Capital One Secured Credit Card Review – Credit Diary Part II

Denzel | Fri, 4 Feb 2011 7:33 am 



great info! I’m following in your footsteps and I just got my confirmation email that my card was shipped also with the same limit. This too will be my firat credit card in 4 years as i’m starting on a new slate of being responsible on the road to solid credit scores. Good luck, I’ll check on your progress from time to time

newdirt.org | Tue, 8 Feb 2011 8:52 pm 



Hi Denzel. Good luck to you as well and please feel free to come back and post how you are doing with the card or any tips you might have. Thanks for your input!

Denzel | Sun, 20 Feb 2011 8:15 pm 



I’m doing good with the card. I did pick up some tips you may already be aware of. #1: I was told to use only 30% of my credit limit to reflect the best scores on my credit report. I raised my limit to $1,000 and try to spend around the $300 mark. I was warned anything above 30% and credit report can suffer.(Financial Advisor advised) #2: “there’s an app for that” lol Capital one has an app for the iphone… Nice layout and user friendly. Other operating systems Like Android or windows smartphones might have an app also. Happy spending, paying and building great credit. talk to you soon

newdirt.org | Mon, 7 Mar 2011 12:37 pm 



Denzel. Raising the credit limit sounds like a good idea. Was this due to an extra deposit you made or was your limit raised automatically by Capital One after being in good standing for a while? If you made the deposit, what’s their policy on getting the money back later on? I have the Capital One app as well. Very convenient! Thanks for your update. Please keep me informed!

Get Ahead | Mon, 11 Apr 2011 2:53 pm 



Hey there! good post. I just got approved over the weekend with a$49 required deposit. I should have done more but can’t at this time.
I see it didn’t take you long to your card? very good. I hope it doesn’t take long for mine. I also plan to keep ALL my cards at 30% usage. I hope the very best in your accomplishments! Thanks for sharing!

Robert | Wed, 13 Apr 2011 1:18 am 



Hi I recently got approved for this card with a $49 deposit. I just sent in my deposit today so hopefully I get my card soon. This is my first “Credit card” so I was wondering if you got any tips? Like should 30% of my limit be the mark I should stay under? Is it good to pay balance in full or should i just make minimum payments? I’ve heard different opinions about that one. Also I read on another site that after 6 months of making payments you MAY get a credit limit raise(This milestone is based on your history with them) and after 12 months you get your deposit refunded and your secured card turns into a regular credit card.

Izabella | Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:37 pm 



Hey! I applied today and got approved for a $200 credit limit. I am also thinking of increasing my security deposit to increase my limit to $1,000… how much extra deposit should I put in… $800??

Robert | Thu, 21 Apr 2011 3:21 pm 



Izabella, well how much do you have to pay for your initial deposit? If you have to pay $200, then yeah pay $800 more to increase it to 1000

newdirt.org | Thu, 21 Apr 2011 5:54 pm 



Hi Robert,

From what I’ve read, in order to improve your credit score it’s advisable to:

- Pay Credit Cards on Time
- Keep Balances Low
- Reduce the Amount of Debt you Owe

I prefer to pay my balance in full as I don’t want to pay interest. But apparently this by itself is not enough, as you also shouldn’t exceed 30% of your credit limit. Here’s a quote from an article I read:

“Don’t exceed 30% of your credit limit on each card. Credit bureaus don’t care if you pay off your balance each month. They’re interested in how much of your available credit you use. If it’s excessive, your credit score will drop.”

Paying only the minimum each month from what I’ve read is not the best thing to do, though I’m no credit expert. You can check out some tips on how to improve your credit by FICO here: http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/improveyourscore.aspx

Here’s another helpful article by MSN: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/Your5MinuteGuideToCreditCards.aspx

Did you get your card yet? Keep us posted with your progress.

Best of luck!

Robert | Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:59 am 



Thanks for the info. I haven’t received my card yet. I called them on saturday and they said to wait a full 10 days for my initial deposit to be applied and my account to be created but I’m guessing since it was the weekend, I had to wait til Monday for it to be processed. So everything went through, just waiting for my card to arrive now. I’m pretty excited to start building credit because I am going to be shopping for used cars but I want to finance one since it will be hard to pay for it in full and I need some credit history.

Kawanna | Mon, 25 Apr 2011 9:33 pm 



Hi, I want to thank you for you advice and in site on improving your credit and starting over. I just recently paid capital one off almost $1300 for a credit limit of 500 dollars back in ’08. But before i applied for this card just now. i wanted to check my credit score and report what i noticed was three months after i paid my debt to CO. I noticed my score improving almost 60 points. YAYYYYY not im at 638…Thanks to you and your information i can improve it more by saving and controlling my spending. Even though i am a shopping addict but because i am older, i am ready for finance a new car and later on buy my first little home for my family…Thanks again…

Robert | Tue, 26 Apr 2011 2:25 pm 



Little update on me, got an email today saying my card was shipped yesterday and I should get it this week.

Going to be checking the mail every day

Jazzy | Wed, 27 Apr 2011 6:31 pm 



Thanks for sharing the info. I applied and submitted the deposit 10 days ago. I was nervous that this may be some kind of scam, since I still have yet to receive my card, or any other updates. It is good to see that it is typical for them to take a while.
Any more updates on any additional fees that you weren’t expecting or anything else I should watch for? Has your credit score improved any more since you’ve had the card?
Thanks again for sharing your experience. I think there are many of us out there in this situation and it helps to get a real person’s perspective, not some advertisement.

Robert | Thu, 28 Apr 2011 4:07 pm 



Yeah I talked to a customer rep because I felt like it took too long to get any confirmation of my deposit but they said it takes 10 days then you should receive a email saying they shipped your card, then after that you will receive your card in 7 days.

I actually got mines today and just activated it. Excited to start building credit, I know it won’t happen anytime soon because credit building is a process but I’m excited nonetheless.

Jackie | Thu, 5 May 2011 1:46 pm 



Hi,
I’m so glad I came across this blog. I’m in the process of trying to build my credit back up after really screwing it up during my younger days. Its definitely caused a delay in my husband and I getting approved for a loan to purchase our first home.

Anywho, I applied online for the Capital One Secured credit card as well but I didn’t receive any kind of confirmation email or approval right away. However, I did see that my credit got hit with an inquiry from Capital One so I suppose they received my application after all.

Should I be worried that I didn’t get approved right away though? I thought I read that some of you were approved immediately.

Thanks for all the great tips and hope for improving my credit.

newdirt.org | Tue, 17 May 2011 11:17 am 



Thanks for all your comments!

@Jazzy:

I haven’t had any surprises yet with additional fees or anything like that, though I always pay in full and never pay late to avoid fees. About receiving the card, you just need to be patient, hopefully you got yours already! Let me know how things are doing with your new card.

@Jackie:

I was approved immediately but I remember reading somewhere that not everybody gets approved or is eligible for this card, I think your credit needs to be within a certain range. Have you heard from them yet? Hopefully you got approved. All the best.

Robert | Tue, 17 May 2011 9:24 pm 



From the date you received you card, how many days was it until your first due date appeared? I’ve had the card for about 20 days now and was wondering when I should expect a due date as I get paid this week and would like to just pay it right away.

newdirt.org | Thu, 19 May 2011 10:14 am 



Hey Robert,

I remember that it took at least a month before I saw a due date, maybe even more (it surely felt like forever). I would say between 4-5 weeks. I’m almost sure you can pay before you see it, you just have to add your bank account information so you can pay online and you should be good to go. I’m not a 100% sure if you can do this before you get your first statement, but I don’t see why not.

Robert | Thu, 19 May 2011 2:41 pm 



Yeah it wouldn’t let me pay my statement, and the due date was N/A

But yesterday I checked and it now has a due date of Jun 14th and I was able to pay my balance in full. I’m guessing once you pay your first statement, you can then pay whenever.

Jazzy | Thu, 19 May 2011 7:13 pm 



Hey guys!

I thought I would give you guys an update. Here’s my timeline for anyone interested…

4/16 – Applied and was instantly approved for the $49/$200

4/21 – Made the deposit online.

4/22 – Deposit came out of my bank.

4/22 – Received the letter saying I was approved, and make the deposit, if I hadn’t already done so.

5/2 – Received email saying my image for card was approved.

5/6 – Received email saying my card was shipped 5/5 and I should receive it within 7 business days.

5/9 – Received card and activated it online.

5/19 – Tried to make a payment on line.

I had the same problem as Robert, and received the message that “system was down” and gave me a number to call. I googled around, and found that, if you do not have a due date pending, it won’t allow you to pay online, but you CAN call the payment in over the phone.

I also made a payment to add to my security deposit. I’ll let you know how long that takes to be ACH’d from my account and applied to my balance. (Anyone else do this after you received your card? Was just curious how long the turn-around was.)

I’ll keep you guys updated as things progress.

Thanks again to all who shared their stories.
Good Luck to All!

Drew | Thu, 19 May 2011 7:36 pm 



any updates on how it is going for you just ordred my card.

Drew | Thu, 19 May 2011 7:57 pm 



*Update i have not even gotten a email saying card has been sent but credit score went from 549 to 573 and i have not even been mailed the card, working for me already.

Courtnee | Sat, 18 Jun 2011 8:01 pm 



This was really good info for me. I applied a few days ago and got approved to pay 49 dollars, which I did. But I only had received a confirmation for payment I printed it out of course however, I was shocked at not receiving an email about however many business days it would take for complete process. Now, I was able to chat with someone online no doubt, helpful, but I
still of course, didn’t feel right. USually when giving up any personal info on yourself you are inclined to receive sometype of email especially when appying for a credit card online. Although I haven’t gotten it your Diary has given me some closure as to what to expect.

Thank You so Much!

Courtnee

Yara Gomez | Mon, 27 Jun 2011 1:01 pm 



I am glad I found this website about you guys’ experience. I just applied for the card, paid the minimum deposit the same day, and just waiting for some updates. After reading your comments, I will be making another deposit to up my credit limit. From what I’ve read, I’ve gathered that it’s more or less one month for you to get started on rebuilding your credit. I am excited to get this process started, just turned 28, trying to fix my mistakes from earlier in life.

ambersun | Mon, 27 Jun 2011 2:54 pm 



Thanks for the post. I have this card. Just made a $235 additional deposit to my $225 credit limit. I have had this card for a year exactly. My credit isn’t that good so I’m not surprised that I don’t have a credit line increase yet and I haven’t been paying in full each month or adding to my credit line. Also, pay in full each month if you can, add to the credit line if you can, and stay well below the limit. I have went over by a couple of dollars (when the statement date came) and it has reported on my credit report. They didn’t charge me for going over by a couple of dollars but their system recognizes that I went over. I have never been late on this card. Overall, I plan to keep this card for a long time and make it grow and work for me. Cash is King, but at some point you do need credit…I will update if I have anything to post. Thanks!

regina | Tue, 28 Jun 2011 5:37 pm 



applied on 5-16 made deposit 6-16 received confirmation of deposit on 6-21 did not here anything called the 800 # on 6-27 entered ss# in found out account was already setup in ready to go i then called in spoke with an operator who told me my card had been ordered on 6-25 in i would receive an e-mail in about 5 days saying the card was on its way so based on that i think from the time you make your deposit you receive your card in about 2 1/2 weeks…

ambersun | Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:49 am 



****Update***
The deposit I made to increase my balance….the funds were taken out of my checking account the next day, but I haven’t seen any changes in my credit limit. I’ve read somewhere that it can take up to 5 business days for the deposit to show…regarding depositing addtional funds to increase your credit line after you have the card.

regina | Thu, 30 Jun 2011 4:57 pm 



update:
received email yesterday 6-29 saying card had been shipped on 6-28 ready to rebuild my credit..

***update*** | Wed, 6 Jul 2011 10:53 am 



I still haven’t seen the deposit I sent in to increase my limit. I called a Rep today and they said that it takes 10 business days for additional funds to post to increase my limit. My payment only takes two days to post and the security deposit was taken out of my accoun the next day. Oh well, I’m glad I don’t need to use the card, so be aware if you are posting additional funds to increase the balance, it may take up to 10 business days to post.

lori | Mon, 11 Jul 2011 7:36 pm 



Just read your review…..and like u I’m doin the same…..except one thing….I’m in the process of buying my first home….was told by lenders to open a secured card but never max out…but I need to use at least half of it…..and for the first 6mths pay min plus 10 or 15 more. Does not look good on your credit if u are not using it…does not look good if u are using it and turning around and paying it off each month….creditors want to see that u can manage your credit card and spending….just an fyi…..it has helped me go from a 495 to a 585 in 7 mths and I just got approved for a best buy credit card….but I also paid off like 5 past accounts as well…good luck everyone

MJZ | Wed, 13 Jul 2011 3:54 pm 



Thanks for all the info.
I applied on 7/7 and made the minimum deposit of $49 the same day.
Like other have stated I got no e-mail response which was scary, however it does appear that the deposit was taken out of my acct on 7/11.

I’m just waiting for the confirmation e-mail stating that my card is in the mail now.. hopefully this will help me rebuild my credit. I currently have a “Thin file” so not exactly sure what my scores are.. but I know they’re not good. I’m looking forward to CreditInform as well so I can monitor improvement and figure out ways to fix past problems.

Thanks again for all the great info.

Sam | Thu, 14 Jul 2011 6:57 pm 



I also just applied today, the information on their website when applying wasn’t very helpful. I was approved to pay a $49 deposit, but I went ahead and made a deposit of $200. I’m not sure what my credit limit will be now? Any ideas? I was very worried about not recieveing any confirmation emails, but all the posts above made me feel more comfortable!

NikkiD | Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:11 am 



7/15 I just applied and was approved $49/$200 as well. I made the deposit. I am excited about the approval. I too am trying to rebuild my credit. I did not recieve a confirmation as well. Because of all the other posts, I am confident in the process. Here’s to a better credit. Cheers!

MJZ | Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:13 pm 



Today is the 2 week mark from applying/sending in the electronic deposit.
I received the disclosure letter on monday however no other communication.
Hopefully the card gets here by the 1st so I can pay a bill on it this month

MJZ | Tue, 26 Jul 2011 1:20 pm 



Got the card today.
Activated and called the number to enroll in CreditInform.
Signed up for online banking.

19 days from applying and sending the security deposit until getting the card. Not too shabby… especially considering that thanks to everybody who has written before me I had a good idea of what to expect.

Thanks again for this blog post!!!

Mike | Tue, 26 Jul 2011 2:02 pm 



I find this all very interesting. I guess I’ve been doing it all wrong. I have had a Capital one card for about 7 months now. I just got an increased credit limit from 500 to 750 automatically. I’m not sure if my credit score is going up since I just enrolled in the credit inform and it says I’m at 570 now when I thought I was at 620 back in Jan. The reason I think I’m doin it all wrong is because I figured if I maxxed the little 500 limit out every month (sometimes 3 times a month) then it would help my credit. I guess I’ve been terribly mistaken. Guess I’ll slowly pay it off a couple hundred a month and just start using it for my cell phone bill and electric bill. Even though I’ve been told that the only way they do an increase is if they see that you can handle that amount. I have about 3000 in bills every month between me and my wife so I can afford a higher limit if I continue with the method I use now (use card to pay bills then pay off the card) but it seems that could be hurting my score alot. Seems to me that if someone can afford to pay off 2000 every month then the score would go up but I guess I was mistaken in that theory

Ike | Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:05 pm 



Hey guys, I got my card 5 days ago with a credit line of $200 after making a deposit of $49 and used it to make payments and its currently maxed out. However my first due date is on the 8th of September. If I pay it all off on the 9th of August, would it affect me? I have NO credit history and am just starting out.

Nicole | Thu, 28 Jul 2011 9:56 pm 



i was just wondering where the cards are being sent from? I got an email today saying the card was in the mail? Thanks How long does it take to get the card in the mail?

Emjay | Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:17 am 



Excellent articles!! I totally forgot I even applied for the CapOne secured card, then yesterday I received a letter saying I was approved. I thought it was a joke and a scam from them to get my banking information in order to pay a debt I owe to them.(I also used credit irresponsibly in my early 20s and now find myself on the far end of good credit). So I immediately headed to the internet for more infformation on this card. I came across this blog and read both articles. Now I see the letter wasn’t a scam and that I actually appiled for a pretty good card. I processed my 49$ deposit online, now let’s see what happens from here and how long it takes to receive my card.

newdirt.org | Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:57 am 



@Mike (Ike, this will probably be of interest to you as well)

It is obvious that I am in no position to give credit advice, that being said, every reliable source I’ve read seems to point out that it is not a good idea to max out your cards.

Here’s a quote from myfico.com:

“Keep balances low on credit cards and other “revolving credit”. High outstanding debt can affect a credit score.”

Another quote from about.com:

“A large part of your credit score – 30% to be exact – is based on how much of your available credit you’re using. This ratio of credit card balances to credit limits is known as your credit utilization. The higher your credit utilization, or the close your credit card balances are to your credit limit, the more your credit score is hurt. Maxing out one credit card is pretty bad for your credit score. Maxing out all your credit cards is much worse.”

But now that you mention it, I had a credit card that I used to max out all the time, and it went from having a $1000 limit to having $2500 in a relatively short amount of time (I would say about a year). Unfortunately I used to pay late all the time so the bank closed my account. So maybe it’s good for the bank that you max out the card and pay it on time every month because they’re making money, but not so good for your credit score because you are relying too much on your credit? Kind of ironic if you think about it (I’ve read it’s good to use your credit, but not too much because then it looks like you’re living off your cards). But maybe your case is a little different because you are paying off the balance every month.

I’ve had the card for 6 months, have been using about 30% of my limit every month (I read that somewhere) and have been paying on time and I’m still waiting for a credit limit raise. Maybe I should be using more than 30% or maybe I just need to be patient. Anyway, it’s good to know of somebody that got an automatic raise, that gives me hope.

Thanks for your input and good luck!

Sources:

1. http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/improveyourscore.aspx
2. http://credit.about.com/od/creditcardbasics/tp/you-shouldnt-max-out-your-credit-card.htm

Vic | Sun, 31 Jul 2011 4:05 pm 



Hello Everyone,
Ive been using Cap One Secured Mastercard for over a year. I got a credit line increase from $1000 to $1300 after 6 months ($300 more, my security deposit was $1000). I started with a credit score of 580 when I first applied for the cards. After 6 months my score was 630. I made an additional deposit of $1000 after 9 months, making my total limit $2300. I noticed my score took a jump from 630 to 685 in just 3 months (cuz adding $1000 improved my credit to debt ratio). Ive been using about 50%-60%(or less) of my credit & pay in full sometimes. Most of the time I pay more than the minimum payment & carry balance for next month(paying little interest). I pay off my balance within 3 months & start the same thing again. My current score is 735, been there for about last 2 months.

ambersun | Fri, 5 Aug 2011 10:44 am 



I haven’t seen a credit limit increase yet. I surely want to. I have added $40 more to bring it to a $500 limit. I’m debating on if I should use it and pay in full each month or just pay it down. I am over the 30% so I may just pay it down and leave it alone. I’ll figure it out. Scores have went up some and also applied for the HSBC card and was able to get one with a $39 fee. The only reason why I applied was because I used the preapproval online first. It used to always recommend the secured card, but it said i was eligible for the $39 annual fee 2% platinum rewards card for $300. hey it’s better than nothing and I intend to treat these cards right so that they will age and look good on my reports. I really want to keep increasing my cap one card at least to $1k- I really love that feature on that card.

newdirt.org | Fri, 5 Aug 2011 4:50 pm 



Hey Vic,

Congratulations on your new credit score. It gives me hope, also it tells me I need to increase my credit line as much as I can. I’m sure that’ll make a big difference. Thanks!!!

Amy | Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:15 am 



Hi,
Really thank you for your posts and updates about this card. I’ve been denied for student cards (and I am a college student) and I was looking into secured credit cards to help me start building credit. When I was denied, the letters usually stated the reasons as being I have no credit history and no checking account. Since then, I’ve opened a checking account and have put money in it. I also work a part-time job even though obviously the pay is not that good. Do you think the Capital One Secured card is a good choice for me?

And does this card offer “graduation” into an unsecured card after a certain amount of time and good standing? Bank of America’s secured card is usually reviewed and turned into an unsecured card in a year or sometimes even sooner according to my research, if the account is in good standing. However, the annual fee is $39.

newdirt.org | Thu, 11 Aug 2011 9:36 am 



Hi Amy,

I’m glad the posts have been useful. Yes, I think the Capital One would be a good choice for you or anybody looking to establish credit. However, this is not the only card out there that will help you do that. The Bank of America secured card looks like a great option too. I also considered it as well, but went with Capital One because I had an unsecured BOA credit card account that was closed by them (I had been late a couple of times and this was during the financial crisis and they were closing lots of accounts). I wanted a fresh start and was worried that I would be denied by BOA because of my past history with them, plus I’m waiting for my credit to get better so I can try to reopen this card. I liked that with Capital One you can get a $200 credit limit for only $49, all the other cards I’ve seen have a “what you put is what you get” limit policy.

Another thing that I’ve learned is that having only one card with a low limit does not look great on your credit report (but much better than no credit at all of course), so I’m now looking to get another credit card to help my credit score go up faster. You are in college and still have time to work on this, perhaps you can consider a second card later on, when you have established some credit history and qualify for an unsecured card.

You might also want to check the Citi secured card, it looks similar to the BOA card (turns into an unsecured card after some time), but the annual fee is $29 plus they put your money in a CD and you’ll earn some interest on it. The Orchard Bank card looks attractive as well, the $35 annual fee is waived after the first year. I haven’t read anything saying that the Capital One will turn into an unsecured card eventually or when they will refund your deposit. They do mention that you may earn credit line increases based on your payment and credit history, so this is already having some sort of “unsecured benefits”.

Whatever card you decide to go for, just pay in time and don’t max it out every month. If you don’t want to pay interest, pay in full every month. Also don’t depend on your credit card, use it wisely! This will help you stay out of credit trouble in the long run (I should have done this when I was in college). Best of luck.

adam | Wed, 17 Aug 2011 3:30 am 



I had applied online for this card on June 9th. 2 weeks before Canada postal strike. I was instantly approved however would not know credit limit until mailed confirmation. After a month after month long postal strike I finally get the letter stating approved for 500 limit with a 75$ security deposit. Pretty sweet than needed to go to Canada post to verify I am who I am and mail confirmation back. Called a week after and said should be here or waiting for prosessing. Then will issue card. Its been 3 months almost an have yet to receive card. I’m happy approved for decent limit however upset over time frame.

ambersun | Wed, 17 Aug 2011 4:15 pm 



That’s a long time… I would call back again and follow up. Maybe something got lost in the mail.

newdirt.org | Thu, 18 Aug 2011 8:17 am 



Adam. It took about 10 days after I received the approval letter to get my card. As Ambersun said, I would call back to follow up.

Drew | Thu, 18 Aug 2011 9:57 am 



Congratulations on your credit increase! That didn’t take too long at all, considering some folks have never got one. I am following in you same foot steps so it’s very encouraging to see you make progress. Thanks for all your doing here. It’s really helping people!

newdirt.org | Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:21 am 



Thanks Drew!

I’m thinking about adding some boards/forums to the blog. I wasn’t expecting to get this much feedback when I started in January, and it would definitely be great to be in touch with other people here, in a more organized way (there’s already 50 responses here).

Thanks for stopping by and please keep me posted about your progress!

melanie | Thu, 18 Aug 2011 6:22 pm 



hi to all of you I also applied capital one last July and got my secured card August,I’m still waiting for my billing statement to pay it in full my question to newdirt.org is they already increase your credit limit and change your card to unsecured card did the capital one refund your $200 deposit? how it works?
Thank you, have a great day:)

newdirt.org | Thu, 18 Aug 2011 7:47 pm 



Hi Melanie,

Congratulations on getting your card. Yes they increased my limit automatically by $100, but that doesn’t mean they have graduated me to an unsecured account. They just raised my credit line and still have my $200 deposit (the truth is, I’m still not sure when they’ll refund my deposit – if somebody knows I would like to hear about this).

I am now looking into getting a 2nd secured card. I like that both Citi and Bank of America have a clear policy on this (Capital One just says it’s a “refundable deposit”). Citi will put your deposit in a CD for at least 18 months and Bank of America offers to graduate your card and refund your deposit after 12 months if you’ve handled your credit wisely.

Thanks for stopping by.

melanie | Thu, 18 Aug 2011 8:15 pm 



Thank you for you reply post newdirt.org I chatted one of the representative before she said that they will refund the deposit after you have graduated in the secured card or close the capital account but I don’t know if this true:)

newdirt.org | Thu, 18 Aug 2011 8:32 pm 



Melanie, that’s good to know. I had read about the option of closing the account to get back the deposit, but I don’t see that as an option as this can affect your credit (maybe in a few years when my credit has improved I can consider this).

I went and googled this up to see what I could find and some people were complaining about having the Capital One secured card for 2, 3 or 4 years and still not getting the deposit back or being changed to an unsecured card. I don’t know wether this is true or not, but I have decided not to put more money on this card until I find out otherwise.

I still think that getting this card for a $49 or a little more is a good deal. But I’m not sure about putting a thousand or more and having to wait forever to get it back.

UPDATE:

For those of you interested, this is all I was able to find regarding the REFUND of your security deposit on Capital One’s website:

“If you close your account and pay your balance in full, your security deposit is fully refundable”

and also:

“I may not make any withdrawals from the deposit funds. I understand that my security deposit will not earn interest”

So, as I understand it. You’ll be given a full refund if you close your account and do not owe any money to them. I SUPPOSE they could refund your deposit after some time if you have been a good customer, but I haven’t read anything that confirms or denies this on their website or the documentation I received. They can keep your deposit for as long as your account is open, that’s the only thing I can deduct from what I’ve read, so if you are thinking about making a $500-3000 deposit, I would take this into consideration.

snake eyes | Tue, 23 Aug 2011 6:55 pm 



Do you think i can revieve my card tomorrow if the e-mail said it was mailed yesterdy? I live in eastren ky.

Gstacks | Thu, 25 Aug 2011 1:55 am 



I wanted to thank everyone for their advice and guidance on the process to healing my credit. During my college years I had the fortunate opportunity to acquire some credit cards ranging from American Express, Bank of America, Citi(Approved and they sent me two cards, Capitol One and Chase Bank. I know its a lot but at the time I was working full time in the hospitality industry and was financially stable for my age. At the time working full time at a hotel I was beginning college and was given an Ultimatum to either work full time or work no time considering it was a union positon and my school schedule were conflicting with my work schedule. I decided to go to school and focus on my academia. I then began to have financial issues and became dependant off my credit cards to the point that i could not keep up with them and ended up defaulting on them. I was then given a chance to pay off my American Express card off and receive another AMX card with half the CL to my previous card. I choose to pay it off and receive the offer only to find myself in the same circumstance as before. I must say I was young and was often educated by different sources of how vital it is to have great credit however I made some mistakes that I have learned from. Now fast forward to 2011 and I have graduated and been in the workforce for a couple years to realize that its time to try to repair my credit. I do have some school loans and most of the creditors I owe will soon in the next year or two minus the Amx that will fall of TU in 2015 (crazy) will be off my credit. I do not condone my behavior of and was even taken to court for a citi card and I set up a payment plan after the judgment was made against me. Well the Law firm (Daniels Law firm) that summons me to court eventually went out of business so my judgment no longer applies (Yeah lol).
I have been shopping around for a bank that I could get approved for a credit card and I came accross a few that I knew I could obtain considering the other banks I defaulted on where out of the question. I checked out HSBC eventhough they have a terrible history of bad reviews, however they utilize ChexSystem so I felt I had nothing to loose. I eventually put in an application the first week of August 2011 and am still waiting (yeah I heard it takes a while). Then I heard about Capitol One Secured Mastercard and became excited as It came with Mastercard Car rental insurance etc and because of their $ 49,99,200 for 200 deal they are promoting. I came accross this site and have been reading about current customers experience and I believe it was truly the right choice for me at the time.
I called in on August 11, 2011 and applied for Cap One Secured card and was approved for the $49/200 deal. I put down 300 in total two days later as the SR stated I have to wait two days in order to deposit my money so I did. My credit score if Im correct from EQ that I just checked a couple weeks ago read 552. I have not checked the others however i did receive my annual Credits reports from the Gov and reviewed those. I must say I am excited to be able to begin to rebuild my credit, try to pay down my student loans in hopes that one day, just one day I can accomplish the American Dream and own a home. Below you will find a timeline of my application process with Capitol One Secired Card:

8.11.11 Applied for the Capitol One Secured MasterCard and approved with the 49/200 deal.

8.13.11 I deposited the 49 plus 251 extra to make my credit limit 451 in total.

8.18.11 I received my disclosure forms from Capitol One

8.24.11 I was anxious to begin repairing my credit so I called the 800 number and entered my social and it stated my account was created.

8.25.11 I deposited $50.00 bucks more to make my credit limit 501 in total because I felt 500 and up was a good fit for me to begin with.

I never really write reviews, however I wanted to share my experience with everyone and I am super excited in having a credit card after almost four years of not having one. I am now more mature and educated and want to try to have a clean slate of credit building. I understand that my deposit doesnt gain interest and that this card may never reach the unsecure point But for 29 bucks a year and a high interest rate im not to worried about because I will pay in full every month. I sure hope that I am offered an unsecured card thru Cap one etc in the neard future but til then I will try my best and enjoy my journey to being debt free and being able to finally rent a car without the ridiculous hoops you have to go thru currently in my state to get one. I truly with everyone the best in their path to financial success and hope everyone continues to write reviews. I cant wait to receive my card and be able to tell everyone whats in my wallet..LOL

Treshia | Thu, 25 Aug 2011 5:54 pm 



Hi everyone.
I just applied for the card and wasn’t automatically approved. I’m 24, recent college graduate, steady job at 38k and a score of 543. I’ve paid off 5 debts with only 1 more to go and I don’t have any other credit besides one school loan which is still in good standing since it’s been extended since I started my masters program. I live at home and don’t pay rent so I have no other debt. I’m kind of flustered that I didn’t get approved automatically and now I don’t know if I will ever be able to get new credit and to start rebuilding. I want to purchase my first home by December of 2012. I’ve been paying things off since January 2011 and my score hasn’t move one point. It’s obvious that my score wont move from paying debts off and I was told in a home buyer seminar that it will only move by starting new a new history of good credit. The guy gave me an 800# to call in 48 hrs to check my app status but fro
Everyone else’s stories, approval was instant. Should I be worried? Any advice.

gstacks | Thu, 25 Aug 2011 7:48 pm 



Hey Treshia. I hope all is well? I’m no expert on this but usually approval is instant unless they have to verify any additonal info for your identity. I have heard in previous threads and feel free to.search them that their is a back door number you might be able to apply to and discuss your situation with a senior rep. You might be able to.press to them.your past and where your heading as far as your credit. Inform them that you have paid off some debt that you accumulated in the Past and that your a new changed person. Hopefully that works, if not try HSBC bank although its been recently acquired by Capitol One they still should have the same criteria until further notice. Also Public savings bank.I heard is pretty easy to obtain. I really hope Capitol One approves you.and you get your.home soon. Please come.back and share your thoughts with us as I would love to hear from you. Thanks

Francesca | Sun, 28 Aug 2011 2:24 am 



Do you think I would be able to get this card if I have no credit history and I don’t pay any rent? There’s a question on the online application asking for the rent I pay, and I’m still a college student living with my parents so I don’t pay rent yet. I tried applying for a student unsecured credit card before and was denied for having no credit history. Is the Capital One secured card easy to get approved for?

gstacks | Sun, 28 Aug 2011 5:30 pm 



Just Providing an Update regarding my Cap One Secured Card.
On August 25- I received an email stating I could customize my card with an image.
On August 26- I received an email stating my card has been shipped yesterday and I.will receive it in 7-10 Business days.
Soooo Excited to begin rebuilding my credit. I will keep everyone posted on the progress.
@ Fransesca you should be able to get one. I would take the risk considering it would only deduct a few points off your Fico. I would not recommend applying for several cards if you been denied as it perceives you to be desperate for credit. As far as the rent you Can always say that you pay rent in the amount of 100 bucks and state your income. (the don’t check your income, they just take your word). What they are lookin for is a higher income to rent pay ratio. You should be fine if you play it right even if you dont actually pay rent. Honesty is best but everyone circumstance differs. Let us know if you do apply and the outcome. Good luck on your future to success. Thanks for stopping by.

Francesca | Mon, 29 Aug 2011 1:02 am 



@gstacks – Thank you for the advice. I have just applied and got approved instantly for this secured card with a $49 deposit. I sent over the deposit online and hope to get my card soon. This is my first “credit card” ever, and I plan to use it responsibly, for the little things each month and pay off my balance in full each month. I hope to use this card to build credit for 1-2 years and then try applying for an unsecured card again after that.

gstacks | Mon, 29 Aug 2011 1:18 am 



Hey Fransesca, I’m so proud of you and a huge Congratulations. See it wasn’t that bad right? So how much did you say for rent etc. Also I had to wait two days two.deposit.my dough was that the case for.you? Details please lol. Remember only to.charge 30 percent or less of your CL. I have student loans that Im gonna be repaying very soon but needed a card to help build up other credit lines to.cover my old blemishes from the past. I hope you come back and tell us how your doing. My email is .shop617@gmail.com if you ever need to chat…Lastly I plan on applying for a in secured card in a year or two as well so i.hope I get it…I.plan on paying my cell.phone and small bills each month then paying in full with a 501 CL….Again Congrats )

gstacks | Mon, 29 Aug 2011 1:26 am 



@ Franceaca…There’s No dot at the beginning of the email…Ttyl

Francesca | Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:17 pm 



@gstacks – I entered $100 for the rent amount, just like you suggested, and it worked for me. Basically my timeline so far is:

8/28/11 Applied for Capital One Secured Mastercard. Got instantly approved for the $49/200 deal. Sent over the $49 via electronic deposit.

As of today, the transaction didn’t show up on my checking account yet. Will see if it shows up tomorrow, which is 2 days after I sent it. I hope newdirt is able to set up some kind of forum or chat page soon so we can all keep track and share our progress with each other better.

Drew | Tue, 30 Aug 2011 3:00 pm 



I received a bill for 77.75 due on 09182011l. I paid that on 08262011. I then made purchases on 08272011 and 08282011 in the amount of 146.60. My question is when will this new balance be due? Will it be due on or before 09182011 or will the due date change to a later date. I just want
to make sure I’m doing this right and not paying late. Also, since it’s in the same cycle, does that make my credit usage percent higher by paying early and then spending again prior to my due date? Thanks for
your help.

Amy | Sun, 4 Sep 2011 3:40 am 



Anyone know if it’s mandatory to sign up for Credit Inform once you have the card? I’ve read so many horror stories about people who try to cancel it after they canceled their Cap One card, and don’t want to deal with these problems when I eventually close this account after the card has served its purpose.

newdirt.org | Sun, 4 Sep 2011 3:14 pm 



@gstacks: Thanks for sharing all that info, please keep us posted on your progress. Have you received your card yet?

@Francesca: Congratulations on your approval! I’m working on the forum section right now so anybody that wants to post a timeline can have his or her own thread. Hopefully it’ll be only a few more days! Thanks for your feedback.

@Amy: It is not mandatory to sign up for CreditInform. It’s completely optional, and offered free of charge if you are approved for this card.

Amy | Sun, 4 Sep 2011 3:46 pm 



Hi, newdirt! Thanks so much for replying to my question about Credit Inform. I also was approved for the card recently and today I received my approval letter in the mail. Hopefully, my card will arrive soon. I just don’t want the Credit Inform service since it provides FAKO scores and might be a hassle to cancel.

Amy | Sun, 4 Sep 2011 4:04 pm 



@Drew:
Hi Drew, I see no one has responded to your question yet. Do you know your billing cycle date? I believe your statement should say what dates the bill are for, like “for the period ending ___”. If your purchases fall after that date even if immediately after, it should be counted for the next statement.

According to my research, what gets reported to the credit bureaus is the balance on your account at the statement cutoff date, which is the day the statement is made. So your utilization is the $77.75, however many % of your credit limit that is. To get a lower utilization, you would have to pay your balance BEFORE the statement comes out. You would have 0% utilization if your statement balance is 0.00.

Gstacks | Mon, 5 Sep 2011 9:46 pm 



HEY Guys,
So I am excited to say that I have received my card. On August 26, 2011 I received an email from Capital One stating my card is in the mail and that I should received it in 7-10 business days. On August 29, 2011 I finally received my card along with my welcome packet. That same day I signed up for the online banking and for Credit Inform if thats whats its called.
NOW FOR THE HEADACHE….
I received the 29 dollar fee on my card one August 29 when I intially activated the card. Then I went ahead and made a swift payment through customer service as I believe I could not pay anything on the card until my statement came out as the system would block you. Now I wish their was a way to pay anytime as that would be very convenient in my case since I use my card to buy things that I already have money for in my bank card. So here I go. On August 31, 2011 I made my first charge to the card at a local supermarket charging just 24 dollars on it. Now take note that I had a previous account with Capital One back in 2002 and I have made a credit limit and deposit charge on my bank card which was initially Fleet National Bank and was recently acquired by Bank of America for 300 dollars to make my credit limit 451 (49 down for approved status of 200 and 251 increase). I also decided to up my CL to 501 by adding 50 dollars extra using the same Bank of America Card I have been using and have owned for years with no issues (Its My business card by the way). So now for the issues I encountered. On Septembr 1, 2011 I went online from the lovely Capital One application on the Android network to check my balance etc and it stated that I my account has been restricted for Fraud Issues. Now I have heard of this issue occurring before on this blog so I was not really worried but when I called I spoke to three different reps who either kept transferring me because they did not know how to deal with the concern or hung up on me for whatever reasons arised. I began to get fustrated so I called and asked for a supervisor who came off very friendly and knowledgable about the issue. She stated that since Fleet Bank was accuired by bank of america and considering that I made a payment too soon (Yeah too soon) that it alerted the Fraud Department. I told the CSR that it is the same card i used to start the account and one I probably used back in 2002 when I had an old capital one and That the 300 dollar and 50 dollars charge I made to Cap One cleared and was approved on both ends. Shen then said HMm your right let me do a little research. Well the Supervisor tried to help me but could not so she transfered me again because I felt she no longer wanted to assist me. I said ok transfer me. So I spoke to another rep that tried to help me but could not so I said I will call back. This is the magic, that if one rep cant call back cuz another will. So I called back and spoke to a nice gentlemen who stated that the only way to clear this issue is to have him Call BAnk of America and I would have to identify muyself on the phone to my bank and have them state the the 29 dollar fee has cleared and they will release my account back to normal standing. Only thing with this is due to laws of recording a party by a thirda party which is illegal Bank of AMerica WOULD not help with this. So i grew in furstration. I then hung up and called again and asked for a Supervisor who came off very ghetto, jumpy and a bit unprofessional. She then explained that since they cant legal record someone without their consent and Bank of America would not allow me to state that the check made cleared that I would have to have to go to my local bank and get a letter from them and release my bank statement to Capital One then they would release my account of restriction. The only issue with this is that they supervisor stated they take at least 72 hours to review the material and then they decided what steps to take. So I said what, hell no. Its Labor Day weekend, and altough I probably was not going to need the card if I had an emergency then maybe i wiil and besided 72 hours or more is a long time. So I told th Supervisors fine I will due that and she became angry cuz i told her this is wrong and stated she was gonna note my account (Almost so I wont pull a fast one and call bacl). HA, well I did. I called right back and told the rep my issues and she stated that she will call BOA on three way for the second time except she will stay quite will I get the representative to state the 29 dollar check fee to Cap One cleared. Well I am exicited to say after about 6-7 calls and after all the furstration I was finally able to get the Fraud Department to unrestrict my account. NOW I am finally enjoying my journey to tryint to rebuild my credit. People be aware of this Fraud issue and learn more about it so You wont go through what I went throught because it was rough I tell you.
Lastly I wanted to note on the utilization. I am new to this concept and am learning more about it. I wanted to ask since AMY mention above a bit of how it works which I am grateful for, However Amy or anyone, Capital One does not allow you to pay your bill before it is out so how would I be able to keep mu utilization low. I hear Capital One state to the CB what they want to state and it could be off. I know that if you push the CS to make a payment prematurely over the phone they will, however it could set off the Fraud alert like in my case LOL. Any tips or pointers out there. Thanks and Please continue contributing to this Blog. Congrats to all and welcome to the Family.

newdirt.org | Mon, 5 Sep 2011 10:49 pm 



Hey Gstacks,

Congratulations on getting your card and thanks for the heads up on this matter. I’m sorry to hear about your rough start with the card, but gladly you were able to resolve the situation and still stay positive.

I don’t think you’ll have any problems paying early after your first statement. This month I’ve made two payments already without trouble, and I intend to do one more as I’ve had to use the card to book a hotel and pay for a car rental, things that require a credit card payment.

I try to keep my balance lower than 30% of my CL, but I’ve heard some people talk about 50%. Here’s a good article about Credit Utilization: http://credit.about.com/od/creditreportscoring/a/creditutilization.htm

newdirt.org | Mon, 5 Sep 2011 10:57 pm 



Ok, I’ve finally added a forum section for all you guys to post your timelines, suggestions, tips, feedback, etc. It’s a simple board but I think it’s all we need for now. All you need to do is provide an email address to register. You can access the forum here:

http://www.newdirt.org/forums/

I hope to see all of you there!

P.S. Please make sure to check your spam folder in case you don’t receive the email containing your password when you register (also make sure to use a valid email address).

David | Tue, 6 Sep 2011 10:19 am 



Im glad you put something like this up.
i must of joined a month or two after your initial start.

Irvin Douglas | Wed, 7 Sep 2011 10:38 pm 



I have been with Capital One for 8 months I started off, paying my balance in full for a few months but then I could only make a little bit more than the minimum payment, and I have been really close to my max limit could this be the reason why I have not gotten any credit increases or what can I do to fix my situation; I have a CL of 600 that I deposited and my CS are around 610.

gstacks | Thu, 8 Sep 2011 1:18 am 



So I had a Question. I know you can’t pay your first bill before the statement is cut. However you might be able to get a payment in if you call CS. So my question is should I try to pay my bill in full before the due date or statement being cut. I’ve only charged like $ 122.79 and can pay it but I’m still trying to comprehend this utilization thing and want to get the best advantage as far as what’s reported if I could. I hear Cap One reports our account at different times based on when you opened your account but still is a bit confusing to understand. Anyone have an insight?

ambersun | Thu, 8 Sep 2011 9:13 am 



David, Irvin and gstacks and those to come….come over to the forum and post your questions….you can go to the top of this page and click on forums or click on the new dirt link above in the Sept. 5th comment. It’s still a part of this website.

newdirt.org | Thu, 8 Sep 2011 5:20 pm 



@Irving: I would advise you not to max out your card, this can affect not only your credit score (specially if this is the only credit card that you have) but I think it could well be a reason that you haven’t gotten a CL increase. Try to keep your balance below 50%, or even better below 30%. Paying late could affect you, though you didn’t mention this so it’s probably not your case. Don’t depend on your secured card, use it sparingly and use it for the sole purpose of building credit.

@gstacks: I would just worry about not paying late and not maxing out your card. If you have a 450 CL, I would not spend more than $140-150 at any given time. For instance, I think you can have say a balance of $140 one day, pay it in full the next day and then use your card again within the same statement and so on. This is something I heard a “credit expert” say on tv a few months ago, so don’t take my word for it, but it does make sense if you think about it. If you want to play it safe, keep your balance below 30% each month (some people say 50%), in other words, with a 450 CL, don’t spend more than $140-225 each month. Now, if you have more than one card, then you have to take into account all your available credit…

@ambersun: thanks for signing up and posting in the forum section! Hopefully we can get more people in there. It would be a lot easier to keep track of everybody’s progress there. Even if it’s only a few of us.

You only need an email address to register, and the registering part is pretty much to keep the spam out! There’s no need to use your real name, location or any personal information, in fact I encourage not to. Just a nickname and an email address, that’s it.

Emjay | Fri, 9 Sep 2011 6:03 pm 



Finally received my the card!! Yahooo!! Happy Credit Re-Building to me!! Drama with my bank in the beginning…applied online july 28th but there was an issue with my bank 2 times. I submitted my deposit online august 24th for the third time, everything went good and I received my card today.

gstacks | Fri, 9 Sep 2011 9:28 pm 



Congratulations Emjay….I had issue to with the Fraud department but i got it taken care of. Just paid my bill in full today so I’m trying to be on a good path. What did u get approved for? Also are you from Boston? Just asking cuz I went to College with an Emjay and we have lost touch since. Good Luck with the credit building. Happy Times To All.

gstacks | Sun, 11 Sep 2011 4:02 pm 



Hey NewDirt,
So i wanted to mention that I have tried with several attempts to register for the forums and a message comes up that I failed to enter all data needed. However I have entered all info that is asked. At the moment its easier for me to.write on this blog and when I enter that site I just scroll down to the last written post so its become natural for me. So i want to note that I’m actually wondering if i would have gotten approved for an unsecure card since I went on Cap Ones site to the pre screening tab and filled it out. Now it stated that they are not firm on it but based off the info entered I might be suited best with the No Hassle rewards card. So. What do you think about this? I mean my credit was a low 552 from EQ. When i applied for the secured card and was approved for the 49/200 deal. It’s not that I’m not happy cuz i Sure Am but it just makes me wonder if I should have gone for the unsecured offer. Now I’m debating if i should try although its not really neccessary its still on my mind. Thanks

newdirt.org | Sun, 11 Sep 2011 4:36 pm 



No worries gstacks (though from the forum stats I can see that you were able to register, so maybe you didn’t get the password?). Anyway, it doesn’t matter you can use whatever is easier or more convenient. It’s all good

If it makes you feel better, I did apply for two other cards with a 560 credit score and was denied. This was before I got the secured card. Sometimes those pre-approved offers do not go through once you apply, but who knows, I guess every case is different. I have a bad credit history, so maybe someone with no credit history at all would have a better chance of getting an unsecured card with a low credit score. But if I remember well, that’s not your case right?

Maybe you can try to apply for an unsecured card to see what happens?

gstacks | Sun, 11 Sep 2011 5:29 pm 



Hey NewDirt, Not sure if you are able to send me the password. I believe u said that you saw my info when i tried to register. If so let me know or I.can try later. So as far as me I did have some mishaps in the past that are slowly dropping like flies off my report. Weird thing is all these happened back in college when I had a Fleet Bank card which was acquired by BOfA that I neglected and now it shows as a positive on my report. Pretty weird. But I have lots of student loans I’m struggling to keep up with. Not to happy but I am trying to make the best of my credit now that i have some leeway while some are on defferment. That why I applied just in case things get worse GOD forbid, I atleast Will have one card…thats if they don’t shut it as they can if they want too. But as far as the unsecured, yea I wish I had applied first but i was scared to not get it then have more blemishes on my report and risk not getting a secured cErt either. I truly wish i owned a BOfA card as they upgrade your secured card after a year and i have several bank acccounts with them but that a nogo for now. Cap One says that you shouldn’t apply to two cards within a 45 day period so I’m not gonna try be cause they take the first application only as a CR stated. I’m content were I am at but didn’t wanna sell my self short. The CR stated they do send mail offers so ill just wait for one and if it happens soon I might just closed this down because its fairly new and would hurt me less than waiting and then closing. Still an idea not yet final but again I’m still happy as heck that I even sleep witb ny card next to me….LOl haha. I’m just happy to have one in my possession. I just paid my balance in full and it cleared the 9th for 121.79. So I’m trying bruh. How’s things with you?

newdirt.org | Sun, 11 Sep 2011 7:29 pm 



Yeah, I agree. I think you/we just have to be patient with this. I’ve been tempted to apply for other cards but I’m just waiting for my CS to get there. I used to have a BOA credit card, but was closed by them during the financial crisis although the card was in good standing and I was making payments. I’m waiting so I can request them to reopen my account.

As I mentioned before, I’m going to get a second secured card, probably the one offered by Citi, I’ll try to put at least a thousand bucks on it. I realize I don’t have enough credit right now so I want to put as much money as I can on the second one and hopefully, this will get things going a little faster. That as well as cleaning my credit report as much as possible. Patience, patience…haha.

I’ll send you an email later telling you how you can log in to the forums. Cheers!

gstacks | Sun, 11 Sep 2011 8:02 pm 



Hey NewDirt, I just want to Thank You for everything and especially this wonderful Blog (are u selling it lol). So.my question is how did you obtain this site, just very curious to obtaining a site etc. Also so as I stated before I had some mishaps with some credit cards that are falling off my report soon but i did get taken to court for one and received a judgement, however since then the attorney went out of business so the judgments is no longer active by law here in Mass. So my question is do you think by opening this Cap One card would other creditors find me now and try to sue me becaus e they see I have new found credit lines. I know its a deep question but if u have any insight I would appreciate it. It’s just cuz i was at a different address for the time during when i defaulted on a CC and have since moved and change my info legally with the post office, rmv etc but it still worries me. Just don’t wanna reach out to them because its almost out my report and if i do it will restart the statue of limitations. Thanks

newdirt.org | Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:57 pm 



Hey gstacks. That’s a tough question, I’m not that knowledgeable about the legal side of all this, though I remember having read a little bit about it not long ago. Let me see what I can find online and I’ll get back to you. Do you have a friend that’s a lawyer that can help you with these questions? You should probably get a professional opinion, just to know where you stand.

About the site, I’m glad you find it helpful, I’m definitely learning a lot from all the input I’ve received here as well (and sorry, but it’s not for sale, lol), but I would be happy to tell you how to start your own website if it interests you. It’s really not that difficult and it’s cheap (and it’s a cool hobby). A domain name goes for about $10 a year, and cheap hosting is about $4 a month (I’m sure people spend more on soda per month than that). All this is run by open source software (free) that’s really easy to use, and you can get all the templates for free as well.

I sent you an email with details on how to log in to the forums. If you didn’t get the email make sure to look in your spam folder or add: contact@newdirt.org to you address book.

Timothy | Mon, 12 Sep 2011 1:08 am 



To anyone, do you think having a higher credit limit makes your credit scores look better? I only put down $300 in my security deposit for $451 of credit. I can afford to put down more if it’ll improve my score faster! I can afford to open another secured card too. Should I do that to further accelerate my credit scores? If not, then I won’t waste time putting in more money because it can’t even earn interest anyway. It just sits there… devaluing

newdirt.org | Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:26 am 



@Timothy:

That’s a great question and I have decided to open a thread in the forums with this topic. You can read my answer here: http://www.newdirt.org/forums/topic.php?id=10 (as I’ve mentioned before, I’m no credit expert but have been reading a lot about this topic lately)

newdirt.org | Tue, 13 Sep 2011 2:14 pm 



As an incentive to get people to use the new forum section, I have decided to give away $100. If interested please check out: $100 Giveaway by newdirt.org

In a few words, all you need to do is post a timeline, review or description of your experience using a secured credit card (not limited to Capital One, any secured card by any bank). If you don’t have a secured card yet, but are interested in applying for one, you can also enter by describing why you are considering to get one and which one you are planning to get. Just make sure to read the requirements, but it should be a piece of cake.

butlergirl | Wed, 14 Sep 2011 7:43 am 



Thanks for all the info. I applied 9/12/11 got approved for 200 Cl but with 99 deposit. I’m still excited because I need to rebuild my credit.I want to buy a house. I also just purchased a 2011 accord this may 2011 that capital one financed as well yay!!! Which I have made the first 3 payments on time and before time. Thank GOD!!!!!! So I have recved a payoff from BOA from a closed acct. With this will be good to pay off or what or does this start over statue of limitations. Or it will bowed pod off which is good right or will show paid off after offered a pay off.Place help

newdirt.org | Thu, 15 Sep 2011 1:38 pm 



@butlergirl:

Congratulations on your new card and new honda! Can you repeat the question, I’m not sure I understood.

You are settling an account with BOA. How old is your debt? Are you going to pay in full or settle?

Mila85 | Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:04 pm 



Hi there, thank you for sharing all these information. I don’t have credit history because I’m in America only 3 years so I didn’t have chance to buy anything and build my credit. So I have question, if I want to make bigger credit line, where I have to go and pay it? Is that on my online account which I made? I have only$200 credit line, but I want to make it $500 so I have to pay extra $300, and where and how to make it??? Thank you so much

newdirt.org | Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:47 pm 



Hi Milla85:

If you want to increase your credit limit, you need to make an additional online deposit, the same way you made your first deposit here: https://securedcard.capitalone.com/manage?linkid=WWW_1010_CARD_TGUNS11_CP99403RW_C16_01_T_SCPSTBK

greentara88 | Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:45 am 



thanks for this blog. glad i found it, & will be checking in for updates. gl to all

david | Tue, 20 Sep 2011 2:45 pm 



Hi New Dirt, thanks for your helpful site! Applyed Aug 19 ,had card a couple of weeks. The timeline is exactly as you said. I had $99 deposit. I am curious though, as capital one is a business,wouldn’t it be better for them if I used most of the cl each month and paid in full. They make $ from transactions. If I spareingly use it they make less. Who knows,maybe they look at this as a good thing. Others may not but we don’t know exactly what capital one looks for.

newdirt.org | Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:46 am 



I apologize as the site was down for a day or so due to a problem with my web hosting, but we are up and running again!

@David: Yes credit card companies make money when you use their cards, but that has nothing to do with how credit bureaus calculate your credit score and how lenders decide wether to give you credit or not:

When you make an application for a credit card or loan, the bank wants to see how much of your available credit you’re using. If your credit card balances are too high, banks take that as you have more debt than you can handle. Maxed out credit card balances could get your credit card and loan applications denied.

Check out the rest of the article: http://credit.about.com/od/creditcardbasics/tp/you-shouldnt-max-out-your-credit-card.htm

gstacks | Sat, 24 Sep 2011 1:50 am 



Hey Folks/NewDirt,
I hope all is well. Thank you for sending me the email a few weeks ago. My bad for taking long to get back to you just been crazy with work. So i was messing with the capital one website and tried the Pre Qualification form for their CC. I see i was pre approved for the No Hassle Cash Rewards card. It does have the 39 dollar annual fee which frankly is a bit hefty but I’m considering if i should apply soon. I originally was approved for the 49/200 deal on the Secured Card so my credit is not that shotdown (in Cap one standards that is). So do you think I should go for it. I do owe student loans and its been rough managing them but I’m afraid if i ever slip on them I would never get approved for another CC at least till I heal. Just wanted to know your opinion on the card and or if i should go for it and maybe, just maybe cancel my secured card before it ages any more. (You know canceling aged cards is bad but I’m fairly new just a month or so. Thanks

Amy | Sat, 24 Sep 2011 2:27 am 



Hi gstacks, if you don’t mind me chiming in here…Since you already have the secured card, why not just use it to rebuild for a few months at least and see how it works for you? That $39 annual fee seems a bit much for a card that’s not prime and I’ve heard it’s hard to get credit limit increases with Cap One down the road. So maybe you can use the secured card for a few months or however long to rebuild until you can get an unsecured card with no annual fee from a prime lender. If you can get a card from a prime lender bank with a small limit, that’s still better because it’ll be easier to get credit limit increases from them and they will grow with you.

On another note, I still haven’t received my secured card yet and I sent in my deposit Sept. 1. I called them a few days ago and they said they’re experiencing delays so I should get my card by next week. I hope nothing goes wrong, it’s making me feel really anxious ughhh. After I receive my card, I’ll be sure to post about my experience in the forum.

newdirt.org | Sat, 24 Sep 2011 7:54 am 



Hey gstacks, welcome back! I agree with Amy, I would either wait a little or try to get a card from a different bank and keep the secured card just in case (but that’s just me). I find a little strange that while having a secured card you can also qualify for an unsecured card with the same bank. Maybe you can speak with somebody at Capital One that can answer this before you apply just to make sure? Whatever you decide to do, keep us informed

@Amy: It’s good to see you back as well. I’m sure they’re just experiencing delays and you’ll get your card soon. Keep us posted!

gstacks | Sun, 25 Sep 2011 5:04 am 



Hey NewDirt and Hi Amy.
I definitely agree with both of your advices. I really don’t want to cancel this card especially considering Cap One has extended themselves to helping regain my credit worthiness. I wanted to note that Cap One has a pre qualification form on their website that does a soft credit check meaning it doesn’t affect your credit such like a hard credit check that is performed when you actually apply for any CC. I tried before on the site to see what I might qualify for and it would always state that they don’t have a definite card for me based off the information I have provided but it still named a couple cards they think I might be interested in. Recently though I tried again on their site and Now its states my name and what card I actually might qualify for which I found it strange at first but I tried it again and my name and some cards actually showed up again, having me believe I actually have a chance. Haven said that I’m aware Cap One might not be the beat bank to so business with and them not being lenient on their credit increases and their hefty annual fees and Apr rates for their non secured card (the ones at least I might be eligible for) are deterring me from applying. Considering I had some negative past with basically every other major bank lol back in college makes me feel I might not be approved for a prime lender card which is why I was initially considering applying for a unsecured card with Cap One and maybe gaining to Cash Back out of it. I’m glad you guys extended your opinions as it makes me think as well. @ New Dirt it is weird that I would qualify for a unsecured card with the same bank that issued me a secured cars but I have made four payments already within a 1.5 months thus far so maybe my reputation with them is increasing. I urge you to try their site as you might be amazed that they would pre qualify you too. @ Amy, hang in there your cars definitely should be here soon. It dies take a while to begin with but i know they stated some delays so it would be a bit longer. I hope to hear from you as you begin your journey to success.

Amy | Sun, 25 Sep 2011 3:11 pm 



Thanks for the words of encouragement to be patient. I’ll let everyone know when I finally receive my card and jump up and down in glee LOL!

@ gstacks: When I was researching the Cap One Secured Card before I applied, I’ve read several times that people were pre-approved for the No Hassle Cash Rewards card after using the secured card for as little as a month or two. So I guess that is the standard card they offer secured card customers after about a month? Cap One does allow customers to hold 2 of their cards at once. If you would like to stay with Cap One, you should wait to get one without an annual fee. At one point, I was considering trying for the Journey Student card (I am a college student) after I use their secured card for a few months, but I think I will hold out for other student credit cards and use my secured card for about 6 months before I do anything.

Juan | Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:29 pm 



Hi i’ve been reading everyone’s journey on here thus far and have found it encouraging and insightful. I’ve been using my secured card for about 3 months now and have already noticed a jump in my credit score, I’ve increased the cards limit to 500 and I have been wondering if putting more into this account or getting a second secured account would be better for improving my score. While doing research on this I’ve noticed a lot of people split on whether a second secured card is worth tying up your cash if theoretically you could just wait a year or so and probably get approved for an unsecured credit card. Wondering what you guys think, and if any one has any experience that might help me decide my next step.

Ashley | Tue, 27 Sep 2011 4:31 am 



Hello all! Did anyone have trouble while sending their initial security to Capital One after being approved? They keep saying my bank can’t process payment. Help please!

ambersun | Tue, 27 Sep 2011 1:18 pm 



Ashley have u contacted your bank to see if they received anything on their end and confirm the numbers you are giving cap one? Are u using your checking acct?

ambersun | Tue, 27 Sep 2011 1:24 pm 



Juan I was thinking the same. I’ve read that having two CC are good for your score/credit mix I went the unsecured route n got another toy card 300….. I’m gonna grow my cap one card for as much as I can bc when creditors decide to give u credit most will base on the limits u already have unless u have a significant score jump but like I said MOST.

Amy | Tue, 27 Sep 2011 9:52 pm 



I finally received an e-mail letting me know my card was shipped, yay! I posted about my experience with the card in the forums. Please feel free to read my post.

Amy | Wed, 28 Sep 2011 3:51 pm 



My card arrived today, 9/28! It took about 2 days for the card to arrive, since it was shipped on 9/26 according to my e-mail notification. I just activated my card and enrolled in Capital One online banking. I will make my first purchase to test out the card tomorrow. The annual fee charge did not show up in online banking yet, but I’m sure it’ll show up there soon.

Rich | Wed, 28 Sep 2011 6:50 pm 



Thanks for all the great information, I applied for a secured card and received mine yesterday. I also enrolled into the CreditInform program but will not receive my information for another week. Has the CreditInform Program been useful for any of you?

Sean | Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:58 am 



I’m so happy I found your blog. I have been doing the exact same thing since February and this card definitely has helped my scores. At the end of January I had a 615/552/526. Currently my scores are a 627/593/585. I still have way to go to be able to purchase my home but this card definitely helps. I also applied for a Orchard Bank master Card yesterday. They approved me for an unsecured line of credit of $300. So I would say give them a try for a card. Capital One also increased my credit line by 100 last month. Only thing I have not tried is the Creditlnform, I think I will pass on it. Good luck with getting your score up!

newdirt.org | Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:34 pm 



@Sean:

It’s great to know you got approved for an unsecured card already, that’s awesome. I’m trying to clean up a few things on my report before I apply for another card. You just reminded me that I haven’t checked my Equifax or TransUnion scores in a while. Thanks for stopping by and please come back and let of us know of any updates. Also please consider joining the forums so we can share tips, etc.

Torria | Tue, 25 Oct 2011 1:29 pm 



I have never had a credit card. The rep told me that I need to make my $200.00 depsoit and the my credit line will be $200 and I get a $200 credit limit every month so does this mean I can purchase something for $200 every month if I wanted to. Thats just a example to go with the question I’m not going to spend like that. Thanks

Amy | Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:16 am 



Hi Torria,
Congrats on getting approved for the card! Yes, that means you can spend up to $200 per monthly statement period. There will be a penalty charge if you go over the credit limit. The Cap One secured card is my first credit card too. Feel free to come over to the Newdirt forums to read all about my and others’ experiences with the card, and ask any further questions.

KTbEAR | Wed, 26 Oct 2011 5:29 pm 



I was wondering, I got approved for a capital one secured card, and I put down the $75.00 security deposit and got approved for 1000.00 right off of the bat, with no extra money put down.. is that a bad thing since everyone else is getting approved for $200-$300? I also have spent it all and paid it back before the date because I guess I was mistaken, I thought that would build my credit faster. I will now stop doing that. But I am just not understanding why my initial approval balance was so high?

Mike | Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:16 pm 



@KTbEar
Thats interesting. They gave you a credit line of 1000 with a deposit of 75. I guess its not a bad thing. However, you made a big mistake spending your full amount. Now your credit utilization ratio will be 100%. You should only use up to 30% of you credit limit, usually less. High utilization will definitely bring down your score.

Mike | Wed, 2 Nov 2011 1:24 pm 



I did the same thing with a capital one secured card, I paid more to make my limit 550$ my starting score was 630′s after a few months I received an email offer saying I was invited to apply for a cap one card so I did and got an unsecured card for 550$ the next day I got one from orchard bank and got that one unsecured too. My score had gone up to 660. My next card I got was from kohls they approved me at the store while I was shopping. Now Checking my score it has gone down to 647 due to new accounts I’m
Hopin it doesn’t take long to go back
Up again. I’m happy with capital one and credit inform so far. When my score was 660 I had my score pulled at a car dealer just to see and
It matched so I think they are pretty accurate. I haven’t been late on any payments and will
Post again when my score changes again

Cece | Wed, 2 Nov 2011 4:58 pm 



I wanted to know if you do not use your card will you still be charged a monthly fee?

Amy | Wed, 2 Nov 2011 9:16 pm 



Cece, there is no monthly fee for the secured card. There is only the $29 annual fee that is charged once each year. So you will not have any charges at all if your account balance is $0.00.

Chantilly86 | Thu, 3 Nov 2011 7:19 pm 



I love this thread… very helpful! i just applied for my Capital one secured about maybe 45 mins ago and was approved… now to await the arrival of my credit information….

any ideas on what a deposit usually is???
and should i be paying more than the allotted ammount or????

black26ss | Fri, 4 Nov 2011 9:01 am 



I got a card in april and my credit score was a 520 now its a 623 and capital 1 gave me a $100 unsurced increase today my deposit was $200

Linda | Wed, 9 Nov 2011 5:28 am 



Hi Everyone. Just by reading peoples’ comments out there regarding this Capital One secured credit card, it makes me want to consider getting one. Just like everyone else, I also need to rebuild my credit scores but I just don’t know how or where to start. I am still indecisive because of my concerns and worries of this secured credit card. I know already that I’m approved for a credit line of $300 with $99 deposit at 22.94% APR… Well,my concern is the APR being so high, Is that good or bad? Will the APR change as time progress for the better? Like; paying off balance in timely matter. My worry is… Is it safe to give my out my personal account # so they can take withdrawal the security deposit money? Please, take a moment and read this. Every feedback I can get will surely help me. Thank You!!

**P.S How does the security deposit work? Is it really refundable?

newdirt.org | Wed, 9 Nov 2011 11:16 am 



Hi LInda. The APR on this card is high, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If you are going to use it to rebuild credit then you should try to pay in full most of the time so you don’t have to pay fees, and not spend more than 30% of your limit at any given time so it looks good on your credit report. The APR on this card does not get better with time, also the card will not graduate to an unsecure card in the future. If you handle your card responsibly Capital One might give you a line increase, but they’re usually not very generous ($100-300).

If APR is a deciding factor for you, consider Orchard Bank’s secured card with a 7.9% APR. However the Orchard card requires a $200 minimum deposit and the amount you deposit will be your credit line. So if you want a card with a $300 CL like the one Capital One is offering you, you need to put down $300. However I’ve heard some people saying Orchard Bank does unsecure and also gives your deposit back. Check this thread for more info: http://www.newdirt.org/forums/topic.php?id=48

Capital One’s deposit is only refundable if you close your account. You can read the “Security Deposit” part of the original article above for more details. Hope this helps.

Linda | Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:07 am 



Newdirt.org,

Thank you for your feedback. Yes, it does really help. Just by reading majority of peoples’ positive comments about this card, I will give it a try and see how it goes. Again, thanks!

Jordan | Mon, 14 Nov 2011 7:24 pm 



Thank you so much for the info you have provided. I signed up about an hour ago and I was approved immediately. However, I called in to capital one instead of doing it online. If u call in it takes 7-10 days total from application to receiving your card. If you apply online it will approve u but will take 10 days to mail u a letter at which time u make your deposit 49,200, and then another 7 days to get your card. Calling in is the best, fastest, and most efficient as u can pay ur deposit with ur debit card. I will update my status once I get my card in 7-10 (business) days.

neo02126 | Tue, 15 Nov 2011 2:35 am 



I went online and got approved called in tomorrow to give them my debit card for the $49 TO $200, CROSSING MY FINGERS ALL THIS STUFF IS TRUE AM VERY SKEPTICAL BUT WILL UPDATE AGAIN TO LET READERS KNOW.

neo02126 | Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:48 am 



I got approved for the $49/200 Credit line offer and added made a deposit of $649 making my limit $800. i havent received the card yet way to early for that but i did call instead of doing it online and gave them a deposit that way. I saw it hit my account with 16 hours. i expect to get the card in 2 weeks. I also applied for the bank America secured card and got a approved for the plantnum plus card (worst one they off due to fees and high interest rate- trying to get them to switch me to the cash reward signature secured card has non of the above) i made a $1000 deposit my credit score is 595 so i figure i wouldnt qualify but i did no changes in credit score yet but got inquiry from capitol one with 36 hours of starting this thing. looking good so far my goal is a credit score of 695 by summer.

Erin | Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:59 am 



I recently contacted Capital One via chat and was told that it was not possible to graduate a secured card to an unsecured card. I don’t know if anyone else has inquired on this topic. I just find it strange that they wouldn’t offer the ability to graduate a secured card at all. I’ve only had the card for about 6 months and didn’t expect them to allow me to graduate so soon, but to not allow it at all. I was just wondering if anyone else has inquired to Capital One about eventually graduating to an unsecured card.

How Can I Check My Credit Score Online | How to Check Your Credit Score | Mon, 28 Nov 2011 7:31 pm 

[...] Capital One Secured Credit Card Review – Credit Diary Part II [...]

Neo02126 | Wed, 30 Nov 2011 3:26 am 



I have the boa card and still waiting for Capitol one card am gonna increase the boa card limit with another deposit.. The question I have is do I have to use these cards to see any improvemoent on my credit score or can I just hold them and not use them or should I just use 30% of each balance monthly or every other month.?????

pilates | Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:15 pm 



I’ve had my cap one since feb an it’s really important to pay off balance equifax (601) slowly going up. I have paid off two old CO so will see what happens next month

Soon2BMrs:) | Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:10 am 



Hi everyone! I had a question regarding the credit score shown on CreditInform. I read on this blog that the score shown is a FAKO score however the score that it’s showing me is the same as the score on my Experian report. Aren’t the scores shown on experian our actual FICO score? Forgive me if this question has been asked before but I’m just curious.

michelle | Sat, 17 Dec 2011 9:39 pm 



How much is the monthly payment for this card minimum an full payment?

Anthony | Wed, 28 Dec 2011 8:22 pm 



The Capital One Secured Mastercard Credit Card is the best secured card on the market!

Best of all you only have to deposit $49 Down to get a $200 Credit Line. You have a 25 day grace period to pay the balance. Its a Great way to build credit, while having a credit line. I love the way you dont have to deposit the full a amount of credit they will give to you (unlike all the other secured cars).

Just Apply! Get Approved! Make your deposit, and next thing you know your card arrives.

Big thanks to Capital One for giving people a 1st and 2nd chance at building GREAT CREDIT!!!

TP | Mon, 2 Jan 2012 11:25 pm 



Hi all, just wanted to share my experience with Cap One. I applied for the secured card in September 2011, and put down the $49 for a $200 CL. I paid in full each month, then a couple weeks ago received a preapproval offer from Orchard Bank (a bank known to help rebuild credit via high APR rates!) for $300 which I applied and was approved. A few days later, an email from Capital One saying I would be able to check for any credit card offers without having to have a hard pull. I did it, and was approved for the No Hassles Rewards Card for $500. I am slowly but surely raising my credit score! So to answer many users questions, NO, CAP ONE DOES NOT CONVERT SECURED TO UNSECURED. You would just be eligible to apply for their unsecured cards. I’m pretty surprised, it only took 3 months.

Soon2BMrs:) | Tue, 3 Jan 2012 11:21 am 



That definitely gives me hope TP!!

Adriane | Sun, 15 Jan 2012 9:25 pm 



Received great feedback from everyone. Right now my credit is at a 552 (14 point drop from something negative recently posting to my credit). I am trying to buy a house next year so I know I have a lot of work to do. I received offers from Citi, Discover, and Capital One but didn’t take any of them because I knew my credit was bad. I applied for the Capital One secure card in November. Was approved in December(took longer because they needed address verification) $99/$200. I made my deposit in January and my card will be here this week.

I am looking into the other cards mentioned here just to have more positive items on my credit and try and build it faster. I know it will take more time to build my credit and that is fine I am in this for the long haul. Hopefully I will be able to get approved for an unsecured card with Capital One like some of you did shortly after showing good using and payment history. I am looking into Orchard Bank and Citi just to have another card to split my bills with. I don’t plan on using any of the low limits for purchases just to pay normal monthly bills to get things back going.

Thanks for the post…I will check back for updates and to give mine.

vicki johnson | Sat, 28 Jan 2012 5:08 am 



capital secure card ,i wish i never got a card from them , they retricted my card so many times, dont get one

Tanya | Wed, 1 Feb 2012 8:09 pm 



I applied on Jan 17 and was approved. Sent my deposit and received my email yesterday Jan 31 that my card had been shipped. Pulled my credit report and it is not showing yet but I’m sure it will be there soon.

jim jordan | Fri, 3 Feb 2012 9:12 pm 



Two credit tricks that work. All though the bank will tell you they do not. The credit score says different.

PIGGY BACKING:
Get someone who has had a card for years with excellent payments and history. High unused balance on the card helps as well. Get them to put you on the account but send the card to the current cardholder instead of you.
All of the cards history shows up on your credit score. Humans can see this but computers have a hard time with it. Raises your score all most overnight. Banks will tell you it does not work, but it does.

CD LOAN FLIP
Get a 1000 or more, (you can use a cash advance or a payday loan) (payday loans paid back before three days are interest free, payday loans typically do not report to the credit bureau ) you only need it for a day. Put it in the bank in a cd. Then borrow the money back out using the cd as collateral. In Texas they can charge you only 2% difference in what the cd pays and then what the loan interest costs. At the end of a quarter either cash out the cd and pay the 2% to pay off the loan or roll it over by paying the 2% difference. When you do this the credit report reflects a high credit balance given and paid back. You can flip these. By that I mean you could do like I did and take the amount, in my case 10,000$ and put it in one bank in a cd, take it out in a loan, then take that 10k and put it in another bank in a cd, then take it out, etc. I did three banks in Dallas all in a row. Since it was all in one day the loans did not show up on my report that day. No questions were asked. So I flipped it three times, returned the money and then later cashed out the cds at the end of the quarter and paid off the loans.
ZIP CODE TRICK.
I went to a place in Dallas with the most desirable zip code. (highland park) I got a po box. I made this my office address. Instead of saying po box such and such I listed it at 58741 (then street name of the post office as second line) This gave me a desirable zip. I then subscribed to several high profile magazines like the DuPont registry etc. Got on lots of mailing lists and made a very nice computer profile with all the mailings the computer was looking for.

I never lied about my income but soon had around 75k in credit cards available to me. I applied for them using copies of all 3 credit reports I sent them asking them not to make a inquiry in my letter. I asked them to use the copies of the credit reports as the basis for their decision. Some inquired anyway. I got a bunch of cards.
I applied to all kinds of cards all at once so that I would limit inquiries. I asked the ones that had made the inquiries to take them off.

Shea | Fri, 17 Feb 2012 5:11 pm 



I just applied for this card today, as I’m trying to re-establish my credit; however I was not instantly approved. A message populated, saying that I would receive a letter in the mail. I read on another post that this happened to someone else but they were still approved. So I really hope it works out for me. The timeline really motivates me. My husband and I are looking to own a home within another year or so, so I’m really excited. If I’m not approved, I will continue paying off debt. To piggy back from the timeline, paying off debt definitely helps your score. My score increased by 12 points in the same month, after paying off 3 small debts on my report. Best wishes to all

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