That is exactly right. When a credit card provider sees you pay off your card regularly, you will get offers for more credit cards, including unsecured.

I think secured credit cards also sometimes evolve into unsecured cards. In the case of Capital One, having a secured card with them for a while may eventually prompt them to offer an unsecured card.

They do still help your credit score. Overtime it should improve your score and off you the ability to expand your credit.

patrick12 wrote: Try First Premier, or Capital One secured card, also check with a credit union.

Do secured cards help your credit score? Isn't the money already there and you just use the card as a credit card? I'm just not too certain that it would help.

Breakinger wrote: I agree that paying off your old debt is very important. I have a friend that just tried to get a mortgage and he wasn't approved because of an old hospital bill that never got paid off. So I would definitely suggest that you pay off anything that is outstanding first and then work on getting your score back up.

My question in this situation is can he pay the bill and reapply for the mortgage as soon as it's paid? Or does he have to wait a certain period of time before he tries again?

I agree that paying off your old debt is very important. I have a friend that just tried to get a mortgage and he wasn't approved because of an old hospital bill that never got paid off. So I would definitely suggest that you pay off anything that is outstanding first and then work on getting your score back up.

It also doesn't mean it will automatically hurt your score depending on how that old debt is categorized on your credit report. If you owe the money, I would still recommend paying it off.

What the OP stated is more right than anything else.........revolving credit is the key. They don't seem to care too much about paying down old debts. They care more that there are active cards

I didn't know that when you paid down an old debt it makes it look like you're making a late payment. I really thought that paying down an old debt you were doing the right thing. I'm glad I don't have any.

I feel your pain. Rebuilding credit is a complicated, confusing process and it often it seems like the credit bureaus are out to get you. Moving forward is the right thing to do even though it may take a while to see your hard work pay off.

Also, on another note, if you are working on paying off old debt, every time a payment posts to your accounts and the creditor reports it to the credit bureaus its considered a "late payment". So you’re paying down your debt which is good for your score, but the late payments will do the opposite of what you want. That is another reason you may not be seeing an increase in your scores. So really until you get all your old (negative) debt to zero it may just be best to plug away at it before getting a credit card, because having the charge card while paying negative debt off may defeat the purpose of what you’re looking to use the credit card for.

I would first ask yourself, "Do I need a credit card", or is it for the sole purpose to rebuild credit? Are you looking to make a major purchase in the next 6 months to a year that you feel a credit card would play a key role in boosting your score to get this purchase? Otherwise my advice is continue to pay off your debt (and old negative items if that is not complete yet). You could see about getting a major bank's secured credit card. I think Capital One is lousy on credit line increases personally, in the long run a $3-500 hundred dollar CC could hurt you more than help and those are the CLs Capital One is typically good for starting out with and staying at for a long time. So I would go with a bank such as U.S. Bank or National Bank that is local to you that provides secured credit cards. You usually can put down as little as $300.00 and get that cash back after a year of paying the credit card on time. If you this sounds unreasonable to you because you simply don’t have the extra cash to set up a secured credit card, then my suggestions are you don’t need card. I am not trying to come across harsh, just been there done that with setting up credit cards and lines that weren’t really needed. Weight out all your options, wants and needs, and if your needs outweigh the wants for a credit card then go secured. Also a lot of times after a good payment history with the bank they will change it over to a regular credit card and give you a CLI at time its changed over, of course based on your history of paying and your credit at the time of review. Best of financial luck to you!

Try First Premier, or Capital One secured card, also check with a credit union.

OK been trying to fix my credit and pay off bad stuff. That, however does not improve your score by that much. Not even loans help all that much. You have to have revolving credit. Which means credit card. I can't get a credit card and most of the time it's because too few revolving accounts. I am so over it. Such a hassle.