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Good morning everyone! I’m new to the forum and I just received my Capital One card yesterday:-D My TU score is 604:-( and my goal is to somehow get to 800 and obtain my dream credit card the Amex Blue Cash card…I know it will be a while, and I might not even get there, but dammit I will try!
Anyway, I’ve heard that department stores and gas cards are great ways to get the scores up. A gas card is more for me because even though I have two kids and frequent stores like Walmart and Target, I find I’m getting gas more than pampers.
With my horrible credit score, is there a gas card that won’t decline me? I’ve been thinking about the BP Visa card because it offers the most rewards than Shell, Exxon/Mobile, etc. However, I realize I should apply for whoever will accept me so I can get my scores up…
What is the minimum score these gas credit cards accept? I don’t want to apply for these cards and get declined over and over. My score is bad enough! Please help me guys, as a matter of fact, I need gas right now…SMH
Hello mcmillan and welcome to the forums!
Let me start by saying that I personally would not recommend getting a gas card. I find them very limiting as you can only get gas with them, and usually you can only get one brand of gas. If you do decide to apply for one, I would go with a gas card that is issued by GE (also known as GECRB), for example the Chevron/Texaco card. I believe GE cards are easier to get. I would also try to get a card that’s not only a gas card card but that can also be used as a regular credit card. You’ll get more out of it and it will be easier for you to establish good credit history if you can use it anywhere.
Shell, Exxon/Mobile are issued by Citi and they are known to be picky, so while you are building or rebuilding I would stay away from Citi unless you want to try their secured card. Which brings me to: why not get a second secured card? Bank of America offers a cash rewards card (3% cash back on gas). After one year, if you treat it right, it will be unsecured and you will be given your money back. I’ve had one for about 9 months and it’s now my main card, my capital one doesn’t get used that much anymore since I’ve had the BoA secured cash rewards card. It’s due to graduate this November.
I have a paypal line of credit which I’m pretty happy with. It’s issued by GE as well and it was pretty easy to get, and from what I hear their credit increases are pretty generous and you can apply for one every four months or so (I’ve had mine for two months so far so i’ll report back in a couple of months). It works great for me as I use eBay and paypal a lot, but I can also use it as a regular credit card when linked to my paypal debit card. If you are lucky when you apply, you’ll get their regular credit card which is also a cash rewards card. I applied and only got their line of credit. But then again, I buy a lot of stuff from eBay and use paypal to pay for some services. If you use paypal a lot, I recommend it!
Are you building or rebuilding? Do you have a lot of baddies on your reports? Have you applied for a lot of cards lately? How long have you had credit for and how many cards do you have? All these answers will heavily influence whether you have a good chance to be approved for new credit or not.
You and I are on the same page…I am looking for another secured card and I did get an application for the Citi secured card, but I’ve been hesitant to apply because of my score. I think it’s too low right now..I only want to apply for cards I “know” I will get…
I will look into Boa…a secured card with rewards…never heard of that! I hope you don’t hafta get a bank account with them because I already have one. I am with a Credit Union and they also offer a secured card. Very lame card, it doesn’t graduate, and I already have a secured card that will not grow with me. I don’t need another…
I don’t like discussing my credit because I am sooo embarrassed and ashamed of my party years. Years of not paying my student loans and credit cards. Let’s just say I really was considering bankruptcy until I ordered my credit report from http://www.annualcreditreport.com. It’s bad, but can be salvaged. So far, I took out a secured loan from my Credit Union for $1,000 in June just to see if it will help a little. My TU score went from 580 to 604, not too shabby. Let’s see what happens when my Capital One card gets reported…
Anyway, I know that a gas card limits me unless it has a Visa or Mastercard logo, but I don’t mind because driving me and my kids is all I do all day, then I drive to work at night, so I’m really looking for a card that can give me a great reward for that. I use BP/Amoco, Exxon/Mobile, Hess, Shell, I have the whole troop in my neighborhood. I’m so desperate for a rewards card for gas I don’t care if it has a visa/mastercard logo or not.
Paypal and Ebay…hmmm, I have their business debit card, and I use it all the time,but I don’t think I want a Paypal credit card. I do like their services, I do have a business account and my daughter has a student account with them, but they kinda rub me the wrong way a little. Call it women’s intuition, I feel they might go belly up in the future…IDK
I think at this point I will continue to pay my student loans on time, my secured loan with my credit union, and Capital one credit card. I will look into Boa, Citi, and continue my search for my perfect gas card:-D
If you have had any charge-offs during the past two years, Citi will deny you, even for their secured card. It’s on the small print of their application (if I remember well). I also considered their secured card but went with BoA. Any of those two cards would be great options. I’ve heard that BoA also likes to see other cards on your history in order to be approved, so maybe you should wait 6 months before you apply? Just to let your CapOne card report for a few months.
By the way, you will not find a cash rewards secured card on BoA’s website, but they do have one. I have it, my wife has it too (my wife’s credit is better than mine, and she was offered a partially secured card, mine is fully secured). I applied in person at the bank last November. They run the application as if you were applying for a regular card, just in case you do qualify for one, if you don’t then they’ll offer you a cash rewards secured card. Of course not everybody gets approved. I think my score was around 630, but I had cleaned my credit report as much as I could before applying (paid some collections and waited for my CapOne card to be at least 10 months old). My wife’s score was lower but her report was cleaner. I don’t think you need to have a checking account with them, but I already had one so I’m not sure.
As far as gas cards go, BP issued by Chase and Exxon by Citi. I’m not sure which one of those two would be easier to get. As I said before, it depends on what’s on your credit report.
It looks like you are on the right path though. You have a secured loan and a secured card. Don’t go crazy applying for new cards, be patient and look for the card that’s right for you. And try to clean up your credit report as much as you can. I also messed up my credit during my college years. Right now I have 2 secured cards, 1 retail card and 1 card loan. I’m just going to give them time to grow until my credit improves. I I wish I knew better back then. But well, here we are…
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