How many CC should be applied for at a time?

[laila]

Hi, i am very glad i found ur site, hope someone can help, i am trying to rebuild my credit, i have two paid but negative accounts on my credit report, i applied for a Capitol One Secured card and i received a letter asking for proof of income, it has been two weeks since i mailed them my proof of income and i called them and they said they are still reviewing my application, “should i be worried that i wont get approved”?

My other question is should i apply for another secured credit card or should i wait until i get a response from Capitol One? I have read that it is better to have more than one credit card, so i am not sure if i should go ahead and apply for another one or should i wait some months to pass and then apply for another SCC!!

Thanks again, i have learned alot from all of you guys!

[fontanaman]

Hey Laila, welcome to the forums and sorry for the late reply.

Hope it all went well with Capital One and you got approved. Sometimes providing extra documentation can delay your approval, 2 weeks stil sounds reasonable, but I would give them a call again just to make sure they received your documents.

Yes, it’s better to have more than one card on your file. So you are on the right track thinking about a 2nd secured card, specially one that graduates and can grow with you (BOA, Citi, Credit Union, etc.). Some people recommend waiting some months before applying for another card, but if you think you’ll be approved I would go for it. That way you’ll have two cards growing together and the inquiries will fall from your report at the same time in about two years,

Just don’t go crazy applying for cards, you can also get denied for having too many inquiries on your file. Capital One is a good card for rebuilding, but unfortunately it will not grow with you. I’ve had mine for about two years and I’m getting ready to close it in a few months. It has served it’s purpose. I have a BOA secured card that is supposed to graduate next month, so I’m looking forward to that.

Keep us posted!

[laila]

Hi, thank u for answering, i received a letter last Monday stating i was approved for tha $49/ $200, i called right away and paid the $49, i received another letter from capitol one this Monday 10/22/2012, stating that i had authorized a payment of $49. So i am just waiting for an email or letter stating my card is on its way.

I have another question, what do u think about being an authorize user on someones credit card, do u think that would help my score?

My scores are not very good so i won’t get approved for a unsecured for sure, but do u think that i could start off with the capitol one secured card, a secured bank loan, and an authorize user on someone that has good credit?

[fontanaman]

Well, first of all congratulations on your new card!

I’m not sure if being an authorized user will help boost your score or not, some people report that it will, others say it depends, but I’m sure it does help you establish credit. I remember adding my wife as an authorized user to one of my cards some years ago, and it did show on her report. I didn’t know much about credit back then so I’m not sure if it helped her score or not.

Here’s an article from Experian regarding this topic: http://www.experian.com/ask-experian/20110202-adding-new-spouse-as-authorized-user-can-help-build-credit-history.html

Here’s a recent thread from myfico about authorized users and credit scoring: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Authorized-Users-and-Credit-Scoring/td-p/1167913

[laila]

Thank you very much i will definitley read those. i am going to try to get another secured card, hope i am able to! I already have a secured bank loan and now i am going to have the capitol one secured card. i will keep posting to let u know how it goes, thank you!

[marco_salinas]

no matter how many you want, as long as you can manage it well with no problems.

[Author]

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