USAA or Navyfcu secured CC?

[freelance]

I currently hold an account with both usaa and navy federal and I am looking at secured credit cards. Reason for secured card is because, well, my score is super low. Which should I go with? Or do you think I should open one with both? How long would it take for my score to start to climb?

 

Anyone out there have either of these? Do you like them? I was told by usaa today it would be a 2 year cd with $35 fee/yr with 9.9% interest. Not sure what navy fcu is.

[NurseJackie]

We have a secure NFCU. All we did was apply and have the deposit on hand. They took the deposit and put it into a savings account - no fees and can cancel anytime. The card reports to the big 3 as a regular CC and it can graduate to unsecured. Can't comment on USAA but we haven't had any issues with this card.

[freelance]

No annual fees? Definately going to have to get one then. Can you deposit more to up the limit? USAA said I could with them but would start the cd over again. After 2 years it turns into unsecured.

[NurseJackie]

No annual fees? Definately going to have to get one then. Can you deposit more to up the limit? USAA said I could with them but would start the cd over again. After 2 years it turns into unsecured.

 

 

I'm pretty sure you can but we opened it up with $3000 so we didn't ask about increasing it. We wanted to make sure it would report as a regular CC with the possibility of graduating to unsecured.

 

 

ETA: No annual fees and there are rewards points.

Edited September 23, 2011 by NurseJackie

[freelance]

Nice. Thank you for taking the time to share this info.

 

 

If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take for your score to start to rise? Did you pay in full each month or min payment?

Edited September 23, 2011 by freelance

[NurseJackie]

Nice. Thank you for taking the time to share this info.

 

 

If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take for your score to start to rise? Did you pay in full each month or min payment?

 

 

We make small purchases and pay off every month. As far as the score, there's other crap on our reports so the raise in score will be a gradual one but we've only just started the rebuilding process.

[freelance]

I think what I might do is open a secured card with both usaa and nfcu, Split my reoccurring bills between the 2 (cable, cell, netflix, etc). Accounts that don't fluctuate in amount each month. Then setup auto pay and have both banks pay each other. As long as I have money in each account I should be home free.

 

Sound like a plan? Should be a well oiled credit repairing machine :-)

[NurseJackie]

I think what I might do is open a secured card with both usaa and nfcu, Split my reoccurring bills between the 2 (cable, cell, netflix, etc). Accounts that don't fluctuate in amount each month. Then setup auto pay and have both banks pay each other. As long as I have money in each account I should be home free.

 

Sound like a plan? Should be a well oiled credit repairing machine :-)

 

 

That sounds like a good idea. Hmmm, I might have to borrow that plan. =)

[brainchasm]

USAA secured card will be a max of $1500, and cannot be changed.

 

USAA secured card will never graduate. If the CD matures and you cash it out, you killed the card.

 

$35 AF is right, but that 9.9% APR was a dream - mine was 18.9%, with no derogs.

[freelance]

USAA secured card will be a max of $1500, and cannot be changed.

 

USAA secured card will never graduate. If the CD matures and you cash it out, you killed the card.

 

$35 AF is right, but that 9.9% APR was a dream - mine was 18.9%, with no derogs.

 

That's weird. Guy I spoke to on the phone said it would be $35 a year with 9.9% APR. Also said after 2 years with no late payments I could cash out my cd and my secured card would become a regular cc. I'll have to confirm this when I open a secured card next week.

[brainchasm]

USAA secured card will be a max of $1500, and cannot be changed.

 

USAA secured card will never graduate. If the CD matures and you cash it out, you killed the card.

 

$35 AF is right, but that 9.9% APR was a dream - mine was 18.9%, with no derogs.

 

That's weird. Guy I spoke to on the phone said it would be $35 a year with 9.9% APR. Also said after 2 years with no late payments I could cash out my cd and my secured card would become a regular cc. I'll have to confirm this when I open a secured card next week.

Ok, good luck, but I had the secured card, and the numbers I gave you are my own. And after many many tries, it wouldn't unsecured. I had to apply for a new card. Good luck with whatever you choose. :shrug:

[leonel619]

We have a secure NFCU. All we did was apply and have the deposit on hand. They took the deposit and put it into a savings account - no fees and can cancel anytime. The card reports to the big 3 as a regular CC and it can graduate to unsecured. Can't comment on USAA but we haven't had any issues with this card.

 

 

This is incorrect. Currently Navy Federal does not have a graduation program. After applying and being approved for an unsecured card, a member will receive a different account number for the unscured card.

[NurseJackie]

We have a secure NFCU. All we did was apply and have the deposit on hand. They took the deposit and put it into a savings account - no fees and can cancel anytime. The card reports to the big 3 as a regular CC and it can graduate to unsecured. Can't comment on USAA but we haven't had any issues with this card.

 

 

This is incorrect. Currently Navy Federal does not have a graduation program. After applying and being approved for an unsecured card, a member will receive a different account number for the unscured card.

 

 

That's interesting because when we applied in March for the secured we specifically asked if it would graduate to unsecured and we were told it would within time.

 

This CBer's card became unsecured: http://creditboards....1

[F&IGuru]

We have a secure NFCU. All we did was apply and have the deposit on hand. They took the deposit and put it into a savings account - no fees and can cancel anytime. The card reports to the big 3 as a regular CC and it can graduate to unsecured. Can't comment on USAA but we haven't had any issues with this card.

 

 

This is incorrect. Currently Navy Federal does not have a graduation program. After applying and being approved for an unsecured card, a member will receive a different account number for the unscured card.

 

 

That's interesting because when we applied in March for the secured we specifically asked if it would graduate to unsecured and we were told it would within time.

 

This CBer's card became unsecured: http://creditboards....1

Also if you apply through USAA for a secured card. They go through Early Warning Systems. Got TD'ed for it when I applied.

[leonel619]

We have a secure NFCU. All we did was apply and have the deposit on hand. They took the deposit and put it into a savings account - no fees and can cancel anytime. The card reports to the big 3 as a regular CC and it can graduate to unsecured. Can't comment on USAA but we haven't had any issues with this card.

 

 

This is incorrect. Currently Navy Federal does not have a graduation program. After applying and being approved for an unsecured card, a member will receive a different account number for the unscured card.

 

For the sake of clarifying/correcting this thread:

 

I was misinformed by the credit card dept. about this. Members with secured cards will be reviewed for graduation/conversion to unsecured after 13 months. If they are granted, members should keep the same card number.

 

However, if someone wants to apply before their review date, and they are approved for an unsecured card, that's where the different account number comes into play. They do not unsecure the same card at a member's request. Hope that helps!

[by2]

Also to keep your score from falling you need to ask both when your cycle closing date is because no matter if you pay in full each month if you don't do it by your cycle date that amount is reported to the CB's. So call them up and keep track of that date so you'll keep your scores up!!!