Instant Approval Cards

[augie]

Can anyone remind me which cards will usually give you instant credit approval at checkout? I think Buckle was one? Also, do these report on the credit bureaus as revolving like any other credit card? tahnks in advance. Will they also help to lower utilization?

[ckvb]

http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=212327

 

also read this about not opening too many store cards

http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=512579

[david_weaver]

Yes, they will help with utilization. But to what end?

 

Say you have $5000 in CL, and you owe $3000. You are at 60% utilization.

 

Most of the Comenity cards available for instant approval at checkout are $300-$500. The highest I have seen is $700.

 

So if you opened a half dozen, at an average CL of $500, your utilization would still be near 40%.

 

And with a half dozen new cards added to three or four existing ones, your AAOA would be less than two years overall, maybe closer to one year.

 

Simple answer is, you cannot make significant improvements to your credit score or your utilization by loading up on shopping-cart cards with toy limits at stores you would likely never shop at. And if you do use them at all, say a $75 pair of jeans at Buckle, and something nice from Victoria's Secret, you will have killed your AAOA AND your utilization will be back above 40%. If you are not getting it to 15% or less, you are suffering.

 

The toy limits on Comenity cards are for starting out, or desperately rebuilding. If you have major bank cards with limits in the $1000-$2000 range, there is really little advantage to bothering with them.

 

That would hurt your score as much as the drop in utilization would help.

[Theblkbarbie1]

3 years post Bk I could not get approved for a prime credit card. Six months later after opening a few comenity backed store cards and using 3 of them and paying off prior to the statement cycle, my scores went up by 20+ points and I got approved for the following cards: apple CC $2,000 and Gardner mountain $2,000 and SAKS store card $1,600. These toy limits have been great in helping me rebuild. Also if you maintain a good payment history with these cards the limits will start to increase and so will your credit scores.

[melikey]

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3 years post Bk I could not get approved for a prime credit card. Six months later after opening a few comenity backed store cards and using 3 of them and paying off prior to the statement cycle, my scores went up by 20+ points and I got approved for the following cards: apple CC $2,000 and Gardner mountain $2,000 and SAKS store card $1,600. These toy limits have been great in helping me rebuild. Also if you maintain a good payment history with these cards the limits will start to increase and so will your credit scores.

So your payoff for rebuilding with Comenity store cards was actually MORE store cards? The Apple and Gander Mountain, even if they have a Mastercard or Visa logo are kind of junky also. I guess they have their place but later on you'll probably regret having that junk on your reports. I know I do. Edited August 3, 2013 by melikey

[tee2503]

I see both sides of this argument. I've gotten a mixed bag of these but for me the best is Sportsman Guide visa - $5,000 and a $2,000 Hsn card. These are my 2 highest starting limits since I've started rebuilding and found CB in May, 2012. I also shopped yesterday with my VS card and got some great deals and triple rewards points. So for me these are apart of my overall credit plan and will benefit me down the road.

[mendelssohn]

I wouldn't recommend filling up your credit reports with store cards. You will slow down your progress and possibly get stuck in toy card hell if you get too many. If you are going to get any, get one from a place where you already shop.

[melikey]

I wouldn't recommend filling up your credit reports with store cards. You will slow down your progress and possibly get stuck in toy card hell if you get too many. If you are going to get any, get one from a place where you already shop.

+1

[cv91915]

 

I wouldn't recommend filling up your credit reports with store cards. You will slow down your progress and possibly get stuck in toy card hell if you get too many. If you are going to get any, get one from a place where you already shop.

+1

+1

 

Amost all of the s#!tty store cards that I've amassed will end up being closed due to non-use. I don't have time to monitor when I need to buy another shirt I don't need from Express in order to keep the Comenity account open.

 

I will keep my Macy's cards open for age, but the rest can melt in Hell.