CapitalOne). I do have one credit union, a local one from Syracuse, NY, called Empower for 1K. I hope to increase the amount in Feb 2025 as that is the only one under 29.99% APR, and there are no cash advance fees or any fees except 17.99% APR, which is 4 months outside discharge, is a great deal IMHO. Any comments, as you seem to be the guru? Thanks as always, Roderick

Yes, the NAVY FCU works the same way. I took out a $3,001 secured loan (2.25% APR, if I made all payments in 5 years as normal, the total interest would be around $175.00). I paid it down to around $300 remaining and have it set up for a $10/payment each month from my Capital One checking, so I will have little check marks next to it each month regarding payment on time to the account for at least 3 years). The next payment is technically due on 9/2028). They release the amount paid off w/i 48 hours to the share savings account. Now to get clients to pay their invoices and open a $5,000 secured Credit card with Navy FCU. After 3 months, they review for a credit line increase, and after 6, they review every month the ability to "unsecure" to a cash rewards credit card. Also, Comnity Saks 5th Ave. did a 2.7K pre-approval MasterCard World elite with no hards pulls (had the Experian froze and still instant approval.). They are, at least, not the bottom of the bottom feeders from what I understand. Hope this helps some!

Assuming NFCU works the same way PenFed does, once you open the SSL and pay it down to $250 you'll have about $2,750 for the secured credit card, so no need to wait. The VentureOne card is a good start, getting NFCU's nRewards card is a great second step; I honestly wouldn't bother with any of the other bottom feeders for your third card; just maintain the two you have for say, six months and it is highly likely both CapOne and NFCU will be offering you additional cards.

Regarding interest rate, honestly, who cares; if you pay the cards off in full every month you won't pay any interest.