Recommended Credit Cards

[newgirl1]

Hello every one I am new here, but I sought out a BK forum just so I could share the exciting news I just got. My husband and I just went to our 341 meeting last week, and we officially filled (per my CR) on April 3-our attorney was very slow moving. Any who I pulled my CR just about 30 mins. ago to see what it looked like and my score is a 547 and all I have are $50,000 in student loans in good standing. So I thought that I would try my luck at applying for a CC since I had heard on another BK forum last year that you could start fresh with Cap One even if you had them before and they were part of your BK. Although I never had a CC with Cap One and no more than a bank account with them when I worked in the back office for them once years ago I thought I would apply anyway just to see where I was at. So I compared 3 of their cards and chatted with the online rep and he said that I could only likely get the "secured" CC with them. I went ahead and took the risk and applied for the Platinum Mastercard CC that has a 24.99 APR $0 intro annual fee for the first year and $19 annual fee per month after that.
I was sitting waiting for the 60 second approval and was so shocked when (what seemed like-5 minutes to forever) it came back in big green print that I was approved and with a $300 starting limit!!! So I hope that this helps to encourage someone who is trying to reestablish themselves in the CC world. I will cherish this card forever...lol. I may apply for a VISA from somewhere else by the end of the year, but that is my limit and I have no plans of ever getting a department store credit card except may be Wal mart. These will be my only 2 if I don't get a limit increase on this first one towards the end of the year other than that I am so satisfied for this second chance especially since the first time around most of my dead pre BK was medical bills for lack of insurance.

[nickifan]

I am six months out of discharge (Dec. '11) and have gotten credit solicitations from Cap One almost since the first month... the latest one offered a CL of $3K with 0% until Feb. '13, then "22.9% variable" after that. (And since I haven't applied I understand it's not automatic to be accepted.)

Apologies that I have not read thru this entire sticky, but is it absolutely unheard of to get a FIXED interest rate after BK?? I understand that it shouldn't matter if you pay off the card each month...but it does irk me.

I have only my debit card on my checking account and I get paid only once a month...a credit card would be nice for that last week when I'm low on funds and there's a surprise -- like the $500 or so of car repair I'm going to need -- or the doc/medical co-pays -- but just wondering if I'm waiting for a CC offer thatn will never come??

Thanks.

[himain]

Merrick bank is hooters card

[jetsfan2010]

What bank is the hooters card through?

[himain]

I applied for Capital One after BKing them for 7K three years ago and they approved me for $2K CL. I can't complain with that. I have the Hooters MC and have had it for a year with no late payments or anything with no credit limit increase. I contacted them today and they said they don't manually do increases but periodically check your account to see if your approved for one and it would be on your statement if you got one. My balance is $400 on a $900 limit and I haven't charged anything on card since Dec as it's cut up. I just think that's kind of shytty as you can't improve your cl limit with them but have to wait. I may close account when I pay it off in September..

[tripbuddy]

Dh and I (ch7 discharges 7/11) were just instant-approved for capital one platinum cards (unsecured). Only $300 limited on each, but we were looking at car rental next month, so credit card is a huge help.

Anyway, unsure of interest rate (we won't be paying interest), but annual fee is $0 for the first year, then $19/ year afterward. If we get a better card next year, we will cancel this one.

Our credit was excellent till we filed last year. We juggled creatively for a long time.

[ssc2761]

The wife and I were also both approved for the same Barclays Rewards MC with no annual fee and the 22.99% APR after 6 months at 0%. I have heard with usage they will auto increase the limit and after about 6 months of opening you can start asking for CLI's. We are both 2 years out since BK chap 7 filing on 3/21/10 which was d/c on 7/7/10.

I don't know about whether I'd "recommend" them, but I got a Barclay's unsecured MC approved today with $1,900.00 limit and no annual / monthly fees. APR's a bit high at 22.99%, but I don't give a rat's about that because I usually pay off the balance.

-Richard

[RichM]

I don't know about whether I'd "recommend" them, but I got a Barclay's unsecured MC approved today with $1,900.00 limit and no annual / monthly fees. APR's a bit high at 22.99%, but I don't give a rat's about that because I usually pay off the balance.

-Richard

[df04527]

It is wierd for sure. I know some creditors do that but most don't. I can't figure out why they do that unless the efile that is xmitted to the bureaus with their updates still reflect that account, in other words the account never got deleted from the efile even though no other fields were updated it still stamps the file as updated. I dont know it is weird though. No model, i know of, uses that field for anything.

[CCsAreEvil]

Updating the date reported field every month has no bearing on the 7 years the account reports on your report.

Actually, when I pull up credit scores, it forces the item to show as a "derogatory" which happened within the last 30 days (of when the creditor updated the date field). Hopefully, real scoring systems/models will disregard items in this "special state". Note that the vast majority of my creditors did/do NOT do this. They don't update the date. They leave the date from the last time right before the discharge.

[df04527]

"Also, remember that CapOne keeps updating the "Date Reported" to Exp and TU on my discharged account with them. So, since it appears they can legally do this for about 7 years..."

That's EXACTLY what they are doing to me. How is this legal? What can be done about it? Sorry, moderator if I'm off-topic here but need to know what to do about this. Thanks : )

Updating the date reported field every month has no bearing on the 7 years the account reports on your report.

[MBeach222]

Ironically enough, having credit cards is the only way to start rebuilding your credit. Otherwise there will be no positive information in your credit file since bankruptcy, and it takes years to repair the damage. Also, many hotels and car rental companies, for instance, require @ least one major credit card. Having said that, however, I do agree that selecting a credit card with a high monthly or annual "maintenance fee" is ridiculous, particularly those First Premier or Orchard Bank cards. I saw one credit card offer that starts you out with a $150 annual fee & 35% APR! Avoid these scams @ all costs! The offers do get better. I recommend Capital One, a "bankruptcy friendly" creditor.

CapOne denied me. It's not a sure thing.

[MBeach222]

HSBC (Orchard) sent me several promos under several different brand names, by email and US mail for their Platinum Mastercard. Hefty annual fee, but they approved me for a $300 credit line. It's a start....

I am curious about why anyone who has just gone through bankruptcy or any other credit nightmare would want to immediately start getting back into debt with credit cards, and even worse-- credit cards with a monthly or yearly fee.

If all you want is to have something positive on your credit report, consider something without any annual or monthly fees-- mail order catalogs which offer credit. You could order something cheap like some towels from someplace like Fingerhut and then pay it off. And then never use it again. It would be a positive account on your credit report, without costing you all these fees, and you wouldn't be tempted to over-spend with it.

[MC9199]

"Also, remember that CapOne keeps updating the "Date Reported" to Exp and TU on my discharged account with them. So, since it appears they can legally do this for about 7 years..."

That's EXACTLY what they are doing to me. How is this legal? What can be done about it? Sorry, moderator if I'm off-topic here but need to know what to do about this. Thanks : )

CapOne did not do this to me, but Wells Fargo and Chase did. It took two or three letters to the credit reporting agencies to fix this. In your letter state that the accounts are not open and should not be reporting any current activity; the only thing they should report is that the accounts were included in bankruptcy.

[curiouscat]

"Also, remember that CapOne keeps updating the "Date Reported" to Exp and TU on my discharged account with them. So, since it appears they can legally do this for about 7 years..."

That's EXACTLY what they are doing to me. How is this legal? What can be done about it? Sorry, moderator if I'm off-topic here but need to know what to do about this. Thanks : )