Best Credit Card to get AFTER Bankruptcy?

[lilyfairy]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post, as I am new here. My husband and I recently filed Chapter 7 BK and it has been discharged since September 2014, we are now wanting to rebuild our credit, our scores are both just shy of 600, (my husbands score shot up 87 points AFTER BK was filed...mine went up by 1 point...weird huh) We are thinking we will need to get a secured credit card, which is fine, but do not know who to go with? We currently bank at a local credit union and thought of going through them, but wanted to make sure it was reported to all 3 credit bureaus, So should we go for a MAJOR company such as Capital One? What do you guys recommend? Any help/advice would be great!

 

Also we were advised by someone else rebuilding their own credit, to only use 10% of credit card limit and pay off on time each month to get BEST credit rating. So only use $30 on $300 limit and NO more. Does that sound right to anyone else? We want to make sure to do this right. We are not in NEED of a credit card, but just want to use one to improve our credit so one day we can buy a house.

 

We currently have NO credit cards, No car loans, No personal loans, No retail credit cards, Nothing that is reporting to credit bureaus.

 

We are in need of getting a small car loan ($5k or less) some time soon (within 6 months) should we apply for that now? or wait till we have had credit card for a few months to show on time payment history? What would be the best scenario? I don't wanna add too many "inquiries" to our credit reports right after filing BK, so trying to do this wisely. Thanks again for your help!

[chugs102]

Welcome, newbie!

 

You and your husband will need to get at least 3 credit cards. At this point, they will probably be secured cards.

 

You can get a secured card at SDFCU without a hard inquiry.

 

Go to Cap1 and see if you are pre-approved for any of their cards.

 

Once you get the cards, you can use as much as you like. HOWEVER, pay off all accounts and let ONLY 1 report a balance of several dollars. What this means is that, when the statements are generated, the statement balance should be $2-10. Then pay the rest before due date.

 

Join a credit union. They often have good rates on auto loans (eg. DCU or PenFed)

[creditmonitor2010]

Bob, you should start a master thread The Master Earliest You Can Get Unsecured Approvals After Bankruptcy Discharge for cards not included in bankruptcy.

[NewbietoFinance]

Check the BK Forum, it is explicitly for this kind of information.

 

Not likely to find an auto loan for 5k or less.

 

 

Welcome aboard! Plenty of helpful people around.. and then there is me.

Edited September 23, 2014 by NewbietoFinance

[belairpatrol]

I went thru this 20 months ago, and I would suggest trying to get a Cap One Secured Card. After 6 months it became unsecured. I started with $500 limit, and added cash to make my limit at $2000 when it hit 6 months.

[BobWang]

Bob, you should start a master thread The Master Earliest You Can Get Unsecured Approvals After Bankruptcy Discharge for cards not included in bankruptcy.

 

I think I'll call it

 

The Master Read CB Thread

[parisamour]

Meet your new best friend - reading .

[creditmonitor2010]

lilyfairy, let me help you since the others are not. Go to the Capital One website below and click on "See If You're Pre-Qualified". Fill in your information, and if it says "Congratulations! We think you'll like this pre-qualified card offer." apply for all the cards that you are pre-qualified for. Do this separately for yourself and your husband. Since you've already received your discharge, there's no need to wait. You can apply now for Capital One.

 

http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/compare/